Die Tagespolitik

The Mysterious Case of Peter Sawicki and How Politics Openly Obeyed Pharma

2010-03-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Peter Sawicki was the head of the IQWiG (Instituts für Qualität und Wirtschaft-lichkeit im Gesundheitswesen), an independent group, established under the then coalition of the Greens and the SPD in 2004, in Germany.

The main function of this group is to control the hype of new and expensive pharmaceutical products that come to the market and qualitatively assess the products on their intended purpose. Pharmaceutical companies try to push these ineffective products on the public health insurance organisations and drive the costs of health care up. Since 1993, the costs for medicine alone has shot up in Germany from € 14,2 Billion to € 32,4 Billion.

Before leading the IQWiG, Peter Sawicki was the chief physician in Cologne, and an expert on diabetics, whose theory was to rely on qualitative and quantitative evidence, rather than on hype, for new medicine.

This did not suite the current CDU+CSU+FDP coalition whose shameless 'client politics' have not at all been hidden from the public and changes are being implemented for their donors at record pace (E.g. Hoteliers got tax breaks, pharmacies got favourable treatment, etc. etc.).

So Peter Sawicki, who insisted on controlling ineffective expensive medicine got systematically butchered, first by the giants of the pharma industry who put him on a "priority watch list (link in German)", and then their peons in the political world went to work for them to put Sawicki out of the way.

The politics of systematically removing people who work with moral integrity is no longer a hush-hush affair. It is being openly flaunted with too many clues left along the way that show how brazenly corrupt the current administration has become in its short run at power.

New Scandals Contribute to Growing Distaste for Religion

2010-03-04T04:07:00.000-08:00

The German bishops and the church are involved in new scandals involving sex and children, dating back decades and continuing into the present, that has been brought only lately into the forefront.

For years, the abused victims sent pleading letters, all the way up to the pope, to help stop these abuses. But the Vatican is adamant about 'discussing and settling things internally', instead of sending those responsible directly to criminal court to face the consequences. The governments on the other hand do not have the guts to grab these criminals directly in front of the justice systems.

This is not a one-time event. The abusive practices have been going on for YEARS and year on year, new scandals appear, regardless of countries. These 'men of god' must be truly sick enough to deny their crimes.

It is no wonder that, based on these events among others, people have stopped embracing religion and giving donations to the church. In Germany, only around 57% of the population seem to believe in God and the church and this number continues to go down year after year.

Bob Altemeyer, in his book, The Decline of Organised Religion in Western Civilization says, "Such parents endorsed many different explanations of their loss of faith but most commonly said it happened because they observed hypocrisy in members of their religion. Various examples were cited. Most of those who abandoned their religion have lived nearly all of their adult lives outside their faith and doubt they will ever return. As their children have largely been raised without religious training, the decline of organized religion seems likely to continue."

Recent reports say that the churches have started selling lush properties all over the world to make up for lost financing.

The governments should stop affording these 'men of god', their own law to 'settle it internally.' They are criminals. Bring them to court and put them behind bars. Enough is enough!!

Latest Update: And now here another scandal involving the priests and a prostitution ring in the heart of the Vatican. Unbelievable!!!

Lufthansa Pilots' Strike: Why the Pilots are Right

2010-02-22T04:46:00.000-08:00

"Frustrated." "Damn pilots." "Shameless." These are some of the comments from of course the passengers that have been left stranded in airports in Germany or elsewhere, starting today. The Lufthansa Pilots' Union (Vereinigung Cockpit or VC) had been warning the company since days that they would start the strike today, based on years worth of cost-cutting measures implemented by Lufthansa and more importantly bending the good faith agreements by hiring more and more pilots outside the country based on acquisition of smaller airlines (Austrian, Air Dolomiti, etc.).

And exactly the latter point above has become a thorny issue in the negotiations. By hiring or integrating pilots from smaller airlines that do not belong to the VC, they are no longer subject to the same pay scale and benefits standards that are enjoyed by the VC members. All in the name of competition and finance crisis? Only partly. Lufthansa has maintained steady with sales, if not in growth, compared to most other airlines which are not subsidized by oil money (think middle-eastern airlines that continue to offer the highest luxury standards in this economy). For this steady sales, the pilots and to be fair, their other Lufthansa colleagues in service, have given up pay raise after pay raise in the past years. So what does the airline do next? It brings in the cheaper labor unions who will then try to fly the routes the VC pilots have been flying, thereby indirectly replacing them in the long run, with minimum pay and benefit standards.

This strategy has been, in the last decade, explored and implemented without remorse by most companies, who tried to appease the bankers and financial 'gurus', who in turn wrecked the world economy by betting on fictitious formulas and got us back to cost cutting again!!!

The VC is one of the more powerful unions in Germany, probably next to the doctors' lobby/union. The other unions such as IG Metall for the industry sector or Verdi for the service sector, have slowly started eroding, exactly because they let the companies dictate all the rules and have been weakened to a point where job cuts are being 'negotiated' by the unions, rather than being stopped. Winfried Streicher, the head of the VC, points exactly to these developments (link in German) that in the end leave the workers in the dust and the loss of jobs ultimately leads to fewer unions and fewer workers' rights.

The Lufthansa Pilots Union may be some of the most well paid, but they are also willing to a zero percent pay raise if the company stops offloading work to cheaper labour in foreign countries, and maintain society standards that will allow people to fly more in the first place!

The Free 'Liberals' In a Tailspin

2010-02-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

What happens when you give someone some power that they haven't had for more than a decade, and enter into politics as a junior coalition partner? They stumble and sometimes get their legs cut off from under them from the 'senior' coaltion partner.

So is the fate of the Free Liberals (FDP) in Germany, just four months after the federal election. First they cornered themselves by openly giving JUST the hotel and restaurant owners, a tax 'subsidy' (it is a tax subsidy, because someone else is paying for it somewhere else) by reducing their sales tax. This open action quickly gave them the name as the party of the 'clients'.

Then the head of the party Guido Westerwelle went into attack mode on people receiving unemployment benefits, calling it socialism and comparing the country to old Rome before its fall to decadence, if social services continued in the country.

The latter comments have created an uproar at a very sensitive time, where the famous 'Hartz IV' (unemployment benefits for the terminally unemployed) recipients had sued in the high court and the court agreed that the standards afforded (or not afforded) these unemployed should immediately be reviewed. Hartz IV has become infamous also in its name itself because the word 'Hart' without the 'z' means hardship.

The FDP also got off to a very bad start in promising tax cuts for the middle class during the campaigning, but got stuck with the senior coalition partners' pressuring them to give up on the idea, naturally after the elections.

Not too long ago, I wrote this article on why this coalition is destined to fail, and it will not be a surprise if the FDP goes back to losing power for another 11 years, after this legislative period.

The US Fails Once Again on Different Fronts in Rhetoric and Hippocracy

2009-11-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

President Obama got great reviews on how he recently 'handled' the Chinese town-hall meetings and how he explained to the Chinese the power of open criticism, and the benefits of individual freedoms in a place known for limiting them.

This from the government who refuses to hold legal reviews in open courts for the prisoners of war at Guantanamo Bay.

And rather than take leadership at the most important issue facing the world today - the state of the environment - he chose to attend the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference only if 'there was a chance of success for the collective goals.' The Climate Change Conferences in the past under George W. Bush have been nothing but a farce, especially because the United States refused to compromise on almost every issue and buried them in rhetoric. You cannot deal an issue of this size by sending in an army of consultants who are in the end only influenced by the Corporations. The Copenhagen Conference is falling on its knees before it starts due to failed leadership.

Change is far from happening when it comes to American politics.

Bundanoon, Australia Bans Bottled Water

2009-10-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

A small community of about 400 people two hours away from Sydney, has banned bottled water, in favour of tap water, in an action to take back community resources from bottled water companies who have been taking local water, bottling them, and selling them back to the community at prices above the price of petrol!

With two dissenting votes against the ban, one of the main reasons given by its supporters was, "the voluntary ban has been triggered by concerns about the carbon footprint associated with bottling and transporting the water."

"Free water fountains will be installed in the NSW village, southwest of Sydney, to replace the bottled H2O."

Not bad at all.

Dole: How a Multinational Lost Against Grassroots in Sweden

2009-10-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

'Bananas!', the new documentary film by Swedish director Frederik Gertten, details workers conditions at the Dole plantation in Nicaragua, and a lawyer's efforts to sue the company on behalf of twelve workers. The workers have been subject to poisonous chemicals used at the plantation, even though the chemicals were banned in the USA for import and the production head at the plantation stopped the production due to health concerns at the plantation. These chemicals, have, among others, known to cause insterility, kidney failure, cancer, and even the female workers who washed the clothes of the plantation workers themselves got sick.

