Why I'm embarrassed to be German

[@kubuspuchatek7974]

I used to work for a German company. They closed 2 factories in Germany and 1 in Poland and opened new factories in India. And they boasted that they "reduced emissions".

[@mouse2542]

r/ malicious compliance?

[@ezg8448]

What's sad is that it isn't a move unique to Germany alone.

[@BudelaikaAnnana]

They did, in Germany.

[@Volkbrecht]

That's what you get when you allow people in positions of power who make laws based on how the world should look like and not how it actually works. Seriously, I despair of our Green party. It's like they don't know what cynicism is.

[@shdwbnndbyyt]

Well if they operate in the USA with a repackaging facility, they can bulk ship items from India on pallets, repackage the items in retail containers and sell them as as "Made in the USA" per the laws and regulations.

[@Harakai100]

Using Britain as a reference to a well-functioning nation from a policy/leadership perspective is kind of wild.

[@maddinek]

and very much misleading. she needs to move abroad. then she might get an idea. she talked lots of nonsense.

[@verity4917]

Sabine Hossenfelder, I've been working in UK for a firm for 2 years. I must say that it's ten times worse in England than Germany! Hearing your British accent and the way you're portraying the negativities in Germany, I think you're suffering from GERMANOPHOBIA! Just like the REFEREE Anthony Taylor who stole 1 goal from Germany, not allowing them an obvious penalty! That was broad day ROBBERY! Fazit : Sport is not only sport, it's also political, a billion dollars business!

[@EugeneMurray-z1b]

Fair point! Britain has some plusses, but overall Germany is better... Not least its better geographical spread of wealth making

[@hannabani7929]

Well, it was a joke, right?

[@monty3854]

​@@verity4917Her British accent? In what world does she sound British?

[@eisenkopf69]

You walk from Germany to Czech through the woods. How do you recognize that you have reached Czech Territory? Your phone has network.

[@harveytheparaglidingchaser7039]

😅

[@jasonfanclub4267]

🤪

[@dominikschonberg6486]

*Someone offers you meth

[@bittasi1139]

It is an exaggeration, isnt it?

[@Rooster---ooo]

@@bittasi1139 That's how comedy works my friend

[@09philipr]

Embarrased to be German? IMAGINE HOW IT FEELS TO BE ENGLISH! 🙄

[@nicknewell558]

I'm Canadian but my mother is German and my father is English, so how do I feel watching two great people I've always respected and held in high regard, destroy their countries and perform some strange form of group suicide. Don't expect people like me to come and help because I'm too busy fighting the same evil in Canada, the English and Germans will have to wake up themselves or perish. Time is running out.

[@jaykay5580]

or amerikan

[@josephbaker5810]

Yeah, I hear the UK is having a tough go of it as of late

[@josephbaker5810]

​@@jaykay5580at least we have Trump and company.

[@josephbaker5810]

I'm afraid the horse and buggy are no solution given their emissions!

[@d-mancat537]

The character pointed at a broken elevator sign and said "this is the empire declining". The person he was talking to thought he was exaggerating, but he went on to explain: if low cost but highly visible repairs are being neglected, what do you think happens to the high cost invisible ones? If infrastructure is decaying, the empire is already falling. From Asimov's Foundation.

[@tedmoss]

Asimov, is one of my favorite authors, he did not invent these ideas they have been true forever.

[@Rheinhard]

@@tedmossmy friend spoke to Asimov at a con many years ago. Asimov told him that if you want to create some great SF, take some known history and file the serial numbers off. In Asimov’s case with FOUNDATION, he set the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in space, and mixed in some statistical mechanics (which he certainly knew from chemistry and physics), and applied it to people.

[@teresabenson3385]

I'm afraid much of this true in the U.S. as well-- neglected infrastructure, slow responses, etc. The Democratic party in particular, for 4+ years just hoping that they could keep hiding Biden's dementia and it would somehow magically get better by 2024 instead of planning ahead.

[@Rheinhard]

Never expected to see a Jonathan Pie clip in one of these videos!

[@Richard-r1x7d]

You have elevators!?

[@David-x8s]

A Cuban friend explained decay. It happens when people have been successful so long that they forget what made them successful.

[@simdal3088]

The Germans are not victims of success but are dealing with a political class that hates them. Why put in effort when you aren't even on the list of priorities.

[@นฤสรณ์อริยสกุลวงศ์]

I am from Thailand. I agree.

[@josepha5685]

I'm from Florida and I agree 😊

[@winchharry]

Wise words. 🙂

[@svenkleinplarre9461]

I visited Germany for the first time this year and this describes germans perfectly. They have no notion of how is their country in comparation with the world. How it was made that way and that they are wasting it. Simply asuming it to be the norm and that it is always that way everywhere. Nations are built when people band together to create something for them and their descendants. Being culture, institutions, goverment or wathever symbol or ideal can define a country. At this moment the common denominator in Germany that keeps it moving is money. It is no secret that Germany is one of the richest countries of the world. But let's just consider what would happen if that one day suddenly wasn't the case. Fortune is known to be a fickle mistress. So what will unite germany the day in which their industrial machine becomes so degraded that it will start breaking appart? That is something that concerns me.

[@RoachChaddjr]

You know Germany has gotten bad when the Germans start joking.

[@tablescissors]

Tell me you know very few Germans w/o telling me.

[@owsie1800]

Do you know a joke tho ​@@tablescissors

[@gotzilla9692]

meh, stupid old clichés like yours are definitely not funny. At least for people with a three digit IQ.

[@RoachChaddjr]

@@owsie1800 He is German so he doesn't know what jokes are

[@FireOnMyPocket]

stereotypes goin wild here

[@texasflooring]

Half of my family is German and I have a German mother. I've traveled to Germany to stay with family, usually in the Summers, for 48 years now since I was 3 years old. Seeing changes that have occurred in that regard are like turning pages in a picture book. They are more apparent and give you a better perspective of what is actually changing, and to what degree, than someone that lives there in my opinion. I took my family in 2019, and due to the pandemic and some other variables, didn't return until the Summer of 2023. The changes were stark to say the least. Most notably the different energy, or lack thereof, in the air when out in public. Almost like the country is in a emotional depression. The other were the horrible issues with trains being on time or without issue, which I thought was impossible considering my past decades of experience.

[@cookiequeen5430]

Frust kommt auf denn der Bus kommt nicht

[@ravinrabbit7932]

yea the whole nation is depressed and fed up. germans refuse to rescue the world with their very own money. then get blamed by media and politics for "not taking responsibility"... while they taxing your income with more than 40%, making it impossible to earn a dezent pension, impossible to buy houses. for many, childcare became a serious financially problem. so does eldercare. i'd left if not for my family and friends. thats not germany anymore. its some globalist playground but not a capable nation anymore.

[@matthiassobottka1733]

Der Song müsste nochmal neu aufgesetzt werden mit 200 Strophen für Deutschland und nicht nur Berlin. Reichen 200 ? Hmm glaub nicht oder😅

[@weltbuergerin2007]

@@texasflooring ,the entire World is changing ,not just Germany

[@texasflooring]

@@weltbuergerin2007 Ya, but it's far more stark and noticeable on a homogeneous society than a multicultural one.

[@giovannipiacen85]

We thought that us Italians would eventually catch up with Germany. Turns out they are catching up with us.

[@cybernetic-ransomware1485]

joking aside, but German technological debt is our common problem. It doesn't matter whether you live in Poznań or Napoli. Somehow we must overcome their hard-headedness, otherwise our children's future will be dependent on whimsical nationalists ones from Beijing and Delhi.

