(9)

There is a great little article in Slashdot about a well known German hacker group, Chaos Computer Club, publishing the fingerprints of German Secretary of the Interior as part of their protest against state use of biometric ID.

The club published 4,000 copies of their magazine Die Datenschleuder including a plastic foil reproducing the minister's fingerprint - ready to glue to someone else's finger to provide a false biometric reading. The CCC has a page on their site detailing how to make such a fake fingerprint

Sweet. I suppose that is a 'hardware hack' of sorts!

(6)

If you buy a new BMW car, you can make a trip to the place near where these fine German machines are built, in southern Germany. These photos of the building where many of the cars are kept for their owners are impressive. One thing that people who criticise some of the horrendous modern architecture used to house people en masse in the 1950s, 60s and 70s tend to forget is that when these buildings are done right and with the needs of clients in mind, they work superbly.

Of course, some stunning cars have been made in very ordinary-looking places indeed. Like Aston Martin.

Brian Micklethwait has dug out some superb pictures of modern buildings via this guy. Amazing stuff.

(21)

An idea of the late FA Hayek was that people could use different currencies within the same jurisdiction and break away from the idea that if you lived in country A or B, you could only use one currency within A or B and never use more than one in each place. The idea of "monopoly money" is so ingrained that to broach the idea is to incur looks of incredulity. ("But surely that would be messy!") Now, I have looked quite a bit at the idea of competing currencies and there strikes me as being nothing that is implausible about such an idea as such. This story in the Daily Telegraph is therefore most interesting:

If you live in the Bavarian region of Chiemgau, you can exist for months at a time in a euro-free zone of hills and lakes with a population of half a million people. Restaurants, bakeries, hairdressers and a network of supermarkets will accept the local currency: the Chiemgauer.

Notes are exchanged freely like legal tender. You can even use a debit card. Petrol stations are still a problem, but biofuel outlets are signing up. Dentists are next.

The Chiemgauer is one of 16 regional currencies that have sprung into existence across Germany and Austria since the launch of the euro five years ago.

Article worth reading here from time back by Max More.

(43)

The idea that any country has universal jurisdiction over citizens of other countries, and can try them for actions taking place in yet a third country, would be risible if it were not deeply offensive.

One would think the Germans, of all people, would exhibit a tad more humility in these matters, but if the assertion of universal jurisdiction is not symptomotic of a colossal arrogance, I do not know what is. You would have thought we kicked this nonsense out of the Germans during the '40s, but I guess not.

It also makes the concept of 'representative government' rather irrelevant - after all, the Americans who are apparently now subject to German law never voted in any German election.

It does place our new Democratic overlords in rather an awkward spot; they loathe Rumsfeld, but I suspect that even they are reluctant to bundle him off to Germany for judgement by lefty Euros and miscellaneous anti-American yahoos. After all, if a Republican official is subject to German judgement, why, so might be a Democratic official, should the Rodham-Clinton administration find it necessary to stand up to the jihadis in ways that the neo-dhimmis of Eurabia find offensive.

(9)

This via Reuters:

A 70-year-old British pensioner, trained in martial arts during his military service, dispatched a gang of four would-be muggers in a late-night attack in Germany.

"Looks like he had everything under control," a police spokesman from the German town of Bielefeld said of the incident last Friday.

The man, a native of Birmingham who now lives in Germany, was challenged by three men, demanding money, while a fourth crept up behind him. Recalling his training, the Briton grabbed the first assailant and threw him over his shoulder.

When a second man tried to kick him, the pensioner grabbed his foot and tipped him to the ground. At this point, the three men, thought to be aged between 18 and 25, fled, carrying their injured accomplice with them.

The pensioner, whose name was not immediately available, suffered light abrasions.

Well, some of our older citizens are not pussies, it seems. I trust and hope that this guy gets a commendation for dealing with these scum in such an exemplary manner.