So in comes the multinational company, Dole, and sends its hordes of lawyers to stop the film from being shown (link in German). Dole threathened the event organiser in Los Angeles that they would be taken out of the competition of the film festival if they screened 'Bananas!'.

Dole's shenanigans however and fortunately, did not go unnoticed in Sweden. A grassroots movement erupted with protests and the politicians stood up with the grassroots to support the director in case of further legal action by the company. A chain in Hamburg, Germany, also got into the act to take out the Dole fruit salad out of its products.

After getting a whiff of the negative publicity, Dole rescinded, to respect 'free speech.' Hmmm. Multinationals are starting to realize that old strong-arm methods to silence critics are not really successful these days.

As for 'Bananas!', the film has received accolades for its documentary strength.

Republican Insanity in the US: Vote Against Rape Victims

2009-10-20T03:15:00.000-07:00

This week in the USA, the Republicans once again showed their true colours that they are nothing but a masquerading front for their corporate masters. The new Democratic Senator Al Franken from Minnesota introduced an amendment on the Senate floor to protect rape victim Jamie Lee Jones, who was gang raped by the employees of KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, in Iraq, when she signed up to work in Iraq.

Jamie Lee Jones was then, through her contract with KBR, forbidden to sue KBR in the courts and is being forced to enter into arbitration because her contract says that she cannot sue in the courts. Now, let us be clear. A contract at KBR stipulates that you cannot sue the company, if you are raped or sexually abused, while at work!!! Jamie Lee was raped, forced into a CONTAINER AND LOCKED by her supervisors when she reported the rape and was not allowed to see a lawyer or phone her family.

Once Senator Franken introduced the bill, the Republican senators stepped in one by one to vote against the amendment to be able to take an employer to court. This is just insanity beyond belief!!!! These are the 'faith based, family value Republicans', who in the last few months have been caught in one sex scandal after another.

Fortunately, Jon Stewart from the Daily Show made a mockery of these idiots who voted against this amendment. There is now also a website with the photos of these 'faith based, family values Republicans' called, 'Republicans for Rape.' These Senators deserve this labeling who have no shame left.

Germany's New Coalition Tricking the German Psyche

2009-10-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

The German federal election results was about four weeks ago where the Conservatives (CDU and its sister party in Bayern CSU) agreed on a coalition government with the center-right Liberals (FDP).

The FDP promised the electorate, among other things, lower taxes even in the face of record deficits, and stronger citizen rights based on overzealous goals of the interior ministry (CDU personnel) to control the police and the military.

So, what is it the FIRST thing the new coalition proposes? Increased retirement benefits for the long-term unemployed (also known now as the infamous Hartz-IV reciepients)!!!! At first look, this looks like a complete joke based the Conservatives' and Liberals' agenda before the election.

But the FDP has slowly started to find out that the CDU government is watering down every proposal the FDP has put forward, partly due to record deficits but mostly to exert its power and protect its future cabinet posts.

The German public which has expected that this new coalition will destroy all social protections in the future, were treated to a 'feel good first agreement', i.e. increase unemployment benefits. Why? Because the coalition wants to push the other topics off the agenda, since they are impossible to agree upon and at the same time start off with a 'feel good' PR campaign to calm down the public and also further weaken the the Socialist party (SPD) which is now part of the opposition.

The future plans of this coalition? Water down the protections of the employed with easier hiring and firing, strong interior ministry and more tax cuts for the wealthy. No one has really learned anything from the disastrous tax-cut policies from America, implemented with perfection under the Bush administration.

But a PR campaign to start off - now there is a new trick!!!!

Germany Moves to the Right

2009-09-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU coalition will form a new government with the center-right liberals (FDP), based on today's federal election results in Germany.

The CDU/CSU, won approx. 34% of the vote (-1.3% compared to previous election), but the center-right liberals (FDP) made up the gap and won approx. 14.6% (+4.8%). Even though these two results will not form a 50.1% majority, this combination of CDU/CSU and FDP will put them over the top based on the complex 'overflow' voting system in Germany, and send the government into a right-right coalition for the next legislative period.

The socialists (SPD) failed miserably compared to the previous elections (23%, -11.2%), and will have to be on the unaccustomed side of an opposition party from now on.

Together with the Left Party (12%, +3.2%) who has slowly been taking over the SPD votes, and the Greens (10.7%, +2.5%) who did not inspire any new voters, the opposition fraction together will have approx. 46% in the federal government.

German Federal Elections: Will 2009 Trip Up The 'Old Establishment'?

2009-09-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, the voters in Germany will decide on the next government. After months of unsubstantiated campaigning by almost all parties, except for the vehement tax cuts proposed by the pro-business liberals (FDP), this year may be the beginning of the end for the old party establishments, namely the conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the socialists (SPD).

Based on promises that the one party will not work with the other in a coalition government, it might be the year where the parties in the opposition actually become stronger for the future. Why? Let us talk about the predictions first:

Conservatives (CDU/CSU): 32%
Socialists (SPD): 27%
The Left (Linke): 13%
Bündnis 90/Grüne (Greens): 13%
Pro-business Liberals (FDP): 12%
Others: 4%

CDU/CSU had hoped to form a coalition with the FDP, but both parties have fallen off in the polls and will not achieve the 50% needed for a majority government.

SPD has attacked the Merkel government (CDU/CSU) during campaigning, although they currently are in a coalition with them. FDP has despised the CDU/SPD coalition.

The Greens will not work with a CDU/FDP combination to form a majority.

SPD refuses a coalition with the Left, even though they need another party, along with the Greens to form a majority, and are pushing for a coalition with the FDP which the FDP has refused.

Based on these refusals and denials, it might be possible that the current grand coalition will continue with the CDU and the SPD, but with a very strong opposition than never before. The Left is slowly eating away votes of the SPD sympathisers (see earlier articles in archives on the demise of the SPD) and the FDP is getting stronger based on voter discontent. Or the SPD may be able to coax the FDP to be in a coalition government with the Greens, but with an opposition from the CDU and the Left it will be disastrous to run a government with the big parties in opposition.

The only coalition that would guarantee stability is the current CDU/SPD coalition but no one wants this to continue.

No matter what, I say: VOTE!!!!

José Manuel Barroso is Re-elected

2009-09-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

"Idiot", "Irritating", "Calls too many times", "Idea Deficient", "Opportunist", etc. - these are the words used to describe Manuel Barroso, who has been elected a second time today as the EU commission president. And the people who use these words to describe him, are in part, the same politicians who put him there. Some, like Martin Schmidt from the social democratic party (SPD) in Germany have not been shy with their feelings and openly called him a 'dope.' (See earlier article in May 2009 archives here.)

Why? Because he is the least dangerous one to intervene in national decisions. This is the way the EU commission president is elected, so that he stays out of the way and is ineffective. Not long ago, before Barosso was put into power, the conservatives defeated a proposal to put Guy Verhofstadt, the former prime minister of Belgium and one of the most intelligent and unwavering politician of all times, into power, because they knew that he would be making too many proposals that would put some politicians in a bind and embarassing situations.

Manuel Barroso has therefore been elected by the conservative groups in the EU parliament by 382 votes. 219 members voted against him (the socialist delegations, the greens and the left) and 117 members withheld their vote. It looks like on paper that Barosso won by a wide margin, but with the abstentions, it was by 46 votes.

So congratulations, Mr. Puppet.

CASE OPEL: Lies, Deception and Political Games at Taxpayers' Expense

2009-09-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

"The Americans listened to us. Our jobs are saved! It was our idea!" Every politician in Germany is suddenly running around patting themselves on the back that they saved Opel from the hands of General Motors. OPEL-Magna, Magna-OPEL was the mantra the politicians continously chanted to brainwash the taxpayers to help themselves before the general elections on September 27th.

What exactly is the Magna-Opel deal you ask? At least € 4,5 billion guarantees from the government (=taxpayer money guarantee). What about Magna itself as a company? This same company who is supposed to save Opel, along with another questionable Russian bank consortium, had NEGATIVE earnings this year and can only guarantee € 450 million, if at all possible. I question how a company with negative earnings can get bank guarantees.

Then comes the Russian bank, Sberbank, who has until now guaranteed.... nothing!