[@tommapar]

@@cybernetic-ransomware1485 I come from the future (Argentina) the key is not to let the government take all the decisions. Establish GOOD, SOLID channels for the private sector to take the initiative. Here in 1945 we had a great general conman, called Perón, a right winger, but greatly inspired by Mussolini, so in short with the statist interventionist heart of a lefty. To the point of dissapearing anyone resembling a commie, while he was out intervening in markets. He believed in technology advance as a way to gain an edge over our foes. The result? The enemy infiltrated, government spent BILLIONS into Cold Fusion (never got it to work, ofc) and we got a series of coup d'tats. Sad thing about Perón is he actually got the country industrialized. But his populist legacy was a bigger part than he could've ever imagined, spawning a cult of followers that more or less still impede the country from working properly. All because he from his ivory tower threw some books and mattresses to the impoverished masses. Modern peronists (kirchnerists) are full on commies, socialists that attack private property and your freedom to decide over your business, your life, etc. But still with the fascist gene attached to it. So they're willing to create narratives (with crisis actors) and use TERROR from the STATE to MANIPULATE THE POPULATION and SUBJUGATE THEM into NOT voting a right winger. They've created a culture much like Sabine here says, of being SLOW, of being overall INOPERANT when faced with their tasks. Every challenge they tackle, it makes things worse. Each thing they do "for us" ends up as another point where they meddle in the affairs of the people and decide over their lives. While they can BARELY run a country themselves. Impoverishing due to monetary emission and price controls that lead to poor stock replenishment and worse quality control. Them being slow has NOTHING to do with their intelligence though. To steal, they're always one step ahead. Look into who they contract for the Internet / Railroad / Energy improvements, and you'll SEE precisely WHY they chose them. They're all playing for the same team. The socialists that run the country like a capitalist country, but the only ones that TRULY enjoy a FREE market are the politicians and their businessmen friends. The rest of us lowlives can't compete because the government has the monopoly over violence. So if a competitor to their friends makes it big, they can always saddle them with regulation and taxes or even take legal action with penalty fees. The politicians and the caste they formed that surrounds them have a small little crown that elevates them from us, the common folk. They don't have more rights, they have more PRIVILEGES, which are SECURED by their legislation. It's time to ATTACK that system of political clientelism, populism and incresing interventionism and bring it to the ground. Let companies of men and women dedice the course. Don't let those callous with pride and arrogance, who believe themselves to be God to act on behalf of a nation. Taking the reigns of something so complex as market, which is composed by all agents and all goods/services being transferred is tantamount to heresy. To know everything about a market to take such a wild decision, you'd need to know the CURRENT, PAST, and FUTURE state of EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE in it. Including each individual's personal preferences, and plans. You'd need to be omniscient. You'd need to be God. And politicians ARE NOT GOD.

[@quantillaprudentia1345]

😄 I laugh reluctantly in German

[@giovannipiacen85]

@quantillaprudentia1345 There's no laugh in German

[@CutefBoy96]

@@giovannipiacen85 I think you have to be among the dead to be able to speak German, and since you couldn't laugh, you have already become one of the dead.

[@DH-rj2kv]

Calling the UK a “healthy country” was a lesson in the finest sarcasm.

[@username.exenotfound2943]

yeah uk is being held together by the fact nobody in the country can be arsed to do anytghing about it as it hasnt quite gone of the rails... yet

[@sluglife9785]

@@username.exenotfound2943 It has so gone off the rails.

[@immortalsofar5314]

I was abroad when Brexit happened. I think soon I'll be abroad again.

[@davidbrisbane7206]

UK basket case

[@CountScarlioni]

Well things have finally taken a turn for the better in the UK these past couple of days. And we're starting to claw our way back out of our hole without filling up government seats with fascists, so there's that at least.

[@HerbertHeyduck]

I'm afraid Sabine isn't loud enough. Not only Germany, but the whole of EU is reacting far too slowly to global developments.

[@calculuslover2078]

And which countries are reacting fast? USA? Japan? South Korea? Australia? Canada?

[@peter9477]

​@@calculuslover2078 Canada? LOL... (and I'm a Canadian)

[@sepro5135]

Look at the amount of VC money, patents and start ups in the US. A lot of it is bs, but the rest is not. Which companies are the modern digital tech giants? Which economy still grew this and last year? The US definitely does A LOT wrong, but they are the technology leaders

[@Ryan-ff2db]

@@calculuslover2078 China, Scandinavian countries, Iceland(not sure if Iceland is considered Scandinavian), Costa Rica maybe. I don't know, that's all I got.

[@s.patrickmarino7289]

Have you been to the United States? It makes the EU look like the last remaining fortress of sanity.

[@hum6le]

calling the UK a healthy country is a grass is greener thing, since most brits would say the same about germany these days

[@borussiadortmundlondon9368]

How many boarded up shops do you see in German city centres???!!! And in UK??? Germany is in a good state compared to most but yes you need to show some strength in the face of challenges again and why not?!

[@rwwalker721]

Escalators do not break down. They simply become stairs.

[@DrDeuteron]

that's just a descope.

[@SabineHossenfelder]

I wish this was true, alas, often times they are closed for repairs...

[@a5cent]

This is way funnier than it should be 😅

[@MikeN-cs8qe]

Mitch Hedberg ftw!!!

[@InconnuGlitterBoy]

Sounds like something Habeck would say.

[@codyrap95]

As a Romanian, we've always dreamed of being on the same level as Germany. Our railway system is as bad as it was 30yrs ago, so somehow our dreams of being on the same level are coming true but for the wrong reasons 🤣🤣

[@Tegelane5]

Be careful what You wish for 😅

[@lexi0040]

So that means that Ceaușescu wasn't that bad at all he was killed for what ?😅 he made the the roads the railway we produced everything ourselves and in 30 years nothing changed o almost forgot yeah no factory's thousand all shut down thousands off jobs lost everyone started after 1989 to go work outside of Romania because yeah well people lost there jobs 😅 the food now is almost poison thats how bad it is now 😂 nature destroyed Hectares of woods all cut down. the corruption is higer then ever eu funds not going where should go but in pocket of individuals in a high position (power) 😂 infected with LGBTQ drugs and violence 😅 yeah Romania did not win anny good in 30 years we did lost all our value's that we had 30 years ago

[@AkshanBoi25]

actually made me laugh

[@philippe_grosvenor_le_normand]

Bonjour, Je suis français, bravo à la Roumanie pour son infrastructure numérique concernant le réseau internet

[@pierrenilsson6189]

I visited Romania many times in the 90s and I loved the railway system. Trains were always on time. They were a bit old maybe but still worked as intended. No delays. I was even lucky enough to be invited by friends to work one day on the railway. We went around and did maintenance work on the electricity cables above the tracks. True, the ticket inspectors were a bit corrupt. As I learned more Romanian I realized that they always asked me if I needed a ticket. If I was leaving the train before their route was ended and they were replaced by another ticket inspector, I could buy the ticket at half the price but I did not receive a ticket. They just pocketed the money. It is not good for the state to be cheated on the money plus tax but people reasoned that they never saw any benefits from the tax anyways. Hopefully that bit has changed by now.

[@AshtonK1816]

As an American, seeing a German referring to the UK as healthy is mind bending.

[@tyler-qr5jn]

Im British in London, the fact she thinks this means germany must be doing REALLY bad or she might have a misunderstanding of the UK. We have same issues with trains, regarding strikes and privatisation. But the infrastructure itself, though dated, its quite good, just expensive.