I have taken some lessons with these guys, and I can strongly recommend them for those in decent physical shape (and that does not mean you have to be a big tough bruiser, either. There is something positively encouraging about watching a petite woman throw off an attack by a 6 foot-tall rugby player type).

(10)

The European 'social model' is nearing the end of the road:

Jobless Germans could be forced to surrender anything but the cheapest of cars to keep their benefit payments flowing, if a plan by conservative politicians goes ahead.

The latest bid to make drawing Germany's traditionally generous social benefits less attractive would see the long-term unemployed forced to shun high-end "Vorsprung Durch Technik" Audi convertibles, BMWs and Mercedes S Class cars for distinctly lesser models.

Those who live by the state will die by the state.

(3)

As the splendidly politically incorrect Ray D. puts it:

This much is clear: Next year's World Cup in Germany promises to be a high-scoring event!

Heh.

(29)

Just in case you have not been already doing so, essential blog commentary on Germany's cliff-hanger can be found over on David's Medienkritik.

It will be interested to see if just under 12% unemployment has actually got the attention of the German electorate or is it going to be more of the same old stuff? Angela Merkel is something of an unknown quantity and the mere fact she is described as a 'loose cannon' by the political chattering classes makes her someone worth watching with at least a soupcon of hope. Germany badly needs an 'Iron Lady' so it will be interesting to see if Angela Merkel has what it takes or will the entrenched system just make her one of them.

The election hangs on a knife edge...

(15)

Bob 'give-us-yer-fokken-money' Geldof must be losing his touch:

Berlin's planned Live8 concert next week threatens to turn into a fiasco because it has failed to attract the support of politicians or business sponsors, the event's German organiser has admitted.

Marek Lieberberg, a friend of Bob Geldof contracted to run the Live8 concert in Berlin, said the lack of support meant the rock bands appearing at the event risked having to pay for the €1m (£663,000) show themselves.

A risk? Surely not a 'risk' but a heaven-sent opportunity for the socially-conscious cream of the rockeratti to put their own money where their big 'fokken' mouths are.

(4)

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's social democratic (SPD) party has been hit hard in regional elections over the weekend, with voter anger at his party over the crummy state of the economy overwhelming an attempt by some of his own party members to whip up a storm of anti-capitalist sentiment in order to cling to power. Good. I honestly don't know whether we are seeing a transition phase in Germany towards sanity and liberal economics. What is clear is that a country that has suffered double-digit unemployment for more than half a decade cannot go on like this without dreadful strains on its social fabric. Maybe some of the more intelligent parts of the German political class might get this point. We need the once-mighty German economic machine, brought to such a pitch by the late great Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Ehrhard (friend of Hayek) brought to a purring level of growth again. It is in no-body's interests, least of all ours in Britain, to see that nation permanently in the doldrums.

There is a related article here about what has gone wrong in Germany here in the latest edition of the Spectator. As Glenn Reynolds likes to say, read the whole thing.

(8)

German's leftwing SPD politicians have been bashing those symbols of hated capitalist activity, private equity buyout funds which look out for distressed firms, sell off some of the assets and reconstruct the remainder in the hope of turning a business around, before selling it at a profit. How shameful. Such people are "locusts" destroying Germany's economy, scream the politicians (who of course have been doing a tremendous job on that score).

In fact, I find all this abuse rather encouraging. If entrepreneurs see value in the German economic landscape, and perceive there are rich profits to be made in turning around businesses and then flogging them off, it is very good news indeed for the country's economy. By releasing capital from uneconomic areas and focussing it on lucrative new bits, the overall pie gets bigger, jobs get created, and productivity is also increased.

In fact, one could almost create a new economic law: the amount of abuse raining down on entrepreneurs is directly proportional to the good they do. I haven't seen much reason to doubt this law yet.

(16)

Downfall (Der Untergang) proved the perfect foil to the Europe of the Diversities conference, referred to earlier by Johnathan Pearce. This is a controversial film that has excited some who argue that representations of the Nazis which humanise their actions, and detail their suffering, downplay the consequences of the regime. There is weight to this argument, as the film focuses fully on the people within Hitler's bunker, their loyalty, their duty and their concerns in those final days.