This consortium is then supposed to work with another Russian 'car company', Gaz. Who?!!!! In an oversaturated European car market, OPEL is supposed to work with Gaz to sell cars to......Russians!!!!????

The people who are entrusted with the OPEL negotiations are themselves screaming and saying - "THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!", and these are the people who understand the nuts and bolts of number crunching.

The taxpayers will pay, yet again, after the elections, for incompetence and greed and I don't mean the companies this time around; the politians are busy patting themselves on the back for their own incompetence.

But never mind all of that, say the politicians. They will stick the taxpayers with a bill later after the elections.

Cayman Islands: Meet Karma

2009-09-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

Life can be so ironic sometimes. The bastion for hidden money is announcing that it is, gasp!, bankrupt and cannot pay its bills. The Cayman Islands, where more than 10,000 hedge funds hide their money, and countless postbox organisations are established with an estimated $ 3.2 billion in the banks (I suspect it is much more than that), is about $ 590 million in the red. Why? It has no money to pay outstanding public bills.

The Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports that, due to its policy of no direct taxes, the public debts are mounting and the Islands cannot pay its debts. The Cayman Islands are looking towards the British homeland, but Chris Bryant, the state minister to the foreign ministry, said the Islands have to change the laws to start collecting taxes.

Karma can be so cruel sometimes.

Test Time for German Federal Elections: 'Super Sunday' in Three States to Set Tone

2009-08-27T02:42:00.000-07:00

UPDATED: Conservatives Lose Big in Two States; Hold Eastern State of Sachsen

The Conservatives (CDU) lost 11 - 13% in the States of Saarland and Thüringen, forcing a change in the states' parliaments in the coming days. A higher than expected voter turnout in Saarland and Thüringen helped the Socialists (SPD) to regain some lost ground, and the Left (die Linke) increase their share of seats in double-digit percentages.

In Sachen, the Conservatives will keep the current majority and coalition; a low voter turnout was reported. The Extreme Right Wing (NPD) will also keep their seats but lost 4 percentage points.
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There are four more weeks left for the German federal elections and this Sunday, three states will have local elections that might set the tone for the federal election results.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has a lead in all three State polls, but is expected to lose the strong grip it had in the eastern State of Sachsen, in southwestern Saarland and also east-central Thüringen based on last-minute hiccups by the party concerning its now infamous minister- president, Dieter Althaus (Mr. Althaus plead guilty to the death of a woman in a skiing accident this past winter).

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the meantime is hoping to get a boost, based on last-minute hectic rhetoric, not based on any new ideas, but based on media-like accusations against the other parties for events such as the birthday 'party' given the head of the Deutsche Bank in the Chancellor's building in Berlin (stupid as it may be for the CDU/CSU to even think of doing something so preposterous close to the federal elections).

It is predicted that the Left Party (Die Linke) will form a coalition with the SPD in Saarland and Thüringen, and the CDU will hold the state with the central-right Liberals (FDP) in Sachsen.

How the Obama Administration is Losing It's "Political Capital"

2009-08-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

"I have political capital and I am going to use it" said George W. Bush when he won a second term of election and stayed on as president of the USA, in 2004. The world sighed once again in disbelief that this could happen. Then, he, but mostly vice-president Dick Cheney and his pals at the Oil and War Industry rammed through legislation to get what they wanted - the dismantling of legislation built over hundreds of years from our founding fathers, from checks and balances in the Congress of the United States, to the Senate and all the way up to the President so that he himself could not abuse powers presented him by "We, the people." The "Shock Doctrine" as the author Naomi Klein puts it, based on years of refinement of the Milton Friedman 'free market principles', were put into action with cunning smoothness and without moral recourse - illegal wars in foreign land based on corporate interests rather than genuine threats, the dismantling of due process for prisoners of war and the shameless shredding of the Geneva Conventions to pieces, to the corporate hijacking of government-based programs (Think FEMA for Katrina, "No Child Left Behind", etc.).

"Yes, we can....." These words are still ringing through my ears as I sat through the night to hear the new President, Barack Obama, accept the presidential seat of honor. "Change has come to America" he said. The world heaved a sigh of relief. Then followed the unbelievable luck, two years later, that both the Congress and the Senate majorities belonged to the Democrats.

Rather than use this new 'political capital' to undo the attrocities committed by Bush and his apathetic corporate friends, and more over, considering how much good this one-time chance of power could bring "change" to the jobless, the uninsured, the debt-ridden, the abused and the neglected, the Obama administration went on a binge to appease the Republicans in the USA. Yes, the same republicans who could not give a damn about the Democrats in Congress and the Senate and held closed-door sessions in Dick Cheney's office, are now being sought after to find, as the Obama administration puts it, 'a middle ground.'

Utter nonsense. But somewhere, somehow, within six months, the Obama team has lost control of both the message and the political capital that could do a world of good for generations to come just like when President Roosevelt siezed the reins from the corporations to implement the 'new deal.' And that from a team, whose campaign was completely controlled and whose messages promised an era of hope. "What would you want your children to say, when they look back at this point in time?" said Obama in his victory speech in Chicago. Forget the children. The Obama team is not even convincing those who elected them into power to implement change.

Framing was a powerful tool the Republicans used to push through government-abash legislation. You want to cut taxes for the rich? The Republicans called it "tax relief for most americans", never mind that the tax 'relief' was only for the rich. The dismantling of the Geneva Conventions was framed as 'Patriot Act.' Naturally, how can one be against tax relief and not be a patriot? And the media pushed the message for their Republican friends where there could be no more debate.

So what does the Obama administration do about health care? It loses already in the first steps, by not being faster than the Republicans on framing the issue. This team was supposed to be more intelligent and more battle ready than the Bush team and their cronies, based on experience!! Where everywhere else in the world, a public option for health care is a right, the Obama team cannot even control the basic messages for the most important issues facing the world and particularly the American population today.

The swagger the Bush administration used to dismantle decades of protections, be it workers' rights or prisioners captured in illegal wars, could be SO WELL used by President Obama to finally do a world of good. But he has failed miserably so far to control the financial bailout where former colleagues of Goldman Sachs worked in the Fed and the Treasury to give away billions if not trillions to their pals and no one can really track where the tax-payer funded bailout went, except as bonuses to the Goldman Sachs workers who all of sudden within a year, reported record profits!!! He has also failed to protect and reverse limitations on gay rights and is now backtracking on this issue based on pressure from 'liberal' groups. He has also not taken complete control of subsidies given to local governments where the results have yet to take effect.

If it weren't for the constant pressure from 'liberal groups', who in the end really want for everyone what is fair and just, this administration would cozy up with the Republicans to find unneeded 'compromise' which in the end is no new policy at all.

The Week of Dirty Politics, Framing and Wasted Billions

2009-08-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

The right-wing media is trying to destroy a proposal for a public healthcare option by framing the issues into unbelievable childish rhetoric, i.e. public option = euthanasia instead of care!! Intelligence was never a strong suit of the right-wing media 'journalists'.

Goldman Sachs and their friends at the Fed and Treasury are counting their bonuses based on profit that was financed by GOVERNMENT FUNDED BAILOUT, because everyone thought that the banking systems would just crumble without bailout money. I am wondering at the lackadaisical attitude of the Obama administration in wasting precious taxpayer money instead of just reining in Goldman Sachs and the banks and simply owning them, but then again, the businesses own the government in America and not the other way around.

A government car used by the health minister in Germany in part of a vacation in Spain, is being used by the center-right politicians as political fodder, even though the government accounting entity cleared the minister of any wrong-doing; never mind the FDP and its own members don't attend any European meetings, but rein in the salary afforded the European parliament.

Now there are 'indecency' talks of posters of prominent female politicians in Germany showing some of their skin, never mind the daily newspapers have naked women on front pages, or TV shows showing full nudity as daily business in Germany.

Meanwhile, unemployment climbs all over the world, and it is too late to stop climate change. Strange world we live in......

Violence Flares (Again) in France on National Day

2009-07-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

More than 300 cars were burned and destroyed on France's National Day and unrest in Paris, Lyon and other cities in France showed its ugly head again. Not too long ago I wrote this article (see archives) on how France has been ignoring the issue of integration of foreigners and unrest and civil violence is a common occurance. So it continues.......

Is the Lisbon Treaty Almost Reality Towards European Integration?

2009-07-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

The Lisbon Treaty - the hope of Euro-supporters and the scorn of anti-Europeans is gaining more and more support and could become a reality in supplanting the individual European Nations' governments when it comes to legislation and democracy.