[@hartmutbeil8508]

That's how bad it is here in Berlin - City and country are becoming increasing unusable

[@MadTracker]

As an American, seeing another American mock a German for making a comparison to the U.K. seems out of pocket considering our own crumbling infrastructure and almost complete lack of public transit, owing to suburban sprawl’s congestive car based planning and the kind of political erosion which underpins a government on the verge of a geriatric smack down between two brain addled narcissists.

[@redlight3932]

@@suoyidl2654 all of them are you cant think logically without being racist

[@scottmccrea1873]

Also completely insane. Since the British elite is systematically destroying the country.

[@crapphone7744]

The German railway is a private company owned by the government. That's pretty creative, I wouldn't have thought you could dilute responsibility more than nationalizing your railroads but the Germans found a way to make it even less accountable. Never say Germany doesn't lead the world in some things.

[@ΑναστάσιοςΠαπαζαχαρίου]

When it comes to grand scale corruption the germans are pioneers

[@omegamark9178]

a private company,,,owned by the govt.? Oh,nothing shady and sus here,,,,lol

[@silphonym]

@@omegamark9178 it was set up in a normal German coorporate structure in anticipation of complete privatization, but that didn't really go as planned, then the 2008 crash happened and the full privatization was put on ice, but the structures remained. This means there are entire layers of management in a company that could just be controlled directly as a part of the transport ministry, with the government having the final say as the owner, but being quite hands of and letting the management do stuff like buying the profitable parts of foreign public transit systems from the UK to Malta, buying a complete road based logistics firm *as the national rail operator* and generally acting profit oriented. It's a proper mess.

[@g-manchanel1710]

Same in Russia Actually, most of big companies here is private company, where main auctioneer is government And that is awful

[@Mayhzon]

2024 update - The reta... the people in charge sold off the most profitable branch, Schenker.

[@juanzulu1318]

German here. My colleagues in Malaysia always laugh about my internet connection

[@ferocious_r]

We're friends with a Ukrainian family who fled to Bavaria when the war began and then returned to Ukraine, citing the abysmal internet speeds as the reason. Not joking here, that did happen.

[@c0ldc0ne]

@@ferocious_r Genuine war refugees eh?

[@calicocat8213]

​@@ferocious_rFled WAR and went back because of bad/erratic internet connection? Either said war or ex-refugees not that serious.

[@dazingamaine4318]

@@c0ldc0ne jup here the family comes and goes. aint a real war like gaza

[@michaelxz1305]

it's easier for developing countries to leapfrog with technology.. no big surprise. less baggage

[@jamessalomon9343]

When I was stationed in Germany (79-82) the German trains were always on time. It was considered a major scandal if a train was 5 minutes late. It bothers me that things have gone to hell

[@stephenkalatucka6213]

"Everything woke turns to sh*t."- Trump

[@oweoweowe]

@@stephenkalatucka6213 I don't see how that fits here

[@werkzeugmann6224]

You lived there when the Marshall plan was very effective. Now the only thing American there is in Frankfurt, the military outpost...

[@igor_ai88]

​@@oweoweowemmmmmmmmmm////mmmmmmmmmmmm//mm/m/mm/m/mmmm////mmm/mm/mmm/mmmmmmm/m//mmmmmm//mmmmm/m//mmmm//////m//m/mm////m/mmm///m/////////

[@jamessalomon9343]

@@werkzeugmann6224 I'm not surprised the military shut down most bases in Germany. A lot of the bases were leftovers from the distant past. In Wurzburg, where I was stationed, the facilities were left over from the distant past. One facility still had rings in the walls to tie up horses. The hospital where I worked started life as a Luftwaffe hospital.

[@JoelTehMole]

As a Brit, i knew things were bad as soon as a German said "you're so lucky to have trains that run on time!".

[@VeritasIncrebresco]

You Brits need to make more babies

[@svr5423]

I prefer British trains to German trains. But it depends on the company. Virgin and Cross Country are nice, London Midland is a big no no.

[@thomasharter8161]

@@svr5423 I used British trains in 1993. If I remember correctly there was only one line. From Dover to Edinburgh. It was so archaic. Trains were up to 2 hours late in London. We would have thought we were in the 19th century.

[@LittleKitty22]

I'm in the West Mids. Trains run when they want to. An evening commute of four hours to get from Birmingham to South East Staffordshire is a regular occurrence... Cancelations and delays are a daily occurrence.

[@selohcin]

Here in America, we don't have trains.

[@redsaints]

As a brit living in Germany and having to work with the people here, and with the school system too for my family, it amazes me the total panic that hits the face of almost any German when something does not go to plan. In other countries i have lived and worked in, having something missing or not go to plan results in a smile and a lets see what we can do. Here it is from my perspective just hilarious the reaction. But don't get me wrong, i love living here, maybe because i am in an area with decent internet connectivity!

[@pablog80]

I am a close follower of the events taking place in Germany. I travel there quite often. In my humble opinion, the source of all the country management mistakes come from decisions being made based on ideology instead of facts, technology and common sense

[@wonderfalg]

100% true.

[@benlovell9416]

isn't that the truth everywhere?

[@michaelj7677]

Lets do a root source investigation. The mentioned topics are: 1. Privatization of the DB (1.1.1994). This was based on economical reasons and regulatory requirements of the EU. 2. Bad digital infrastructure: This is based on decisions made against glass fiber in the mid 90s based on influence of the lobbyist Leo Kirch 3. Nuclear phase-out (2011 after Fukushima, due to pressure of 70-80% of the population) 4. Hydrogen strategy (2020, called "Nationale Wasserstoffstrategy", NWS) These events are well-documented and widely known. Even all of them occured on behalf of the same political party, where is the ideology here? I can see economical reasons, lobbyism or political pressure from the people. Maybe for the NWS - I'm not familiar with this topic because of hydrogen

[@tedthesailor172]

Welcome to the world...

[@pablog80]

@@benlovell9416 mostly yes. But the extent to which a developed and reliable Germany is spoiling what used to be an advantageous and leading position in many fields is way above the average. She explains it well in the video, but the list could go on for much longer. The trend is so worrying

[@stefanoviviani6064]

Welcome, Sabine, to the worldwide "I'm embarrassed of my Country" club, feel free to pick any flag!

[@Krn7777w]

1 billion population in India but divided, disconnected, superstitious. I wish my heart turns into stone and mind freezes. Child labor, female foeticide, caste system, corruption, unemployment, illiteracy. I wish I could meet god, ask questions. Why such disparity, why such pain? Free mind freez!

[@RBzee112]

Same here in the USA. Billionaires rule and we all lose.

[@shrayesraman5192]

@@Krn7777w At the very least India seems on the up and up. Things were so bad there before that it is better in a relative way. In Germany and many western countries the feeling is the opposite where things are going down hill. This perception has grave social consequences historically.

[@RS-ls7mm]

Humans appear to be too stup!d to govern themselves. Maybe our AI overlords will fix that.

[@quantisedspace7047]

Yes, carry a Union Flag in London and you'll be arrested for 'being openly English'

[@johanlundstrom1561]

There used to be a saying in Sweden: "Germany is Sweden for adults". No-one says that any longer.

[@davefaulkner6302]

Does this imply that Swedes are children? As a person of Swedish decent I find this rather insulting. For me, it is more 'adult' to reach the kind of social compromises that the Swedes are famous for, understanding that life is complex and rigid rules based systems are always inadequate.

[@smythharris2635]

​@@davefaulkner6302the new Swedes beg to differ, you've bought the package, not just the wrapping.