Deftly underscored by Stephan Zacharias’s string-laden soundscape and cinematographer Rainer Klausmann’s truly terrific skill in capturing of the grim reality of the horror that was 1945 Berlin, Hirschbiegel pushes many buttons: the collective guilt of a nation for atrocities committed by their state balanced against the horrific human price of no surrender; the astonishing loyalty of the women around the cold-hearted dictator and the SS who vow to fight on because “we cannot outlive the Fuhrer’s death”; the double standard of being superior but cleansing themselves of traitors and the imperfect until there’s no leadership left to carry the torch.

Although Friedrich Hayek argued that totalitarian regimes allowed thugs and psychopaths to enter positions of authority, this film shows that traditional values of honour and duty were perverted and strengthened by the Nazis. In the film, it is Prussian values which sustain the dying regime, bring the Hitler Youth onto the streets and motivate the soldiers.

One should watch Shoah prior to this, as an inoculation, since one must make a conscious effort to recollect the camps in order to avoid feeling any empathy with these monsters.

UPDATE: For those who thought my link to a revisionist website was too obscure a warning signal that these memes still exist, here is an interview with Lanzmann, the director of Shoah, explaining the reasons why his work must exist.

(12)

Kudos to German media watch blog Davids Medienkritik for getting Stern magazine to change its text describing the Italian intelligence officer killed at a US military vehiclular checkpoint as having been 'murdered' by US soldiers.

The fact this powerful magazine reacted quickly to David's sharply critical remarks shows that more and more of the mainstream media are now well aware of the blogosphere's ability to shine an uncomfortable spotlight on such things.

Nice one, David!

(6)

With all the understandable attention being focused on the dreadful situation in the lands skirting the Indian Ocean, there is always a danger that disasters of a different, more Man-made kind, get overlooked. Well this week the German statistics office reported a dreadful set of unemployment figures, showing the number of jobless in Europe's biggest economy to be at the highest level for seven years

A Bloomberg report on the story contains the following passage:

New measures cutting benefits for the long-term unemployed took effect on Jan. 1. Those without a job, including people previously registered as social-welfare recipients rather than as jobless, will also face increased pressure to accept job offers or risk losing benefits. The changes will add an as yet undetermined number of people to the January jobless total.

But it is clear that the German authorities are still tinkering with the issue. That 10.8 percent of the working age population of such an important country should be out of a job is a disgrace. What I find odd though is how little outraged commentary in the economics part of the press there is about this. It is almost as if the European chattering classes have come regard this problem in Germany, and also France, with an air of sullen resignation. Of course, dealing with it will involve lots of vulgar, Reaganite actions such as deregulation, tax cuts to spur business formation and the like, which of course goes against the grain of Germany's 'managed' form of business so beloved of leftist commentators like Britain's own Will Hutton.

Germany needs to get its act together. Some 15 years since reunification with the eastern part of the country, Germany has failed to live up its early promise. With so many young people, including those from immigrant backgrounds, on the dole, no wonder commentators wonder about the social fabric of that country. They should.

(29)

This is not a re-run of the 1930's but surely I am not the only person who can hear the thin bat-squeak of warning?

Germany's Neo-Nazi National Democratic Party made sweeping gains in important elections in the eastern state of Saxony yesterday after a shock protest vote that reflected the widespread unpopularity of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's economic reform programme.

The extreme-right Deutsche Volks Union also retained seats in Brandenburg state elections. However Mr Schröder's Social Democrats remained the strongest party in the state despite substantial gains by the reformed-communist Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS.)

National Socialists+Communists+Germany = Hackles rising.

(11)

Whereas all other post-socialist countries had to reinvent themselves as liberal democracies without a huge influx of aid, the East Germans were reunified with their western brethren and hosed down with Deutschemarks. Out of solidarity, they were given money and West German workers could feel good as they witnessed that earmarked solidarity tax on their payslips.