The German courts, based on a lawsuit from Euro skeptics, recently ruled that the Lisbon Treaty does not violate the German basic constitutional law (Grundgesetz) as long as the German parliament made adjustments at the national level to have more say, meaning, that the German politicians have to actively look at every legislation change instigated by the European Union.

The pro-Europeans, who were worried that this would have been a major blow should the court have ruled that the Lisbon Treaty be changed again, Germany being one of the most important hurdles, let out a sigh of relief. And if Germany needed changes in the Lisbon Treaty, then it was back to square one for all other countries and the Euro-skeptics could have been strengthened by the ruling.

Ireland and the Czech Republic are the last holdouts from the Lisbon Treaty, which has kept the treaty from ratification. Ireland won recent concessions for the treaty and the politicians in Ireland hope that the referendum will be approved by a majority in Ireland which had previously rejected the treaty in an earlier referendum. I think, the Irish are more ready now to vote FOR the treaty also based on their economic troubles that has engulfed the country since the financial crisis and the Irish are looking for new leadership from the European Union. The Czechs want the ratification but the conservative Czech Republic politicians who have been so far against the European Union are in a holding pattern to see what happens in other countries before they ratify it.

If that is indeed the case, the Lisbon Treaty is almost 'home'. This will also mean a slow, or even a fast transition of interest from the Europeans, all 500 Million plus, to look more towards the European elections rather than the national elections, and more and more politicians will then start to promote themselves for the European parliament.

Tax Cuts in the Midst Of Record Deficits and Unemployment

2009-06-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

The German nation is losing jobs left and right, the tax intakes are at an alltime low, the country just announced that it will have to go deeper into debt next year, possibly breaking the Maastricht Treaty of strict deficit ratios, and here comes the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party in Bayern, the Christian Social Union (CSU) with a brilliant idea for the general elections - reduce taxes!

I think I am going to lose my mind or tear my hair out, really.

Is this the best idea that the Christian coalition can come up with in this economic mess? Have they not learnt anything about the tax-cut policies the Bush administration followed that the USA will take decades to recover? Sometimes I have to wonder about the IQs of these politicians. Who is going to pay for this, in addition to the budget deficits that have already accumulated and keep accumulating if less and less people are employed?

Every party except perhaps the Free Democrats (FDP), and even the most conservative newspapers are screaming for more sense, but Frau Merkel wants to win an election in September at the cost of current and future generations.

Unbelievable!!!!

Are the Greens Now the Party of the Middle Class in Germany?

2009-06-21T04:55:00.000-07:00

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is struggling to find a voice in Germany, and there are just three months left for the general elections. Not too long ago, I wrote a post on why I think the Social Democrats are headed into the cellar (see below). Latest polls indicate that the SPD, based on the disastrous results in the election for the European parliament, will receive less than thirty percent of the votes in the general elections. A staid candidate - Walter Steinmeier, just the opposite to Gerhard Schroeder who at least stirred up the public with his rhetoric, is not helping the party according to the media reports. I am not much of a media fan which steers and forms public opinion rather than reporting it, but watching Steinmeier in public speeches and interviews confirms that the party has lost its energy. The SPD has become the party for the old, the retirees, and some who still belong to workers' unions in Germany, if there is such a meaningful thing as workers' union these days. The SPD lost, due to its market friendly and worker feindly policies (Hartz IV, the policy of cutting off benefits for the terminally unemployed, in the end was the nail in the coffin for the party), any meaning of the word 'Social' that bears its name. Add to this that the SPD was too lazy to find new voters and missed the whole technological revolution to stir up new voters, but what would even the new voters vote for? Social policies that don't exist?

The Greens who had a strong showing in the European elections, are starting to become the party for the middle class, based on its themes for minimum wage, a 'no' on tax cuts and in fact a 2% tax increase for the very wealthy, investment into green economy, cutting down industry lobbying and shutting down the nuclear and coal energy sources for consumption. Even the wealthy and the middle class start to look to the Greens for alternatives that the other parties have not delivered. Educated people are starting to accept that 'green' is the best alternative for a sustainable economy and the Green party is seen as the best party to finally force changes the big parties do not have the courage to change. In a recent interview with der Spiegel Online, Jürgen Trittin, the Green party's defacto leader, clearly says why the SPD has lost ground due to its oxymoronic policies, and that the CDU has also lost 6-7% of ground which the media refuses to report, and that the FDP, even when they won some dissent votes, is dangerously running on one theme only and that is - more tax cuts!

Will the Greens become the second strongest party in Germany? Granted they won't win the 30% range this year, but looking at the demise of the SPD, they are well on their way, if not this year, in the years to come. The question to the Greens has always been - how convicted are they of their own themes or do they water it down like in the past years to just be part of a ruling coalition? It will be an interesting three months until September 2009.

German Giants Fall Like Domino Adding To Unemployment Woes

2009-06-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Arcandor the retail giant wants a handout from the government, Opel is still struggling to find a suitor that will takeover without a government handout, Hypo Real Estate (HRE) is still being pumped after an intial €50 billion infusion and there is no end in sight, and even the model train maker Märklin is about to close shop.

One by one, the German giants that started in the early 1920s and did not react to the times, are applying for bankruptcy protection or struggling to survive.

My favourite is Arcandor - the retail giant whose chains include Karstadt, World of Music, Neckermann, and also 52% of Thomas Cook the travel services company, among others, ran the holding company into the ground. At a time of short fashion cycles and high-turnovers, Karstadt remained way behind the times, still serving customers who were fascinated in the early 1950s with the 'department store'. With an incredibly heavy inventory and zero service, they hoped that customers would keep coming. And at the top, the lazy management drove it to the ground, with their own problems (the CEO is now being investigated for corruption). The workers at Karstadt and other chains, who have been there forever, now are unsure of their future. This same company tried to destroy another trusted name in Germany by trying to rename the Condor airlines (one of the most favoured airlines in Germany for holiday travel) to Thomas Cook, also because they were lazy to find out that Condor was a trusted brand in Germany. They then had to scramble to name the airline in Germany back to Condor. So much for management competence.
Update: der Spiegel is releasing an article tomorrow on the unprecented high rent paid by Karstadt chains in their sell-and-lease-back properties. One of the profiteers from this high-rent, you ask? A former Karstadt boss - Thomas Middlehoff and his wife.

Opel, is a different story. Even though they built good but not great cars compared to the other German car brands, General Motors (GM) transferred its profits back to the US, without reinvesting into Germany to keep up with the quality of the other brands. A pity, Opel was just beginning to make new models that were becoming attractive to more and more customers, the Zafira being a model example. Now Opel is scrambling to find another partner, the workers not sure of what the future will bring.

The politicians are playing the game - the CDU/CSU are leaning into letting the companies go into bankruptcy protection, the SPD due to the election year, wants the government to intervene. Nobody really wants to talk about the actual motive of the CDU government - allowing the companies go into bankruptcy lets the companies get rid of workers that have been at these companies for years and years which is normally impossible, and the workers' protections can be thrown away. The media is thrown the line 'the government should not intervene', but in their own cunning way, the CDU/CSU remain true to their anti-worker agenda.

Who is next?

European Elections: The Big Parties Lose Seats, Rightists and Conservatives Gain, Turnout Too Low

2009-06-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Updated: All Over Europe, Socialists Lose Support. An Oxymoronic Reaction?
Germany, Spain, Austria, Hungary, France.....all over Europe, the socialists were punished at the European polls. The economic crisis and the ever increasing unemployment ranks have the people frustrated at the 'socialist' parties. Never mind that the CDU/CSU for example have been in power in Germany, or in France, the center-right. Is this a dangerous reaction? If social parties are being punished, would that not mean that the rightist parties would destroy more of the 'social themes'? Is this an oxymoronic reaction? There is no right answer, nor a right party, but an anti-social vote due to social unrest? Hmmm.....

The turnout all over Europe is reported to be under 40%; apathy at the European parliament and their non-visible themes are some of the reasons being mentioned for a low turnout.
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German European Election Results

Conservatives lose 6%, Socialists show worst result ever, Greens hold, Center-right (FDP) gains.

In local elections, the Greens win an important city in Germany (Stuttgart) from the Conservatives (CDU) based largely in part that the ruling CDU wanted to spend taxpayers' money on an unnecessary underground main train station that no one really wanted.

The socialists meanwhile have a long uphill battle in the federal elections in September 2009 (see related article below on German Elections).