[@baumanj1]

@@davefaulkner6302take it easy. now you can live with consequences of childish decisions. Enjoy!😅

[@sspectre8217]

@@davefaulkner6302sounds to me like you’re romanticizing your Swedish heritage. I used to do the same with my German heritage but I learned that the greatest strength of any culture is also its greatest weakness

[@Vantrakter]

Late and cancelled trains are practically a Swedish trademark and broadband internet access..ah, the glorious "open infrastructure" of fiberoptic networks with one owner and maintainer and a number of actors (ISPs available within each network) that are trying to compete with each other, when the network owner and maintainer sets the rent that the ISPs have to pay and this rent increases every year (where I am, in a major city, the bit about raising prices each year is explicitly stated) and of course the ISPs charge the customers more and since all live under the same network owner there isn't a lot to differentiate the isps in terms of connection speeds or pricing.

[@X9523-z3v]

I'm embarrassed to be human. Why are we so foolishly selfish?

[@mazatlan79P]

It's called evolution. Embrace it :)

[@normankoo6159]

@@mazatlan79PActually, I call it corruption. All the money being fed to Ukraine gives the politicians on both sides a kickback while the German citizens are neglected. The only redeeming fact is that all of the other NAZO nations are doing the same.

[@AP777-JC]

Because of the original sin.

[@ossdemura]

I've been working in a German company now for 6 years. The biggest issue is that achieving goals is not the priority, but following a process. And when something is performing poorly, you like better adding more process rather than thinking what is the best way to achieve the goal. At the end you work for the process.

[@diemcarl5546]

🤖🤖🤖

[@Esra208]

That is sooo true 😂 And they love their processes.

[@xenokarasu]

My brother and I like to call it The Checkliste Syndrome!

[@IThinkICare]

Process is how you maintain quality.

[@ossdemura]

@@IThinkICare it depends. Public institutions are full of processes for example, it does not guarantee any success, quality, etc. Many just get comfy behind a process, or use it to hide behind. Processes are great, but not the goal.

[@aj-jc4cv]

The UK lowered its own carbon emmissions by selling its manufacturing base to other countries that don't care about such things, thus boosting global emmissions.

[@mheermance]

This is the dirty not so secret of the rise of China. Companies sidestep regulation by offshoring. Meanwhile politicians claim victory for declining emissions.

[@seed_drill7135]

And then the stuff gets shipped around in filthy, sludge burning container ships.

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

So did every other Western nation. Now we have low carbon emissions and no more danger of CLIMATE CHANGE!😂 Actually, we all are a bunch of suckers who believed a lie and sold what was really valuable to China, and now just like Sabina, we are noticing the effects of our long decline to poverty, and we still think we’re saving the planet. Putting manufacturing in the hands of the most incompetent countries around the world and expecting a good result is insane.

[@martinliehs2513]

It's been happening everywhere. Try to find a consumer good of any sort that is NOT made in China, regardless of brand or price.

[@CandleWisp]

Source?

[@pnf197]

When a physicist gets a speeding ticket, twice, in one journey, clearly there is something wrong with the space-time continuum. You weren't speeding Sabine, Germany was just slowing down.

[@n.davidmiller2029]

🎉😂😅 Best comment

[@cobusvanzyl5206]

Yes, you were speeding RELATIVE to Germany.

[@annelbeab8124]

😂😂😂

[@FallNorth]

I once worked with a guy who sped off on a Friday to get to his home (far from the office). He managed to get enough speeding tickets in one journey to get banned outright. They all just add up, they don't say "well you had your quota that day"!.

[@richardalvarez2390]

So climate change is a high priority for the elite? As they guzzle and fly around their private jets around the world, releasing much more carbon than a single person would release. I remember the COP conferences on climate change, 400+ private jets; literally descended in one location to preach climate change lol. Its funny how the elite can pollute at their hearts content and then preach to the common people that climate change is a big threat. Hypocrisy.

[@jazzMarijkeJaehrling]

liebe Sabine, ich bin seit 2022 nicht mehr in meinem Heimatland, als Künstlerin fehlte mir zunehmend die Luft zum Atmen, die Offenheit zu kontroversem Austausch, der gegenseitige Respekt. Es ist alles zunehmend ideologisch

[@Asdwer1]

Sie ist auch eine Linke...

[@daelaenor]

I assure you, my 7.5 MB/s are not to be trifled with. (written 1 day ago)

[@Kaytsey]

@kti5682 well, that is 60 MBit/s.

[@authenticbaguette6673]

Try being on 2Mbits/s (serious)

[@rontaylor3403]

7.5 MB/s = 60 Mb/s thats plenty enough.

[@DxCBuG]

@@authenticbaguette6673 does it still run a single 480p youtube stream ? i had this speed up until 2014, then finally got 50 Mbit/s and now a am on GPON fiber which is a blessing

[@kjm2199]

@@rontaylor3403 60Mb/s ? I have 270Mb/s here in Canada, and I'm in one of the poorer provinces!

[@alechorn1109]

I’m American. When it comes to embarrassment, you are amateurs.

[@gad3]

Well, they still hold the WWII as a joker

[@wb3904]

What's the measure of embarrassment in the imperial (US customary) system? 😅

[@marwin4348]

The american economy is by far the best in the world, not an embarassment at all.

[@rogerkearns8094]

At least you can do something about it. Why not stand for president, while nobody any good is?

[@spearshaker7974]

Feels like a humiliation ritual of some sort and inverted the joker has become king and the king a joker.

[@tomforde6696]

Every country has its embarrassments. Here in Ireland we are building a National Children's Hospital that has been ongoing for YEARS, is now the most expensive hospital IN THE WORLD, EVER and is still not built. No one wants to take responsibility. As one commentator said "It's being passed around like a bag of shit that's on fire."

[@tatjana7008]

Well Berlin airport also took 29 years for similar reasons. If judge based on my colleagues (whos pay is above average) their top priorities are feierabend and "not my responsibilty". All our projects delayed for 3 years, and its only by current deadlines. Who knows how long will it take in reality

[@wasdwasdedsf]

thats irelands embarassment? how about the ludicrous censorship bills they just implemented!?

[@leobe2104]

Haha so like the Berlin airport

[@trevormcguire6984]

Honest question, are these projects built by union labor?

[@gomey70]

Ireland is still one of the best countries in the world to live. Maybe if you lived in a really shitty country for a while you'd be more grateful for what we have here in Ireland.

[@faschaeffer]

Thank u for ur courage to speak up. ❤ and also thank u to introduce me to planet wilde.

[@thought-provoker]

German lifehack for speeding up Internet access: Ask a friend in Belgium to download the files for you, store it on a USB stick, then you ride over there with your bike to pick it up.

[@TheRealFallenDemon]

Never underestimate the bandwidth of a bag full of USB sticks on a push bikes

[@majorowe]

except that she says Belgium has less fibre optics coverage....

[@uk922]

Yeahh.... but you have to admit it´s very friendly to the environment......😬 🤣

[@Naxt366]

Austria has good internet too

[@OmateYayami]

Classic high bandwidth - high latency example.

[@captain150]

Phasing out nuclear as an emotional response to Fukushima was the dumbest thing Germany ever did.

[@squin3354]

Oh they have done dumber

[@ALDead666]

You're not very aware of History, aren't you?

[@aureliustratos3268]

It is not about fukushima. It is about tschernobyl. it is a rejection of everything that is connected with russia.