Now, some East and West Germans want the wall back:

"Is the east ungrateful?" the mass tabloid Bild recently asked, citing a poll which showed that 76 per cent of east Germans thought that life under communism was not that bad after all. It listed pollution, deaths at the Berlin Wall, the 14-year wait to buy a car, in order to remind many of how miserable life had been. The animosity was shown in a survey this week in which one in five Germans - 25 per cent of westerners and 12 per cent of easterners - said they wanted the Berlin Wall to be rebuilt.

The Easterners are probably that small cohort of pensioners who still worship the bust of the Red Tsar on their bookshelf. The Westerners are just tired of tax, and who can blame them.

Whilst the rest of Eastern Europe gets richer, East Germany has faltered under the smothering embrace of a West European welfare state. They have been spoiled by generous handouts that are no longer affordable. Their kneejerk reaction has been to exercise their recently acquired freedoms and demonstrate for more spoils, demonstrating yet again how German welfare turned those imprisoned by communists into beggars.

For the past six weeks tens of thousands of east Germans have been gathering in town centres for weekly "Monday Demos", a reference to the demonstrations that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall 15 years ago. Their complaint: even before they have benefited from capitalism, the reforms being implemented by the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroder - particularly plans to scale back benefits for the long-term jobless - will disadvantage them still further.

If East Germany had maintained its independence and had been forced to take the harsh decisions that all post-socialist societies faced, these demonstrators would now feel that they had benefited more from capitalism. They would be busy earning money, not worrying why the state was axing their dole.

(8)

Gerhard Schröder is calling companies who outsource 'unpatriotic', after Ludwig Georg Braun, the president of the federation of chambers of industry and commerce, advised German businesses to seek opportunities elsewhere.

So, Gerhard Schröder, the man who has presided over yet another interventionist government whose policies have made Germany progressively more and more uncompetitive over the years, brazenly refuses to accept his personal responsibility for imposing the very policies which are driving businesses to seek to invest elsewhere.

But then I suppose as the prerequisite for any professional politician is to be able to look an entire nation in the eye and tell them black is white and up is down, and then ask to be applauded for saying that... and what is more, more often than not, that is exactly what happens.

Whatever. Reality always has its way with vainglorious politicians in the long run because people, and their capital, will eventually go where their interests are best served.

And that place will not be Gerhard Schröder's Germany.

(9)

Mark Holland has spotted a little gem in the German press

It would appear that the little village of Norderfriedrichskoog in Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of just 45 inhabitants, has 500 registered companies including subsidiaries of conglomerates like Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa and power giant e.ON

Why?

Because the town does not charge business tax, that is tax on profits. And the firms have saved €300 million in the last decade.

German Finance Minister Hans Eichel is desperate to get his mitts on this loot and wants to 'reform' local authority finances. According to Eichel's plans, all local authorities must set a minimum rate for local business taxes.

And there was me thinking Germany was a federation. Wouldn't the states have something to say about this? I guess Eichel is simply following the EU trend of 'harmonisation', ie raising upwards to the highest common denominator.

Mark Holland

(19)

When the Olympic games were held in Sydney in 2000, a number of public viewing areas were set up in public spaces throughout the city. Giant video screens were erected, and large crowds gathered to watch sports events and enjoy the atmosphere.

Like in Britain, liquor licensing laws in Australia are quite strict in that if you enter a bar and buy an alcoholic drink, you must consume it on the premises of the bar. Although you have bought it, you are not permitted to walk off with it. During the games, a few portable bars were actually set up in the public spaces with the video screens. However, in order to comply with local liquor laws, certain relatively small areas of the public spaces were designated as alcohol drinking areas and barriers were erected to cordon people in these areas off from everybody else. On top of this, people in these areas were only sold drinks in cans or plastic cups. (These enclosures were quickly nicknamed "playpens", on the basis that drinkers were being treated like small children). The dangers of broken glass were considered sufficiently great that people were not allowed to buy drinks in glasses or glass bottles. This was all very paternalistic, in the way that alcohol licensing laws in the English speaking world often are.