The Audacity of Ryan Air

2009-06-02T05:05:00.000-07:00

The airline that thinks of charging passengers extra for almost everything, including a concept of extra charges to use the lavatories during flight, is now thinking of another audacious concept - buying Lufthansa Airlines of Germany. A self-proclaimed 'world's favourite airline', and I wonder which 'world' participated in that survey, Ryan Air who just announced a € 162 million loss for last year, wants to look into buying Lufthansa.

I am wondering if someone at Ryan Air has gone bonkers, or if this is just one of those crazy 'feelers' sent out into the market to see the reaction. People at Ryan Air better go back to the drawing board and prepare themselves for a political and media onslaught from Germany. Lufthansa is for the Germans, a holy grail, a national pride.

If the anglo saxons, especially when Ryan Air had so much trouble in Germany with the law to rename Frankfurt Airport on Ryan Air's schedule to Frankfurt-Hahn, want to take over the German airline at a time when the economic mess has been pointed to overreach of anglo saxon greed, they better put some body armour on.

The European Parliament - An Example of Toothless 'Government'

2009-05-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

In just under a week, most of the European countries go to the polls to elect representatives to the European parliament. The typical turnout is around 30-35% in each country for these elections. Could it be that this low turnout is because of apathy because no one really understands what the parliament does, other than representatives going back and forth to Brussels or Strasbourg to show attendance, or is the public also aware that whatever the representatives promise during an election year, it is still the heads of the each country who decide what happens behind closed doors and the European parliament.

Every other election in the world decides, based on party majority, who becomes president or head of the government. But not here. The heads of the countries still decide behind closed doors who the puppet head of the European parliament should be based on their own national interests. Such is the case with the current puppet, Manuel Barosso. No one, including the members of the parliament members want this puppet there, because of his ineffectiveness to implement policy based on representation in the parliament.

Martin Schultz, one of my favourite politicians, who went head to head with Berlusconi to the point where Berlusconi called him a Nazi in front of the parliament, is on a mission to change this 'puppet policy.' He wants the European government, if it should be effective, to design policy for the whole of Europe based on representation, without national interventions behind closed doors and backroom deals.

It is no wonder the Euro has become the achilles heel for the monetary policy of each country, since national interests precede European interests at every step. Denmark and Sweden were bold enough to reject the Euro in a referendum exactly for these reasons. I hope they hold their position, because the Euro was introduced to introduce cheap labour across the continent and to break local protections that were good for a sustainable economy.

The Dollar: Irreversible Decline?

2009-05-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

The United States is printing money like no tomorrow to cover its debts. The Chinese are worried that the dollar will continue to fall and are starting to diversify their debt financing, a nd are starting to use the Yuan for trading between Hong Kong and Mainland instead of the greenback.

Recent remarks by the Chinese to introduce a basket of reserves, instead of just the dollar as the default currency, have not helped the dollar, nor have the federal policies for a strong dollar which really cannot be controlled if wars, debts and borrowing of the last eight years have to be financed. Less demand for US debt will also mean, higher interest rates have to be offered for them to be attractive, and you continue on toward a downward spiral of accrued national debt.

The dollar has continuously declined against the Chinese Renminbi, from a high of 8 to 1 to the current 6,82 level. Will China's currency slowly take over as global reserve?

German Elections 2009: A Precarious Year

2009-05-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are unhappy with all political parties, or at least the main ones, in Germany? You vote for the others or don't go to the voting booth. The 'others' in this case are either, the brutally pro-business center-right liberals (FDP) or the left with dissident SPD members or former communists (PDS/die Linke), or the Greens.

It is election year in Germany. Not only do people go to the polls for the regional state elections which sends representatives to the Federal Parliament (Bundestag), but they also vote for the European parlimentary representatives from Germany. When all is said and done, these representatives will then vote for a new (if) German President and a new (if) Chancellor.

With so much at stake, considering the current economic conditions, why would anyone not go to the voting booth? Because no party really fixes the problems - that is the general mood in Germany, especially this year. With the jobless rates currently hovering around 8,6 % (the number is much much higher around 13% if you consider all the people who have been pushed into so-called 'one Euro jobs' subsidized by the government to get them off of the unemployment statistics).

And if you don't have jobs, you are not part of the workers' unions, and the businesses then dictate the rules. And the fewer the unions, the lesser the support for the 'social party', the SPD. The SPD started committing suicide when Gerhard Schroeder and the party started embracing the pro-market economics and theories that has brought us here, starting with the Euro. I keep coming back to the Euro, my favourite topic, hmmm. Now seeing that the party is in an uncontrollable erosion, the politicians from the SPD having been all of a sudden talking about 'social' topics. And every time I hear them speak, I start laughing.

The CDU and its chancellor in the meantime don't have much work on their hands this year, really. As long as the SPD is eroding, and the FDP gets the dissension votes, the CDU can sit back, relax and rub its hands together. Because even if people don't go to the polls, it will be the SPD who will come out battered and bruised. The CDU and their sister party CSU in Bayern have won all state elections except for five states in the past.

The Greens, who were the most vocal party starting with the radical left wing politics during the 1980's, lost their voice addressing topics that really needed to be taken care of to avoid economic disaster - less dependence on oil, unnecessary wars (and by the way, want to know one of the biggest exports of Germany? Weapons.), environmental responsibility and alternative fuels, social and corporate responsibility, etc. I actually wrote an Email to the Green Party to ask them why they seem to have gone into hiding with the themes that matter and are only talked about as a party that helps form a coalition government. They were kind enough to respond and sent me their program (see the PDF on their website), that was part of the European parliament program.

If the FDP (even when they don't win a single state with direct candidates, they get what is called a party vote as a second vote - a 'überhang mandat') gets enough of the 'überhang mandats' they could literally form a coalition alone with the CDU, and send the SPD into never-never land. Current opinion polls can put the CDU together with the FDP over the 50% hurdle. I don't think this will happen, especially if the CDU has to pass resolutions or laws with a meagre majority, but it is a remote possibilitiy. I think the SPD will just squeeze by to maintain the current coalition but I think the SPD will lose further influence in the government due to the allocation of the seats based on the direct candidates and party votes.

These are precarious times. I hope the people still have some sense to vote, and not based on dissension, but based on where do we want to go from here knowing fully well what got us here.

Frankfurt Airport: Hegemony, Power and Abuse

2009-04-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

In the past few years, I have traveled in and out of Frankfurt Airport and followed its development and controversies. It is time to vent.

Upto the year 1949, Frankfurt airport was a regional airport, and was dwarfed by Heathrow, Amsterdam, and Paris, in terms of the number of passengers and take-offs and landing. It was only in 1960 when Lufthansa made Frankfurt its hub, did the airport see growth in traffic. In 1981, the airport, at that time, Flughafen AG, had already started plans to build a west-side runaway, and met with protests from the community.

Flughafen AG then started getting greedy. This beautiful article titled- "Flughafen Frankfurt - Eine Landebahn für Deutschland" details how a company 'Flughafen AG' was turned into a public-private enterprise to get around the small details of accountability to the community and environment and how the politicians all played the game of 'don't speak, don't hear.'

After the debacle with the west-side runaway in 1981, now Fraport AG, listed on the stock exchange, got braver and decided to expand to the northwest side, with another new runaway, in the forest area of Kelsterbach. The small community of Kelsterbach brought 2000 signatures, double the amount required to start a debate to the mayor to stop the environmental destruction. The mayor expressed a desire to start discussion without telling them that the contract with Fraport had already been signed and the forest area had already been sold to Fraport for € 30 million. And oh, the € 30 million will be used to fight environmental noise reduction initiative. I am thinking - "Excuse me?!!! How about stopping it in the first place if environment was the main concern?!!!!" The story of Kelsterbach and its residents is very sad, whose citizens tied themselves to the trees until the last tree was being chopped down. More sad, is how politics and money just rammed through the expansion and how most of the media kept quiet about the story. And I love it when the media can only say - "delay of the expansion will cost Fraport a few million and bring negative results to its earnings."

Then there was the issue of a chemical plant, Ticona, which was on the take-off and landing path which had to be solved to get a green light. When you can't win the round, you just buy them out. The chemical plant will close in 2011 and its workers and location moved so that Fraport has a green light against the last remaining hurdles. Ticona will get € 650 million to move, the families and workers who are displaced be damned.