[@johnsmith-mq4eq]

The dumbest thing the Germans ever did was almost having children way below replacement level then open the doors to mass immigration. Germany as we know it will be gone in 50 years

[@pwc_uk]

@@aureliustratos3268 German nuclear power plants that used to be in operation in 2011 had nothing to do with Russia.

[@cameirusisu1024]

dont worry. I'm british, you learn to live with a constant state of national embarrassment.....

[@shewbell2176]

America: It's bad So bad

[@Ifuckwithtrinkets]

Until you’ve had Trump for President, you have no idea how embarrassed you can be of your country. 🙃

[@InSterquiliniisInvenitur]

After living with the Biden/Harris administration for the few years we've had them, Americans ABSOLUTELY understand national embarrassment.

[@xaviernogueira]

​@@Ifuckwithtrinketsto be fair, the Brits had a knockoff version with Boris

[@Parents_of_Twins]

Thanks to the GOP the United States is getting used to it as well.

[@stephanclemens2348]

The thing is actually quite simple: If you live in a country in which the media talks a lot about "our Democracy" you're likely to have the same feelings as her

[@verypleasantguy]

In the early 1970's I bought a machine for my factory. It was made in Germany. That machine performed flawlessly, until 2018, then it broke down. That was one heck of a machine, I am very *_very_* impressed ! So, I hired engineers from Germany to fix that machine, using all imported German parts. 3 years later, it broke again. This time, the parts that were broken were all the *NEW* parts that were installed just 3 years prior, and those *NEW* parts were all made-in-Germany. What a contradiction ! The first time the machine broke down, it had worked for more than 45 years. Yes, *_more than forty-five long years_*_ !_ The second time the machine broke down, the parts lasted 3 years. Same work. Same work amount. Same everything. Except for, the quality of the *NEW* German parts were so flimsy, if I'm a German, I would be embarrassed. We contacted the company in German, we talked to the German engineers who came to fix the machine for us, and they told us one thing, and one thing only ---- back in the 1970's, all German parts were made as if they were going to last forever. Now, all German parts are being made with *_planned obsolescence_* built in. I thanked the German engineers for telling me the truth. So, Ms. Sabine, you gotta understand, the Germany today is no longer the Germany 40 years ago.

[@46FreddieMercury91]

I have a food mixer, made in DDR , East Germany, in 1980. Still works fine to this day

[@Cordis2Die]

Most of the things, if not everything, is made with planned obsolescence in mind, that's the way of the capitalism. It's not only Germany who is doing that. Just pointing that out. It's sad that planned obsolescence is even a thing. It's sad and stupid.

[@danieldanielson2650]

ms. Sabine is part of the problem i'm afraid. As a scientist you should never ever let activism cloud your scientific methods. But she does that when climate change is the topic on hand. "I'm not an expert, but I believe.....blablabla...it sound ethically blablabla" Everything is going to shit and it's because germany has accepted so many lies by so many liers it doesn't even know what truth is any longer. 200.000 bright minds leave every year and the won't come back. Rightfully so. We're leaving to. Eff that politically correct neo-socialist state

[@WasabiJohn]

I'm avid vintage car collector, but also have a newer MB SLK 350... The quality of some components are not that good, similar to some modern American cars... Beautiful looking car though!

[@somebodysomewhere358]

As a German I can confirm this

[@Daniel-Hawk]

The biggest problem in Germany is all the paperwork. There are so many laws that they send you from one place to another, and you have to pay a lot of money just to find out what permission you need.

[@jurepecar9092]

Paperwork? Eh, try Italy.

[@EngineMisfire]

That happens a lot in the People Socialist Republik of Kalyfornystan (a.k.a the state of California).

[@traumflug]

We had this paperwork 30 years ago as well. More work, better results. While bureaucracy is nevertheless a burden, the decline of Germany has other causes.

[@civissollicitus6767]

@@traumflug That's it. Bureaucracy is just a disguise for the real problems.

[@drx1xym154]

@@EngineMisfire -- I call it Commiefornia ... and the fearless leader Gov Kim Un Newsance is leading the way.

[@unadomandaperte]

I can agree. We've been waiting for Kraftwerk to come out with another album for the last 30 years.

[@aheendwhz1]

Maybe they've been shut down because they're a nuclear Kraftwerk?

[@Cnsalmoni]

Ha! Forgot about them..

[@quantisedspace7047]

You've not seen 'Ja, das Hokey Kokey'. Man schteckt die linke Arm aus Ein, aus, ein, aus Man schütteln alles rund Man macht das Hokey-Kokey Und man dreht sich herum Das ist die ganze Sache

[@dsracoon]

Blame the klimaklebers /s

[@organfairy]

21 years. They made 'Tour de France Soundtracks' in 2003.

[@Norm100ful]

Moved to Germany in 1990, and was going back in time to the US in the 60’s. So many bureaucratic systems slowed down progress and put them behind. Like the 60’s, however socializing and the living environment were very pleasant for me. Less than a forty hour work week. Pregnancy leave of 3 months both paid and a birthing bonus; mandatory one to two-week hospital stay. Much slower pace. When I moved to Austria in ‘92, time sped back up to present day.

[@stuartfishman1044]

Your saying that in Germany "The Wi-Fi is so slow that by the time the news is streaming it has become an historical documentary" got a good laugh out of me. It kills the notion that Germans don't have a sense of humor. Not that I ever believed it.

[@wonderfalg]

We do have Wi-Fi in Germany? I'm still waiting for my phone line I ordered in 1991. okay, 1st part is a joke, but 2nd part is reality, they never delivered

[@aoeu256]

But... you don't need fast wifi to stream ...

[@kakaocgn]

I think she totally nails german humor is dry and very sarcastic, not for the faint hearted ❤😂🎉but if you can handle it is super fun.

[@SolarCookingGermany]

News here aren't worth listening to anyway.

[@leisiyox]

It's difficult for me to detect this humor 🤔, I had to re-watch and check for facial expression clues or something alike but nothing How do ppl do it?

[@edinson1613]

Hmm. In 1995 after the Jugoslavijan war finished, in which my dad died tragically in Bosnia, Germany took my mother, sister and me in as asylum seekers for three years because we had nowhere to go back to in Bosnia. After our duldung expired in 1998, we moved to Australia where I finished my schooling and uni and stuff. I'm eternally grateful to Germany and the German people for taking us in when we needed help. Hey Germans, don't be ashamed. I love Germany and Germans. Germans have a very kind and generous spirit, and a lot to be proud of in my eyes. ❤❤

[@xxwookey]

Well said, but that was also 30 years ago, when I think Sabine would also say Germany was in a much better place. They did of course also take in a pile more people in serious need only 10 years ago, so that generosity was still alive and well then, but I get the impression it's on a bit of a downer right now.

[@colinosborne3877]

@@xxwookey But Germans were considered to be technically bright people who understood and pracrised science. Get rid of nuclear power generation at a time when they were getting their gas supply cut off. Listening to little girls full of frightening propaganda. Intelligence or what?

[@p__jay]

and when have you been in Germany the last time? Trust me, if you would come today, you will not recognize it anymore and will be sad to see how much it changed…

[@edinson1613]

@@p__jay Last time was 2011. I visited my grundschule, unter den kastanien in Berlin, had a little cry. Maybe it has changed a lot. Weirdly I spoke to a nice German chick since posting this comment who said she is an ECONOMIC MIGRANT TO BOSNIA FROM GERMANY because the cost of living and tax is so high in Germany! What the actual fk? That really bent my mind.

[@p__jay]

@@edinson1613 the cost of living is not really the problem. but the whole migrant and "refugee" situation. Germany is not Germany anymore!