This past weekend, I happened to be in Germany. When I visited the Kurfürstendamm, the main shopping street of what once was West Berlin, I discovered that some kind of event was happening, declaring itself to be the "Global City 2003" festival. Now any city that is sufficiently insecure that it feels the need to declare itself to be a "global city" or a "world city" actually isn't one. There are plenty of interesting and enjoyable things to do in Berlin (including some of the most magnificent museums of cultural treasures anywhere) but when it comes down to it the city is not London, Tokyo, or New York. And the "Global City" festival was not all that global. There was a ferris wheel and a few other rides. A catwalk had been set up in the middle of the street and there were some fashion shows. A stage had been set up and there was some live music. There were stalls selling souvenirs of various kinds.

However, the most important thing was clearly eating and drinking, and this was done in a very German way.

There were a vast number of vendors selling barbecued sausages of various kinds, and there were a very large number of portable bars set up in the street. These were really quite clever. They were modied trailers, which had been towed into the street before the festival, and they were then able to unfold to become full service bars, with awnings that folded out to protect customers from the weather, and with beer taps and presumably large internal holding kegs containing the beer.

And, in the Kurfürstendamm over the weekend, a lot of beer was consumed and a lot of sausages were eaten. As an Australian, I come from a beer and barbecued sausages culture myself and so this was really all very pleasant. Although the crowds were large and much beer was being consumed, there seemed no need to regulate this in the way that would be done in Australia. People were drinking beer out of glass mugs. It would be an insult to the fine German beer to do anything else with it. None of the fears that caused ridiculous regulations to be enacted in Australia seemed to be coming to pass in Germany.

Of course, when I purchased a glass of beer myself, I discovered that there was a reason for this. The beer cost €2.50, but I was charged €5.00. Once I finished drinking it, I was able to take the glass back to the counter, and get a refund of the additional €2.50. (I didn't figure this all out until I went to my second beer selling establishment, which is why I have a German beer mug in front of me now with Herforder Pils - Premium Exquisit written on it below a nice coat of arms. I do not really feel bad about this, as it is a good souvenir of what I actually did on the weekend, and I did pay for it). Different bars charged me different amounts for the glass: it varied from €1.00 to €2.50 depending on the fanciness of the glass. I can only assume I was being charged approximately the replacement value of the glass in each case.

So the situation is simple. Essentially, the customer is forced to buy the glass while he is using it, and then to sell it back when he is finished. The most obvious reason for this is that it benefits the operators of the bar, because it means that people bring their glasses back, reducing effort, and ensuring that they do not walk off with the glasses. If they do walk off with them, then it doesn't matter as they have paid for them. In addition, it means that the customers take the loss in the case of any breakages.

This is all true, but it is not the major benefit of the practice. The last point is the key one. Because customers essentially own the glasses when they are using them, they care about breakages far more than they would if they did not have to take a loss. Therefore, they take far more care. Therefore, very few breakages occur. (I did not see a single broken glass, and I saw a lot of beer being consumed). Because there is essentially no broken glass, nobody gets injured from broken glass. Because of the increased safetly, nobody feels the need to nanny the customers as happened at the Olympics in Sydney, and the festival can take place and everyone can have a good time. I certainly did.

Just as a tiny further observation, German beer measures are far superior to French measures. (And for that matter, German beer is far superior to French beer). The French for some reason drink beer out of tiny 250ml glasses. In ordinary bars, the Germans generally offer a small 300ml glass and a large 500ml glass, although I believe a one litre glass is also common in Barvaria. There is nothing wrong with metric measures if they are approximately the right size, which these are. While George Orwell didn't find a half litre adequate, I have to admit that I have no problem with it, particularly when the beer is as good as what I drank in Germany. (The half litre is also a standard size for beer bottles sold even in England, and nobody seems to complain).