The CDU with its ethics 'king', Roland Koch, were in charge and ignored all scandals and protests. Why would you, if the city of Frankfurt and the State of Hessen, at the same time, had a 52% share of the Fraport stock? Isn't that already a conflict of interest, rights and the law be damned?

The head of Fraport, Wilhelm Bender, not only boasted about the listing on the stock exchange and its partnership with the government, but also sits on the board of the Airports Council International (ACI) whose job it is to increase 'trade.' I doubt if he is interested in environmental issues.

I also found it interesting that the Swiss Consulate (no I am not kidding) published an article on why Fraport was important to the State of Hessen. Why would the Swiss get involved? Is it because the Swiss billionaire Julias Bär holds a 10% share in Fraport? Or that Lufthansa, which saved Swiss Air by buying up its bankrupt assets, is also a majority shareholder with 10% invested in Fraport?

There was just 2% of growth in passengers in the year 2005. For 2% of growth in one year, the ends seem to justify the means to destroy the environment around the airport, displace people and companies and increase its power at all costs. This report shows the growth of dangerous gases in the air around Frankfurt (see particularly figures 9 and 16), and that was even before the expansion. And oh, by the way, no matter how many runaways or how much money Frankfurt airport has, good luck landing on time there, or finding a clean toilet.

I am still wondering however why the European commission and the courts have not brought up monopoly charges against Fraport and Lufthansa, even though separately from Fraport, Lufthansa has recently been informed of anti-competition review by the European commission. I am definitely not convinced that Fraport is expanding because of the growth of traffic. 2% growth per year can be handled with the current runaways. I am wondering if Fraport wants to wipeout Amsterdam (which has slowed down) and Paris, and stop Munich from competing against it. The ultimate prize will be bringing down Heathrow airport, naturally.

This diagram shows how many more communities will be affected with the addition of the new runaway. As you sit in a plane before take-off or after landing, the airport reminds you of these words with banners - "Hessen - Nobody Gets Around Us", meaning Hessen is geographically central to all of Germany. Considering Fraport's arrogance so far, I wonder if they are trying to say "bring it on."

South Africa At a Crossroad

2009-04-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

If current indications hold, Jacob Zuma will win the South African elections on April 22nd 2009, with a runaway majority. There are no real competitors to the de-facto leader of the African National Congress (ANC). Some parties have tried to show resistance but are either regional (Western Cape with Helen Zille) or the dissidents of the former ANC who never really grew as a real opposition due to fractionalisation within the parties.

There are mixed reviews about Jacob Zuma becoming the next president - some say that he is business friendly and also pays closer attention to the needs of the country's poorest, and others who think he is nothing but a crook and zealot based on recent accusations of anti-corruption. The ANC has also been accused of arrogance and profiteering under the leadership of the current president, Thabo Mbeki and say that the investigations into Zuma's corruption charges were politically motivated. There have been other instances where Zuma has publicly made inflammatory remarks towards the AIDS epidemic, and was also charged with rape but was later acquitted.

Then there are the different factions of 'haves' and 'have-nots', who think that the ANC has ignored the Africans and that Zuma will be a voice for the lower class who have been left behind.

I myself was in South Africa not too long ago and although my trip was short, I noticed more of the have-nots, rather than the 'haves' amongst the native Africans. People still are driven from private enterpreneurs to work in truckloads from the townships that lay near the Airport in Cape Town, or elsewhere, without any form of meaningful public transportation, towards the city.

The 'haves', and I include now the people of colour other than black - I won't call them white because even my daughter would correct me that white is not a colour - meanwhile come out of their guarded gates and compounds with the security cameras, go to work, go back home and be secluded again. Security is a big business in South Africa, all of the 'haves' have them unless you live in the townships.

The question is - will South Africa remain stable for business after Zuma's election, or will corruption (until now only accused) engulf the country and send its currency, the Rand, into a freefall? Nobody really knows what Zuma will deliver, other than his speeches about his roots and heritage. But more importantly, even after 20 years since apartheid was brought down in South Africa, the lives of many of the native South Africans remain miserable and the secluded lives of the 'haves' and 'have nots' continue. How much longer will South Africa need to make security business the last option for the 'haves'?

The Debate About The German Solidarity Tax

2009-04-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Federal Republic of Germany is officially a Sozialmarktwirtschaft, translated, a social market economy. And any time the people of Germany are forced to pay taxes for the good of the many, the majority usually grudgingly accept the burden without complaining too much. In such cases, even a referendum is not offered to the people for voting. Such was also the case with the introduction of the Euro in Germany, although the good for the many in this case is very questionable.

The year 1991 was such a year, when after the Berlin wall came down, the solidarity tax was introduced as a supplement to Article 106 Paragraph 1 Nr. 6 Constitutional Law, to 'better the lives for the good of the many'. Although most western Germans did not like it, they accepted it. What was however interesting, even for that time when the tax was introduced, was, it explicitly said, the use of such tax is not limited to the unification. The other reasons given were, among others, the Gulf War, and the support of middle, east and southern Europe.

Nearly 18 years have passed and the Germans, and to be fair, both former east Germans and west Germans, continue to pay this tax. The German government in the meantime rakes in between €13 - €14 billion (milliarden in German) per year, based on a 5,5% tax rate, on all income taxes. In the meantime, this total intake has gone over the €180 billion range since its introduction.

In 2009, the government got more aggressive and extended this solidarity tax on all capital gains, as part of the capital gains tax. What is also interesting with this 'law', was that, compared to all other taxes where the states and the federal government take their share of tax intakes, the solidarity tax is NOT shared by the states, meaning the federal government alone has the disposition of the use of this tax, no questions asked from the states in the Federal Assembly (Bundesrat). The finance minister Peer Steinbruck can use this tax intake, to not only build roads and bridges in the east where no cars are driven, but also to balance his budget or 'assist' other bankrupt states or countries.

What is frustrating for the German taxpayer is - there is absolutely no visibility on where this tax money is going or being spent. The states are also frustrated that they cannot use part of this money to balance their budgets or pay interests on their ballooning debt due to a worsened economy.

Where there is always pain, there are also opportunists knocking at the door, and sometimes even the law catches up to the mistakes made in the past.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in southwestern Germany is suddenly starting to ask questions, after all these years of course. I am guessing that their motive is to gain more voters, based on a 'no-brain populist agenda', in this year's regional and federal elections and of course the west Germans are more likely to vote against the solidarity tax than the east Germans, even if ALL Germans pay this tax on their incomes. I am not certain if the CDU politics will change this tax intake, but the law certainly might. Since 2006, a legal review has been started in the courts, supported by the Organisation of the German Taxpayers (Bund der Steuerzahler), to challenge this law. Some legal and economic experts are also challenging this additional tax just as they also question the support provided the big German carmakers or the credit assistance for medium enterprises. The federal government has jumped in, in a media blitz, to stop the legal review from going forward.

Last year, the federal courts decided that it was illegal for the government to stop the tax-credits for people who had until two years ago claimed deduction for costs related to the kilometers driven to work. The federal government had to retroactively send tax rebate checks to these commuters. Since the solidarity tax was introduced at a time where reunification was important, without any term-limits for the tax, and the states whose representation at the federal level is sacrosanct but in this case is not, the law will ultimately decide whether opportunistic politics in this year has indeed triumphed. Peer Steinbruck better start building some reserves and an alternate budget plan. Those times for roads to nowhere may soon come to an end.

Is Iran's President Ahmadinejad Crazy or Coherant and Intelligent? You Decide.

2009-04-12T14:21:00.001-07:00

The magazine der Spiegel recently inteviewed Iranian President Ahmadinejad. As I read this interview, I was wondering the following -

1) the magazine is dropping its journalistic standards or
2) if the President of Iran is crazy like most of the 'world' would like us to believe or
3) a teacher and professor in Iran who became President is actually coherant and intelligent

As I read through the interview, President Ahmadinejad actually makes valid points, such as that the permanent members of the UN Security Council were put in place 60 years ago, at the end of WWII and it needs to be changed to reflect the realities of the modern world.

Sometimes I also laughed at the questions, and the answers, when it came to Iranian representatives meeting Italian politicians, or where America should be investing its money.

President Ahmedinejad also points out on why the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was created - so that nuclear powers would disarm - but instead is acting on instructions from some nations to constantly ask Iran to obey, rather than also grant Iran rights as ALSO a member of the IAEA.

If you have by now guessed what my answers from the multiple choices above would be, well, you are right.

Are France's Integration Issues About to Burst?

2009-04-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, France experiences a sensational story and unfortunate incidents of violent protests against its policies of integration and immigration, and mostly against police brutality.