[@marcusmoonstein242]

Hearing a German saying "The world just isn't appropriately afraid of us anymore" in that nice Germanic accent made my day.

[@Hope_Boat]

As a Greek I can tell you that the state of the German economy is scary the hell out of all other EU countries.

[@zackofpersia5086]

Shows you mindset where even after Nazism they still want to make the world fear them while simultaneously look up to them, I don’t think Germans are aware of how racist they are, they must have been indoctrinated so early to think in this overly superior way.

[@LuluTheCorgi]

​@@Hope_Boatyeah because we've been propping up your economy for decades in exchange for a cheap Europe so we can export around the globe If your people paid taxes you wouldn't have to be scared about how our economy is doing

[@w12p67]

Probably one of the scariest things we can hear, especially if you're Jewish.

[@kacperslaczka6290]

@@LuluTheCorgi As someone from Poland, where our economy has been growing greatly and taxes have been paid we still worry about German economy. Everyone knows that if sh*t was to hit the fan Germany would use it's oversized influence on European Union to help themselves and also make situation worse for everyone else in the process. That has already happened in 2008 and when it comes to gas deals with Russia that significantly destroyed Europe's economy after 2022 so Germany could have cheaper gas earlier. That's why Poland will never buy into joining eurozone. We prefer our own currency thanks to what Germany (and to a lesser extent France) was doing. Eurozone is destroying European Union for the benefit of Germany.

[@swissman5643]

I’m a 6th generation German/American. I’d never EVER say I’m embarrassed to be German. You shouldn’t either.

[@brianfoley3925]

"...buy a dog so you don't have to walk home alone" and who says Germans don't have a sense of humor?

[@goytabr]

A very peculiar one, but they do have it. I remember when some local friends took me to try the typical snack specialty in Frankfurt. And no, it wasn't Frankfurter sausages (which they actually call Wiener). It's called "Handkäse mit Musik" - literally translated as "hand cheese with music". Weird name, isn't it? They explained: it's a kind of semi-hard cured cheese eaten with the hands (hence the name) as thick slices on buttered bread and topped with chopped raw onions and caraway seeds. It's delicious, trust me! Especially with a glass of apple wine, also typical from that area, and in the merry centuries-old taverns of the Sachsenhausen district. But then I asked about the "music" part. They just replied: "oh, that comes later..." 🤣 (It actually didn't, fortunately.)

[@josephkoerner3666]

How many Germans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One. We are efficient, and don't have humor. ;)

[@ichraumauf5532]

You will also need a dog if you happen to come across youth gangs of „guests“.

[@xvdifug]

@@ichraumauf5532 I've heard them referred to as "young scholars".

[@matthewgoodwin8093]

They killed all the funny people.

[@aero1000]

Well since Germany's decline the German people for the first time in history have developed a sense of humour.

[@Demo-critus]

Actually, humour in East Germany was a lot better than in the West. It was a good cover to complain about things without being seen as a subversive.

[@gurnblanston5000]

German comedians are the best. So much material.

[@TheEvilCheesecake]

"german cannot into humour" - people who only know four jokes.

[@drmaybe7680]

Quite a stupid and untrue trope that shows you have never lived in Germany.

[@lfarrocodev]

The "forklift driver Klaus" videos from the 80's prove you wrong

[@ceopabdoc538]

"The world isn't afraid of us anymore" - Sabine, 2024

[@brianarbenz1329]

Those are actually very reassuring words to every other nation.

[@koroglurustem1722]

But they're bully enough to support genocide in Gaza by the victims of Holocaust

[@qwarts4617]

"The world ... isn't ... afraid of us anymore."

[@entp_adventures]

Expected this to be about the Nazis. Instead it was just... Kinda Nazi like

[@FortexVize]

@@entp_adventures You are not seriously saying this video was nazi like... now that is hella stupid.

[@Longtack55]

Last September i cycled 4 months in 14 european countries. "Germany" was surly and racist to me. Im a white New Zealander, and speak several languages, and i tired of hearing embittered older Germans complaining about hearing other languages.

[@rickbhattacharya2334]

So talking about trains. I am not a German citizen and came here for masters. Once I was coming from a place and the last train at Frankfurt suddenly got cancelled and the funny thing is there was no substitute service available so basically I have to sit on the station till 7am. When I told this story to my German friends they simply replied. Willkommen in Deutschland.

[@das_f.l.x]

Rule 0: NEVER rely on the last train in Germany. The last train (or bus) only exists as a backup if the earlier train gets cancelled, breaks down or disappears in a black hole. Edit: If you think the "black hole" was just a joke, no, it wasn't. I have already been in the situation where a train hasn't been seen along any station of it's way but somehow moved itself to the end station while being displayed as "perfectly in time" in the app.

[@benji104]

In this situation the Bahn will pay you a hotel room (provided you had a ticket for the cancelled train).

[@javiergilvidal1558]

Moral of the story: GET BACK TO FUCKING BOMBAY! We all know how beautiful Indian trains are!

[@geesehoward700]

DB should do what they do in the UK. Just make the tickets too expensive to realistically go anywhere on the railways.

[@swarupkumar2]

​@@javiergilvidal1558so the declining quality of the public services in Germany doesn't bother you? You are okay if things doesn't get better?

[@chriflu]

Howdy, Northern neighbours, Swiss-Austrian dual citizen based in Vienna here. It's funny: When I was a child in the 80s and 90s, out of the German-speaking countries Austria was the one that felt the most "backwards" and actually a bit "Eastern-blocky" as my relatives in Switzerland used to joke. The stereotype, confirmed by massive anecdotical evidence, was that, for example, international trains would inevitably start accumulating delays as soon as they had entered Austria. Back then, (West) Germany was somewhat in between - not as well-organized as Switzerland, but pretty solid. Within the last 20 years, Austria and Germany have somehow switched roles. While Austria has modernized a lot, Germany increasingly feels like Austria used to feel 30-40 years ago. What I also find quite funny is the different ways in which the Swiss and the Austrians deal with the fact that, since a lot of our trains come in from Germany, the constant delays of Deutsche Bahn are messing up our own timetables: By now, the Swiss always have a few extra trains ready at the border and, if the German train is delayed, they simply run an extra Swiss train on the Swiss part of the route. The Austrians don't do that, but they make up for it by making their announcements as passive-aggressive as possible ("Unfortunately, train so and so is still 55 minutes delayed because, once again, the hand-over by Deutsche Bahn at the border was delayed by 90 minutes. On behalf of Austrian Railways, we would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused to our passengers by Deutsche Bahn.").

[@seanpalmer6995]

As a Brit I am by turns humbled and delighted by your witty command of English. Bravo Sir, bravo!

[@wolfgangwiesinger9502]

Das Österreichische Netz ist recht einfach, verglichen mit dem Deutschen.

[@acefighterpilot]

Austria's technological prowess is not to be underestimated. They have revolutionized the light aircraft market in the US, with Rotax and Austro engines and Diamond airframes. It used to be that a ~150 ps aircraft engine displaced 7 liters and weighed 140kg. Now a Rotax engine produces 158 ps from 1.4 liters and I can pick it up and carry it around by myself.