Presumably for the sake of simplicity, the portable bars at the festival generally only served one size, which was 400ml. Rather than serve only large or small, they served a compromise that was in between. The size of the measure was clearly advertised everywhere, and nobody had any problem with this. I certainly found it adequate. Of course, as I pointed out in a previous post, if an English bar wanted to compromise in a similar way by serving three quarter pints it couldn't, because this would be illegal. For now I am with the Germans.

(13)

Q: What is the difference between a social democrat and a socialist?

A: A social democrat is a socialist who has realised the socialism doesn't actually work.

A perfect illustration is provided by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, the very model of a modern social democrat, who has announced that things must change:

If we want to generate growth and jobs, we must lower those costs that eat into take-home pay.

Financial constraints are not the only driving force behind our reform programme. The reform of the welfare state is also a precondition for the success of future generations. In the past, the main topic of welfare politics was the redistribution of wealth. First, we must remember that wealth can only be redistributed once it has been generated. Second, we should note that redistribution has limits, beyond which mere monetary transfers encourage dependence. Third, elaborate systems of redistribution tend to produce "side-effects" in opposition to the desired results.

Do my eyes deceive me or is this doyen of the 'Third Way' demanding tax cuts and warning of the dangers of a dependence culture and unintended consequences? No, I think I am reading it right and if Herr Schroder keeps this up he might find himself being invited to write for the Samizdata one of these days.

And neither is this manful attempt to grapple with common sense a breaking of the ranks or a solo frolic in the fields of sanity because I could not help but notice that it follows hot on the heels of this rather more nebulous and ill-defined attempt from Peter Mandelson to say something along similar lines.

Coincidence? No, I don't think so. Nor is it due to mere fickle fate that both of these portentious editorials appear in the pages of the Daily Social Worker where messages like this are about as common as gay bars in Riyadh. Now, I'm taking a calculated guess here but I'd say this is all part of a cunning plan to prepare the ground ahead of a big summit on 'Progressive Governance' (subtitled: 'Oh Christ, we've been rumbled. What do we do now?) to be held here in London this coming weekend.

Could all these ominous warnings and pleas for an open-mind from the likes of Herr Schroder and Mr.Mandelson be a means of softening the ground for heavy blows ahead? Because to the extent that anything at all emerges from this gathering of professional pick-pockets and incurable busybodies, it is bound to be triumphal, shiny 'reform' and 'new deal' initiatives of the kind that pretty much herald an end to the welfare-state settlement.

If I am right (and that remains to be seen) then it is obvious that some of the brighter stars in the left-wing firmament have seen the writing on the wall and they know only too well that carrying the 20th Century state-socialist models into the 21st Century is a guaranteed one-way ticket to palookaville.

Wouldn't it be fun to watch them emerge from their smoke-free rooms next week and jointly announce to their tax-consuming constituents that the booze has all run out, the snacks have all been eaten, the guests are all tapped out and that the party is definitely over.

(5)

Anti-American hatred may be sweeping round the 'European Street' more quickly than the Black Death, but the political elites may be secretly grateful to the Great Satan for handing them an opportunity to wriggle off the hook:

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has blamed the Iraq war for crushing global economic growth, as the European Commission prepares to cut its growth forecasts on Tuesday.

"It can already be seen that the war in Iraq has increased the economic uncertainties worldwide, and some of the hopes for economic growth have been impaired, if not entirely destroyed," Mr Schroeder said in a speech on Sunday night.

And, with a single bound, Gerhard Schroeder was free!! See it isn't exsanguinating taxes, rigid labour laws, a bloated public sector and a monstrously over-regulated economy that is causing all the problems, it's those perfidious Yankees and their imperialist war for oil.

Do not underestimate the number of people who will fall for this because they want to fall for it. Remember that Schroeder is the leader who only got re-elected by shamelessly exploiting anti-American sentiment in Germany and I will not at all surprised to see him successfully spin this out until at least the next election.