The incidents are reported and watched by the world, and within a week, as is the problem these days with short-term memory and politicized news, the story disappears until the next protest bursts onto the scene. There seems to be however a pattern here, without a long-term solution offered by the social and political 'elites' to solve the problem of social integration.

Case in point - Just in the year 2005 between October and December, in the space of 20 nights, 8973 vehicles were burned and 2,888 arrests were made. The triggering event was an alleged chase by the police of two teenages and their consequent deaths after the chase. The subsequent comments by candidate Sarkozy of a 'zero tolerance policy' and 'scum' did not help quell the restlessness but provided more fodder to the violence and to the fear of a 'police state'. The French media even admitted to censoring the riots to soften the influence of right-wing politics in France. These riots were followed by the riots in 2007 in Val-D'Oise following the death of two teenages on a motorcycle followed by the police and the 2007 Gare du Nord riots when violence broke out in a subway station following an argument between authorities and teenagers over an unpaid ride in a subway.

The youth riots sometimes get reported. There are many more integration issues that France is confronting including the violence against women in socially depressed areas. A recent article in the magazine der Spiegel tells a story of a teenage girl, Belayni, whose body was more than 70% burned, because she did not want to marry a teenage boy and the boy simply followed her in his car, confronted her in an empty parking lot, poured kerosene on her and lit a match. Even though this story has brought a lot of attention toward cultural integration and women's rights in France, there are thousands of such stories that go untold.

Politicians in France are quick to point the fingers at whoever is in power, even if the party that lost power is also to blame, since these riots happen year after year, no matter who is in power. The socialists haven't really been true to their principles when it comes to integration of foreigners. It goes to show that France is ignoring a lot of these integration problems over too many years. A cabinet position has been created in the Sarkozy government to deal with cultural and social issues and a French woman born to Algerien parents, Fadela Amara, is supposed to tackel these issues. Given the enormous burden that Ms. Amara faces of years of neglect, I doubt that there will be much improvement seen here, until the next government comes along to pass on the buck.

France better wake up to its problems and start at the basic processes of integration and social justice, before this problem escalates into catastrophic proportions. It won't be too long before the 'one big riot per year' starts picking up in frequency.

The G20 Summit - A Circus In the Making

2009-03-31T03:21:00.000-07:00

The year 2009 may mark the beginning of dissent at the event which is normally no more than a photo-op for world leaders. In the past years the countries have agreed to basically nothing as long their economies were growing and their companies and banks were booking record profits (and the banks at least on paper).

The mood has soured at the event in 2009 - from France's president Sarkozy threatening a walkout to Brazil's D'Silva calling the current problems created by 'white people with blue eyes' to Germany's Merkel 'nuking' the talks before America's Obama arrives on the scene. I am sure however the 'nuking' term was spread to push someone's agenda - Merkel only wanted to bring back sense into jump-start investments, but of course if you don't agree with the anglo-saxons like in the past, you have already nuked the talks. China in the meantime is asking for a new global trading currency to replace the dollar.

While one country thinks that the economy can be prodded with new government spending, the other thinks that it will create future problems to government budgets that could bring currency devaluations. Der Spiegel has an in-depth article about the circus, also known as the G20 Summit, that is now taking place in London, which in the end will probably bring no results. Why? The world has changed since George W. Bush took office and let the banking systems and regulations of checks and balances go to hell. Greed took over beyond unimaginable means in one part of the world, while more countries like China, Brazil and India started gaining wealth. The G20 can no longer be ruled by agendas from the anglo-saxons or even the western Europeans, because when China owns your debt, can you tell them what to do?

Maybe it is not so bad that countries and leaders do not want to follow the path of the past - their economies and people are demanding much more than short-term profits - and give in to the anglo-saxon demands. The threats of trade tariffs and restrictions would have worked in the past, but neither America nor the United Kingdom, with their crushing debts, will dominate the G20 summit. The cards have been mixed and there are new power-players at the poker game.

It is terribly crushing to lose jobs regardless of where a person is in the world, but it is a point in time where everyone has to think what got us here - the insatiable greed of the few to the detriment of the many. It is also time to get governments control and regulate the financial markets to the point where a flourishing middle-class was the key to economic stability. The philosopher Peter Sloterdijk recently mentioned in the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (FAZ) it is unimaginable that the governments are thinking of infusing money so that people can go out and spend rather than learning to live with what we have for a sustainable future.

Food for thought.

Audi: The Stroke of Genius and Pure Luck

2009-03-27T04:16:00.001-07:00

Upto the year 2007 and into early 2008, Audi was an anomaly in the luxury car market. It could not quite get out of the 'extension of Volkswagen and built on the same Volkswagen assembly line' labeling. BMW and Mercedes and Porsche had ruled the luxury car market, even though Audi's share in Germany and Europe was quite acceptable.

Then in 2007, the engineers at Audi came up with new designs and better and faster motors, that could keep up with the 'other fast cars' on the German autobahn. In the year where the share of the luxury car market slumped at all brands, Audi somehow escaped this trend, which was quite surprising. The year 2009 may tell a different story if the finance crisis has finally caught up also at Audi, but I expect their sales to decline only a little if at all. People are finally seeing Audi as sexy cars. The new designs boast better curve lines and innovative ideas for headlights that can now immediately be tied to the Audi brand.

Then Audi hit a stroke of luck. Porsche got into a battle with Volkswagen (VW) on the number of shares it can own at VW, and what that would do to the Audi brand. Why is this important? Think about it. VW worker unions and those at Audi were concerned that Porsche would eliminate some Audi models because they would directly compete with Porsche!!!! This would be a dream for anyone in the marketing department who had worked years to get the Audi brand out of the VW association. What a gift!!! In a single stroke, Audi is now being compared to Porsche models, instead of VW - the people's car. Now, perhaps without getting too cocky, Audi can start raising prices when the economy picks up, because people think it is an extension of Porsche!

In the meantime, BMW and Mercedes are thinking of committing suicide in the long-term by agreeing to share some of the purchasing and procurement functions, and probably also car development in the long-term. The engineering departments at BMW and Mercedes are completely against this latter part, and I hope that this will not happen. BMW and Mercedes are completely different cars.

I always disliked Audi, because when I sit in one, it gives me the feeling of 'a room without a view', no pun intended. But, I may actually think about looking into one again now.

Unconsciously Supporting Extreme Right-Wing Through Fashion?

2009-03-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

A little article in the Berliner Zeitung caught my eye today, and it might be that without knowing whom or which groups we are supporting when we buy clothes, we might be indirectly helping extreme right-wing groups and financing their agendas.

At first sight, the logo Thor Steinar looks like any ordinary logo, like a Polo or Hilfiger logo on the shirt you may buy. But what was interesting is that Thor Steinar is linked, according to the Constitutional protection laws in Germany, to extreme right-wing groups. I would have never guessed it had I not read about it. The question is, how many of us check the constitutional guidelines or laws, before falling into such a situation? Lonsdale, Consdaple? Ever know that these brand names are also linked to extreme right-wing groups and agendas? A friend of mine alerted me that when you cover parts of this name with an open jacket, the letters 'nsd' are visible for the National Social Democrats a.k.a. the extreme right wing party which is why they are popular. Fred Perry is another brand that is loved by extreme right-wing groups although they say that Fred Perry is trying to clean up its image, but who knows?

Buyers Beware!

Are Germany's Conservatives Charting a New Course to Join the Center-Right Liberals?

2009-03-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

So the political war against each other in the Grand Coalition in Germany has begun. The SPD and the CDU fractions are at war with each other and starting to point fingers on every front possible.

Last week, it was the SPD who stuck their heads in the sand, when finance minister Peer Steinbruck started calling the Swiss, a bunch of Indians, for their banking secrecy policies. The CDU and their sister party CSU in Bayern, immediately distanced themselves from the SPD and started supporting the Swiss stance, even though it should be in everone's interest to collect missing tax revenues in these tough economic times, rather than playing into the media's hands, but isn't that what politics is all about these days?

And just yesterday the parties started attacking each other on policy disagreements, ranging from a new organisation of a job center for managing jobless claims, to the way the CDU leadership has reacted to the financial crisis which just managed to shock everyone by abstaining itself out of talks that the government should intervene and own part of Opel to save it from collapse.

It seems that the early campaigning for next year's regional elections have started and it already looks like the 11th round in a boxing match. The CSU and its opportunistic leader Seehofer recently suggested the SPD leave the Union if they don't like it.