[@abuqadr629]

Kann ich bestätigen. Österreich und Ganz besonders Wien ist wunderschön. War zum Urlaub mehrmals dort und habe n Monat dort gearbeitet. Eine der besten Zeiten meines Lebens. Liebe Grüße ans schöne Wien. ❤️

[@chriflu]

@@YogiAI To be fair though - as much as I love myself some good old-fashioned German-bashing as we are so fond of in the small neighouring countries - I think the extremely high cost of German re-unification is often under-estimated. I would not necessarily say that Austrian, Swiss, or Dutch politicians have been so much smarter than their German counterparts in the past few decades, but they could afford to make some mistakes and still have enough money to modernize infrastructure and public administration as well as to create reasonably good conditions for private enterprise.

[@finhas8865]

Wait, I'm from rural village in Borneo and my internet speed is much faster than Sabine's?

[@shracc]

I switched from "fiber" to wireless and the copper cable for multiple km. Because my "fiber" was unusable due to having multi second lag spikes every minute.

[@mdsmatheus]

i'm from a poor neighborhood, from a poor region of brazil and my internet is faster than hers. fiber for $20usd/month 500Mb

[@moladiver6817]

​@@bajocontinuoThat might be true but fiber is about the only thing that could be labeled fast in Spain.

[@oichilli7309]

My parents have 12 Mbit/s in a 1 million metropolitan area

[@tedmoss]

@@shracc You really should have gotten them to fix it, it is broken.

[@henrykrinkle5353]

Thanks, Sabine! One of my fave channels now on youtube.

[@tombh74]

I remember visiting Flensburg a few years ago with my family. My son wanted to go fishing by the sea. I knew we needed a permit as we do in Denmark. Turned out we had to go to a counsil office, wait in line, fill in a long paper form with all kind of details and pay in cash. It took a couple of hours out of our short holiday. In my home country Denmark, we just go to a website and pay the fee.

[@volkerbeyer2766]

The funny thing is - you could get a permit in Schleswig-Holstein - you won't get any in Lower Saxony because you need a german fishing exam. It is crasy...

[@der1222]

Because Denmark is a functional country with people who have a sense of humor and arent insufferable moralists

[@amyself6678]

I wonder if english countries do tech easier, with so much of basics being based in english. So I try to cut East and Central Europe a little slack. Most coding is in pure english, that's sorta not fair but history is not fair.

[@BBQDad463]

Hours to buy a fishing license? Even Pennsylvania (USA) can get it done faster than that: Walk into practically any sporting goods store or hardware store, put down your money, walk out with a hunting license, trapping license, or fishing license in about the time it takes you to write down your name, address, phone number, age, and date of birth.

[@uponeric36]

You can do that in the rural US as well. You just order the license online and print it out.

[@EmanueleOlivetti]

Last December we took a German train from Italy to Germany, paying a premium price for premium service. The train never arrived - it was cenceled. We sent the form to Deutsche Bahn for refund and the answer was: no refund, the train arrived on time, even a little earlier. They just canceled the Italian part without notice! So, money lost. Cherry on the cake: we took the next train and the conductor explained that the previous train was planned to be canceled one month ago - but they sold all tickets anyway! Excellent work Deutsche Bahn 👍👍👍

[@Dylan-NorsePaganThor]

Sue them

[@Call-me-Al]

That sounds super illegal.

[@bernhardbauer5301]

This is the new logic demanded by Ricarda Göring-Eckhart. You still use the old logic? Solution: Become an idiot too.

[@Sensorama2000]

Standard behavior of our decadent elites... The people that recognize a problem and are capable of fixing it are being stopped by higher ups that are only interested in forging the numbers so they keep their jobs...

[@d.b.2215]

​@@Dylan-NorsePaganThorYou'll never win against the DB. Impossible

[@kazomazo6646]

I visited Germany in August 2023. I bought one month train subscription, a mistake happened and it ended up taking from me the price of 2 months instead of one. I emailed the transport company, 4 times and they took 6 months to answer me!! 6 freaking months! The issue got solved and closed in June 2024! Almost 11 months after my first email!! There is something seriously wrong with whatever is going on there!

[@conniem2394]

I live 300km from next town we don't even have buses. Stop complaining live in my fked up country Australia

[@juremustac3063]

Yeah I live here and I can tell you truckloads of stories like this. It is nothing unusual.

[@daniels7624]

It took so long because they already had your money. If you wanted to buy a car and mailed them that there is an error with their online payment system so you can't pay even if you wanted to - it would take only 30mins.

[@wtfyooutube]

Similar thing happened to me and it was an airplane company. Lufthns.. Took them months (4 to 6 don't remember) to get me back my money. It did not ruin my vacation exactly but i definitely could not enjoy it thinking if I will get it back and documenting everything for them in my holiday time.

[@Dr.Pancho.Tortilla]

Why bother with your own country if that's not your country anymore.

[@dmnkln]

Other example: intelligent net meters. By wanting to make them super-perfect, being able to transmit commands to electricity-using washing machines or heat pumps from the provider, and at the same time have the highest standard of private-data-protection, we ended up having no intelligent net meters to speak of and they are more expensive at that. We lost ~ 10 years this way by trying to solve a non-problem. Demand management can be done over the internet just as good, or via 15-minute electricity pricing.

[@ThomasBomber]

As a German citizen it is frustrating. You see your country falling behind and at some places literally falling apart and the government seem to does not even grasp the situation. I mean high rent and housing prices, outdated retirement system, lack of education, high level of unnecessary bureaucracy, no company friendly politics etc. I feel you Sabine.

[@scratchy996]

"high rent and housing prices, outdated retirement system, lack of education" - you know why, but it's politically incorrect to say it. High level of unnecessary bureaucracy - that's because of corruption . Low lever corruption is not an issue in Germany, but the higher you go, the corruption goes up exponentially. So you need a smokescreen to protect that, that's why you got the famous, impenetrable bureaucracy. If Germany could harvest the energy of bureaucracy, they would conquer the world !

[@kamakita8698]

as long as you didn´t vote for the only opposition party in Germany, stop complaining. you got what you voted for!

[@zackofpersia5086]

Germany, The EU and the west as a whole are failing states, this was a conclusion as soon as you allowed gay marriage and pronouns.

[@smitfraudc3896]

@@kamakita8698 stop talking bull, the so called opposition is bringing germany back to poutains fossile fuels

[@thilobraun3440]

@@ThomasBomber I believe, the Government has perfect understanding of what is happening. What you describe is precisly what they strive for.

[@arminschmid1141]

Normally, being slow is a good thing when going in the wrong direction. Anyway, our German contribution to solving the world's problems: showing everyone else how not to do it.

[@kylebeatty7643]

The US would like a word. The problems are not evenly distributed. Where I am there is no train service at all to speak of even though I live in an important regional metropolis. I do have access to fiber internet, however.

[@Leto2ndAtreides]

If not for the Russia-Ukraine drama, things would be comparatively more stable. Should've worked harder for peace rather than jumping into war because a certain dumdum thought that it was a good way for the local companies of *some country* to benefit.

[@Pastamistic]

Seriously, we have zero quality public transit in the US. The east coast at least should be covered in rail networks for easy and efficient transportation. There's so many cities that would be wonderful with light rail too. Instead we need to own our own expensive machine and take on the mind numbing task of commuting by car everywhere.

[@skytron22]

@@kylebeatty7643 regional trains absolutely need to be built in the US. Amtrak needs high speed rail for distances of 100 to 150 miles. Flying makes more sense for transcontinental travel, no need to invest in a transcontinental high speed rail line (yet). That means shit should be easier to build, but the problem in the US is the red tape, local governments, and individual NIMBYs. Look at how long it’s taken California: 20 years of planning, billions already spent, and it’s only now starting to be built.