Meanwhile, our own Chancellor Gordon Brown is due to announce his annual budget on Wednesday following a year of massive tax increases and looming redundancies. He is under pressure for sure but now he has a golden bridge. I can see it now, Gordon will shrug his meaty shoulders, sigh and assure the public that 'if it had not been for the war.....'.

(4)

Christmas will soon be upon us, and along with television adverts advising us not to drink and drive, hangovers from office parties and late-night shopping, another regular feature rears its reliable head - the condemnation of commercial Christmas.

This time, the nags against Christmas free-market fun come from Germany, which in its current over-taxed and economically sclerotic state, could use all the commercial fizz going, I would have thought. But no, a German priest wants his patch to be declared a "Santa-free zone".

Like the late Ayn Rand, a devout atheist, I always think that one of the very great things about Christmas - which after all started off as a midwinter pagan festival to give us all a good excuse to eat and drink excessively - is its commercial character. The glitz and colour of this time of the year provides much of its "point".

So come on Santa. Sprinkle a bit of Christmas happiness over our a glum Teuton neighbours. Right now, they need it.

(7)

Germany's hapless Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has dished out insults at the musician who penned a chart-topping song that Adriana wrote about last week, taking a crack at Germany's onerous taxes.

Well, tough luck, Gerhard. It seems the Chancellor doesn't like the fact that the crippling confiscation of German citizen's money is provoking satire as well as anger. When a politician starts bashing the comics and music makers, it is a clear sign he or she is in trouble - big trouble.

This bespeaks a political elite on the Continent of Europe that is increasingly aloof and out of touch with ordinary citizens. On one level, this is encouraging, because such arrogance usually comes before a fall from grace. However, it also suggests that if the situation is not tackled soon, the anger boiling up in Germany and elsewhere could turn ugly.

Sure, Gerhard. As logical as
assaulting someone's fist with your face

(5)

Paul Staines reports on the latest rather splendid twist in the ongoing German anti-tax protests about which Adriana first reported last month on Samizdata.net

There is a brilliant story at wired news about a tax protest with a difference. It started as a wacky idea in an Internet chat-room but now thousands of Germans have sent Chancellor Schroeder their shirts. Schroeder has donated the thousands of shirts his office has received to charity. Shame he does not show some charity towards taxpayers...

The political campaign is being promoted with this rather fetching picture of Katja Kassin in the process of losing her shirt! Who says the Germans do not have a sense of humour?

Paul Staines

The German Chancellor is clearly feeling just a wee bit insecure these days. Why else would would he actually go to Court to sue a news agency because they claimed that he used dye in his hair:

"With affidavits from his barber, Schroeder insisted that the article was false and that it had created a wave of stories that were hurting his image."

Would that be his image as an incompetent, plundering, unreconstructed tax-and-spend socialist who is wrecking his country's economy? Oh right, that image.

Anyway, in order to avoid any legal complications here at Samizdata, I hereby categorically refute any suggestions that the German Chancellor has ever dyed his hair. After all, why would he need to? It is a wig.

(4)

Paul Marks laments attitudes in Britain to anti-tax protests.

Those people who know me will know that I like family owned enterprises (more common in Germany than in Britain these days) and that I like the people who are at the top of manufacturing companies to be trained in such things as engineering rather than such things as law (I sometimes feel that many British managers think a "machine tool" is something to do with kinky sex). But, have no fear, I will say no more about my personal prejudices - and I fully accept that Germany has higher government spending and (in some ways) more government regulations than Britain.

However, something has caught my attention recently. In Germany a pop song denouncing the German government's tax increases has reached the top of the charts.

In Britain taxes are increasing much faster than in Germany (government spending and regulations are increasing at a faster rate also) and, sure enough, a pop song has been written that attacks this increase in taxation - and the song was mentioned on B.B.C. Radio 4's "Today Programme".

But in Britain the anti tax protest song is not being treated seriously even, it appears, by the man who wrote it. Nobody expects this song to get to the top of anything - even though the British government have also told lies about tax and are increasing taxes more than the German government is.

