Post photo: Winter landscape | © Pixabay
Table of Contents
New Year
I hope you had a good start into the new year! My better half and I were amazed at how many firecrackers and rockets our neighbors hoarded. We were even more amazed when the firecrackers ran out and the neighbors suddenly drew their alarm guns and, just like in the Wild West, went hunting for all sorts of animals.
If our neighbors had just completed their military service instead of weeping and hypocritically shirking all responsibility, they would not have to humiliate themselves so much and could face the New Year with a proud look like adults.
Presidency
Actually, today I wanted to write something about the French Presidency myself, but then my news feed brought me an article by Helga Schmidt flushed from the ARD studio in Brussels into the inbox [website no longer available], which reflects this problem quite well.
As much as I like to applaud all pro-European actions, I must always warn that we should not make the mistake of renaissance of European nationalism, and I also argue that the 'Grande Nation' is still in far too many minds of our French neighbors - especially in that of Emmanuel Macron. That's probably why we Germans are so similar to the French.
But before I jump into a longer post, I'd better devote myself to the backend of this weblog and patiently wait for that Michael George Link the French Council Presidency. And I'm quite sure that Hans Müller while he is about to speak here.
20 years of euros
It's hard to believe that the euro was introduced so long ago. And it's even harder to believe how effortlessly and noiselessly its introduction worked throughout - wait (!) - in Euro-Europe, even here in Germany. If I remember correctly, this was also only possible with the Bundeswehr. What would we do without our soldiers? — Please keep this in mind if you see one in live in the near future, as able-bodied males are on the endangered species list.
Hans Eichel said then “In any case, it [the euro] is another piece of the realization of the unity of Europe and in particular of the European internal market. And anything that removes barriers in the single market helps economic growth. ... The euro is part of the program for more prosperity in Europe.”
Barriers of all kinds are now back in vogue and we shouldn't be surprised if economic growth doesn't work the way it used to.
20 years ago, the then around 300 million citizens of the euro zone had the new currency in their hands for the first time, although it had been introduced as book money three years earlier and had a much longer history with the ECU.
To make it easier to use, banks issued so-called starter kits containing a selection of bills and coins. My starter kit must still be in some drawer. So in the coming days I'll go on a search and get a little nostalgic. By the way, which of you still converts larger amounts of money into DM?
birthday of the day
JD Salinger