Why this war all of a sudden? The SPD is at its lowest approval levels with voters like never before. How can a social party survive when joblessness is at its highest levels and working unions are weaker than ever? And Guido Westerwelle and the center-right liberals (FDP) with their opportunistic policies are seeing a high from disgruntled voters like never before. The CDU and the FDP have always wanted to work together, but the FDP could never get enough votes to form a coalition government with the bigger CDU. So it seems that there is a coordinated effort, especially when the FDP just called for earlier elections to sieze the momentum. The FDP also made major gains in the recent regional elections in Hessen, where disgruntled voters punished the SPD and also the CDU by giving their votes to the FDP.

The other parties, the Greens and the Left, still haven't figured out where they stand with their policies and seem to be used by all major parties only when needed to form a majority coalition rather than based on policy agreements.

The bigger question to the German voters remains - is this exactly what you want in these economic situations? A business minded CDU and a even brutally direct pro-business FDP to chart the course, that brought us to this stage in the first place? Mindboggling to say the least.

The Cosmetic Fixes to the Structural Financial Problems

2009-03-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

Taxpayer money is being thrown at companies to address the global financial crisis, but no one really is addressing any of the structural problems that got us here.

Europe, and Germany in particular is at least asking for concepts from the companies (E.g. Opel) before they agree to provide assistance, but HRE has somehow escaped this scrutiny; somehow it always seems that the Financial and Real Estate companies get what they want and taxpayer money disappears into a black hole and the auto industries must provide concepts. To date, HRE has received upto € 100 Billion in loan guarantees from the German Taxpayers' coffers in return for some insurance on assets. But up to now, no one really wants to talk about what got us here.

That the Obama administration is doing the same with AIG or other banks is another example. Everyone is talking about bonuses paid out at AIG but no one really wants to bring the speculators and brokers to justice, who pokered off the savings of millions of people, or address the structural issues of regulation and oversight. The next mess where this administration will be throwing money at will be the credit card industry, although the problem got ignored by both democrats and republicans over the years.

Coordinated help throughout the European economy has hit roadblocks due to national interests and also has the achilles heel of a single currency.

We will be in this downturn for a long time, if we continue to try to make cosmetic changes to serious structural issues. It is too late for Iceland and Ireland. Germany and Austria better react with the proper measures or we will see this situation get worse.

The surprise candidates that are doing well? Greece, Turkey and Spain, according to some banking reports. Yes, indeed. The economies that were seen as weak, are now the stars that have avoided the financial problems that the rich countries are experiencing. Why? They stayed away from Euro-denominated loans and/or were probably smarter not to take too many risks. There is still hope for Europe. Only 15-20% of assets provided as loans to central and eastern Europe are seen as bad assets, which amounts to about € 70 Billion of bad assets. Considering the amounts thrown at their own companies in Germany and Austria, the eastern European problem is a radar blip for these countries.

The Beginning of the End for Banking Secrecy?

2009-03-13T08:32:00.001-07:00

Ever since the US arm of the UBS banking group, got into trouble with the US authorities (and the only reason this started I think is because UBS had a branch in Florida, USA) who were sending their rich clients' wealth to Switzerland to avoid US taxes, the air of national pride in Switzerland of its banking strength seems to be coming out.

The US authorities sued UBS and the Swiss bank bowed to their pressures to reveal the names of these clients, which under normal Swiss banking laws would not have been necessary or would have been illegal. Now the government of Switzerland is saying it will respond to future disclosures only if the requests are concrete and specific enough. Huh? Oh, let me see. So as long as I make this specific enough I will get the information anyway. So is this a way of saying - "we are giving up"? It certainly looks that way.

On the one hand, it is a relief and a testimonial to all those people and their countries, who under the regimes of dictators have lost enormous wealth, to tax havens such as Switzerland, and have themselves had to live in extreme poverty and abuse and still do. Then there are those rich clients whose tax monies could have built infrastructure and schools and financed retirement to the benefit of the many rather than only a few. I have always had an uneasy feeling about Switzerland's monetary policies and its immigration and naturalization rules for foreigners. I mean on the one hand you could put your sometimes 'dirty' money in Switzerland quietly without having been asked too many questions, since that would raise the standard of living for most Swiss citizens, but if you yourself wanted to live there, then the citizens would decide on a community level if you are 'the right person' for the community and country. Hmmm.... Don't get me wrong, Switzerland is a nation of a lot of immigrants and the Swiss are wonderful people, but I have had troubles with its policies.

Ironic is that, many countries, especially the rich western countries are looking for ways to collect missing tax revenues in the view of slowdown of business of their corporations in a declining global economy. France even warned Switzerland that it will go on its blacklist, along with Luxembourg and Austria who have now signed on to reveal their foreign clients' banking data. Will this be the end of tax havens? Maybe the downturn of the global economy brings some good news after all, if this turns out to be the nail in the coffin for banking secrecy.

The Economic Meltdown - Who is in charge?

2009-03-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

So much has been made of the economic meltdown - die Finanzkrise - was the word of the year 2008 and will probably take on the title again in 2009. The problem however started, I think, when the money could not be tracked or regulated anymore among global transactions and banks, especially when the success of each country, and unfortunately, the future of their political leaders, depended on the value of the stock market. In a sense, everyone wanted to be a CEO of something. Debates in politics, especially in Germany, which people used to watch attentively in their favourite public channels ARD or the politics channels such as Phoenix, became a media event in the form of talk shows, with not much substance, but a struggle of PR campaigns for the one party or the other. This is rather unfortunate for the people of Germany, who were, and still sometimes are good at tracking the progress of their parties and what they implement.

But as money dried out - people started having less and less - 'the TEURO' (literally meant as the expensive currency) being one of the main reasons which I will get to in another posting - in the form of contributions to these political parties, their lobbies started drying up too. No one can honestly say that the middle class in Germany has a coordinated lobby. The doctors and nurses do; the Bahn employess do, the service industry although not so powerful with Verdi, still does ok; the public employees are well represented; the IG Metall, one of the most powerful ones whose membership has declined ever since jobs either got shipped overseas or people just got too afraid to confront the CEOs or were part of the game (E.g. the now famous Brazilian Prostitution scandal involving people who were supposed to represent the Unions). The middle class, as a whole, does not have a collective lobby. If that was the case, we probably never would have seen the introduction of the Euro in Germany (or elsewhere).

Back to the point - the politicians are afraid of their careers and to some extent losing out the contribution of industries to their regions, the CEOs and the Bankers come up with new complex formulas to raise their bonuses based on crunched numbers that no one can possibly figure out, and most if not all, have SOME money invested in savings, bonds and stocks, and expect higher returns year after year. Can we imagine not to own any stocks or bonds? What would happen if everyone declined to own stocks and bonds? Not possible, correct? After all we are all looking for some sort of financial cushion when we retire. So who is to blame? Can the politicians tell the CEOs what to do, seriously?

I remember still not as far back as 1997 or 1998 when Unions used to bring Germany (and Europe) to a standstill, if there was even talk about a salary or bonus cut, especially when it came to holiday and vacation payouts. So what happened?

All of the above, plus, yes, I blame the media also in Germany, in playing a role of de-sensibilising the population on bad news. If you repeat bad news over and over again, before they happen, the sense of shock and outrage is taken out, the people expect it to happen, and they don't crowd the streets anymore. But the slow death of the Unions and the power of the companies in these bad economic times to dictate the rules, has accelerated the meltdown of living and economic standards of the majority of the population.

Things have to change, from the bottom-up, just as Germany is designed into the smallest unit of self-regulation - die Kommunen - and go back up to the politicians to bring back the 'Sozial' part in Sozialmarktwirtschaft that they proudly claim.

Funny that at this bad turn, the FDP, yes the same group that are pro-business with liberal fiscal policies to help companies, are gaining in the elections because the people have just given up on the old parties and giving the dissatisfaction votes to the FDP. An irony, indeed.

Introduction

2009-03-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Living in Germany, I plan to blog mostly on German and European developments, but will also have posts on US politics, since the one is not independent of the other; and since my German is not quite up to the writing standards in the open, I will start this blog in English and then at some point switch to German or have a mix of both.

The aim of my blog will be similar to other progressive blogs in the US - to give the community a chance to steer politics rather than watch it happen as an outsider. For too long have politicians and businesses taken away the control of lives for today's and of the future generation, from the people where it belongs.

Welcome to all those who land here and constructive feedback is always welcome.