Is the basic culture of Britain so collectivist that a protest against statism is automatically a joke?

Paul Marks

(11)

Germans are fighting back with humour! The country's number one hit is called Der Steuersong (The Tax Song), and has found fertile ground in the hearts of a nation fed up with broken election promises and increasing taxes.

The song that shot to the top of Germany's pop charts with more than 350,000 copies sold within a week is a spoof sung by Schroeder's impersonator, Elmar Brandt, who has captured the mood of the country in the lyrics:

"Promises that were made yesterday can be broken today...."

"I'll raise your taxes, I'll empty your pockets, every one of you nerds stashes some cash away, but I'll find it no matter where it is..."

"I'll raise taxes now because the election is over and you can't fire me now..."

"We could raise a 'bad weather tax', or an 'earth-surface usage tax', a levy for breathing, air's going to become more expensive, and I'm only getting started.."
"A tooth tax for chewing, bio tax for digestion - nothing's free anymore..."

Schroeder's government of Social Democrat-Greens has slumped dramatically in voter surveys since the September 22 polls after breaking election promises not to raise taxes. On Monday Schroeder announced another new tax on equities and property sales - which the conservative opposition called the 49th new tax since he was first elected in 1998.

"I'll rip you nerds off, you'll be overpowered, I'm always in for a surprise..."

"There is no tax that I can't collect. I want your bank notes, your sweaters, your cash and your piggy banks..."

"Dog tax, tobacco tax, car tax, ecological tax - did you really think that was the end of the line? Like a pirate hunting for income, I'll raise all your taxes and if you're broke, you can buy your food at a discount store or go hungry..."

I am not sure it sounds better in German (here is the full English translation) but the spirit of the song is sound. Ordinary Germans say that "it sums up what we're all thinking." Fed up with taxes? Well, what are you going to do about it?

(3)

While doing some research on my previous news item, I ran across this fascinating article on the WWII German nuclear weapons program.

Much of it was shrouded in mystery and misrepresentation prior to the declassification of the "Farm Hall Reports" discussed in the aforementioned link. Werner Heisenberg was caught out by statements he made in a bugged room when first told of the American bombs. It is quite apparent he was indeed committed to building a German nuclear weapon and might have if not for an egregious theoretical error.

Sometimes the gods do smile on us.

Of all people, the Germans have gone and stuck the boot into the fledgling Euro. By rejecting warnings from the European Commission about their swelling budget deficit, they have done just a little more to hasten the decline of the Euro to the status of Monopoly money

The warnings in question arise as a result of the Germans breaching the Stability and Growth Pact drawn up in 1997 (mostly by the Germans, ironically) and which limited Eurozone countries to a ceiling on their budget deficits of 3 percent of GDP. Clearly an intended shackle on high-spending governments, it was seen as a bitter pill that had to be swallowed if the Euro was going to attract investment and prove a success

But, it appears, that the success of the Euro is as nothing when compared to the prospect of losing an election. Germany's economy is deep in recession, unemployment is already at 4.5 million and rising and Gerhard Schroder knows that unless he can dole out the largesse before the next election then his name will be added to that growing list

The German deficit is already at 2.7 percent and will assuredly go over the 3 percent barrier in the next few months. The German government have told the Commission to go and take a flying f*ck but has promised to reduce its deficit to zero by 2004 (and if anyone believes that, then I have a bridge in Sarajevo to sell them)

The 'Stability Pact' balloon is going up, filled with all the hot-air about 'reform'

Still, I couldn't be happier. If Gerhard Schroder has done his bit to hasten the demise of the Euro then my Valentine Card is already on its way to Berlin to tell him that he has a not-so-secret admirer in London

A young German couple were sentenced today after being found guilty of the murder of a friend in a Satanic Ritual.

The couple claimed to be under the influence of Satan when they stabbed the young man to death after luring him to their home.

In their defence they both said that they were "only obeying orders".

Some things just never change, eh.