[@Deathend]

America: Alright, bet. Green technology is now a political conspiracy and all attempts at progress will be met with armed resistance. Also, about 15-30% of the country wants the country to become a theocracy and we're willing to do anything to make it happen. Ala "Project 2025"

[@yaldabaoth2]

I saw a newspaper yesterday that had an article titled "Mythos Merkel". Yes, she is now already in the same league as legendary heroes. A shining beacon of standing still for 16 years.

[@Rossobroc]

Well, same as Helmut Kohl. And that were another 16 years. If you bother about missing fibre optics, ask him!

[@hansulrichboning8551]

Absolute awful and overhyped Person.She left us in a giant pile of mess with ruined military, infrastructure and dependend from russian gas.Not to mention her nuts migration and Euro-politics.

[@johnsmithers8913]

It's incredible how these mythical figures seem to disappear before the SHTF. Their timing is certainly mythical.

[@HP-ov7ol]

Frau Merkel was a disaster who helped all the seeds of German destruction sprout and grow worse for years.

[@hendrik4093]

Shining beacon of standing still!!!!

[@johnjeanb]

Frenchman here. Sabine you most surely know better about Germany but, to be fair, most European countries have similar problems and even the UK, you cite as a reference: aging population, immigration-related issues, degraded training / education issues. Even in the USA, China have issues of their own. The entire world except Africa is facing a population collapse. Here, in France, we used to have a nice Electricity production system based on Nuclear energy but François Hollande (Socialist with "Green" friends) decided to stop the investment because it was a politically fashionable idea so in 2022 almost 50% of our Nuclear power plants were stopped because of maintenance falling behind and lack of replacement projects. Luckily this is fixed we are building new Nuclear power plants and foresee to export record levels of electricity. IMO, the trouble is people say what they don't want (UK= no more EU), Germany= no more nuclear, USA=no more Ukraine spendings, France= lets work less, etc). So, here in France the issues are different: the infrastructure is usually excellent but people have this culture of its government wasting money and have deficits all over the place. Aging population means that the working people are not the same as 20 years ago (French people replaced often with african people) meaning that the training level has deteriorated and some degree of France-hating attitude.

[@lyracian]

As others have said it is not just Germany. I am in the UK and with all the delays it took me 11 hours to travel 100 miles on public transport. At one point the bus driver announced he had to stop for 45 minutes as he had reached the legal limit he was allowed to drive for. This of course resulted in missing the next connection and thus another hours delay waiting for the next bus and so it went on...

[@gitteholmen8156]

Do not blame The driver and his right to ok working conditions. Blame The fact that more and more infrastructure is privatized and all not profitable routes are closed or with very few daily departures. From what I understand we are also heading towards smart-cities with all people Living in these cities and NOT in The countryside. And are supposed to stay at Home due to The 15-minutes city concept - and are not supposed to travelling around. Correct me if I am misinformed and why

[@mnomadvfx]

That's totally inept management at work. I often see 2 bus drivers on Stagecoach buses when one driver is getting shadowed by a more experienced driver for one reason or another. I don't see any reason why the bus company couldn't simply do that and have the extra driver just snooze until there is a shift change to cover the time that a single driver can't legally wprk for.

[@BigJohnson-g3j]

Are you going enjoying the influence of communism?

[@AapVanDieKaap]

​@@BigJohnson-g3jIt's incredible to me that socialism is still tolerated in Europe after what's happened over the last 250 years. It's so obviously a bad idea. This is why I've become convinced universal sufferage democracy isn't sustainable. If people are so ignorant thay they will entertain socialism they shouldn't be involved in decision making. Sad reality...

[@stucevevo8947]

​@@BigJohnson-g3j capitalism is way worse for public transportation since it would push abandoning non profitable roads btw, and on top of that, I'd say it's mostly caused by wanting short term profit by making poor and rushed urban planning letting us with very impractical infrastructure in general

[@HansSjodin-ge6sw]

Swedish politicians: Look how we ruined a country in only 4 decades! German politicians: Hold my beer!

[@comicus6769]

Yep, clearly way too late to the table for DEI to fix things.

[@sven471111]

German politicians: look how we ruined a country in 2 decades.

[@alex8527-w1q]

@@comicus6769 How exactly would DEI help the sciences /quality of life in Deutschland?

[@HalGore]

@@alex8527-w1q It's a joke. The EUnuchstan left always does the wrong thing - they are totalitarians while projecting their actions on others.

[@BertisAU]

​@@comicus6769lmao

[@thomasvanetten1984]

It’s not just a German issue, it’s a global issue when political considerations override technological solutions. Sabine shouldn’t be embarrassed to be German, rather we should all be embarrassed to live in a civilization that places a higher value on entertainment than on seriously addressing the needs of all humans.

[@gibbogle]

We are living in The Age of Entertainment.

[@thomasmoeller2961]

I am German living in the US. Agree with your input !

[@Flatlander80]

Exactly this!

[@da-voodoo-shuffle]

​@@gibboglemore like the Age of Entitlement

[@johnwilliams3555]

That's what the Romans did. It is a great strategy.

[@stevedimartino683]

Good job lady, you’re telling the truth and I am very happy to see people like you speak out, congratulation. 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@christianrottler]

I'm not embarrassed, I'm just shocked and deeply saddened at how dysfunctional we've become.

[@PierreDybman]

Berlin airport...

[@azurebadger]

Our leaders are sabotaging us. That should be clear. Look how hard they fight to edge out political competition even when people vote for them. Or do you take the slander campaigns at face value with no context? Sort yourself out. Those people want you demoralized and disenfranchised for a reason

[@entity_unknown_]

Bro become ??

[@Swamp72]

@@entity_unknown_ pretty sure Germany used to be a global superpower at one point…

[@asklouie]

You've been that way since 1945.

[@diamondthree]

Sabine: I'm embarrassed to be German and it's my government's fault Me, an American: "First time?"

[@PeregrinTintenfish]

Germans don't embarrass easily.

[@Derek_Garnham]

my faith in some Americans (i.e. you) is slightly restored :)

[@Withnail1969]

Try being British. I literally blush with embarrassment when I wake up every morning.

[@valde_mar]

Ukrainian here. Unwillingly joining the club.

[@MaurizioDiBerardino]

Italian here: "Hold my beer"

[@tomitiustritus6672]

Last year, the german Bundesnetzagentur started a tender for a government contract for new fax machine provider. The Bundesnetzagentur... is the federal internet department... This is not satire. A few years ago, i was in the german equivalent to the DMV. I had to look through tons of old paperwork to get some specific esoteric personal registration number (Of which each german department loves to issue several at once for different purposes. Don't think you'll get away with a simple ID number. No, no, no.). I had to go twice, because the first time, i handed the employee my government issued ID card and asked if he could just enter my name in the system to look it up. Well... i had to come back next week with the specific number he wanted, because he refused. He said, he couldn't type in the personal information of every person who came to him, because he would never get anything done that way. Which kind of sounds as if he *could have* done it, if he wanted. And then i saw something i will never forget. The guy filled a formular, rolled it up, put it in a plastic can and put it into the pneumatic tube mail behind his desk and told me to go to another office in 3rd floor for the next step. I swear, i thought i was stuck in a Kafka novel.

[@DieBieneFranz]

this is crazy wtf hahahaha

[@blackmesa1855]

Das ist einfach herrlich . Passierschein a38

[@thomaszukal6133]

You're serious? :-) I'm from the Czech Republic and it's really true that Fax is still used in Germany. :-)

[@laars0001]

Those pneumatic tubes make an incredible sucking sound, like that of hope and promise of a future exiting.....

[@maximkretsch7134]

​@@blackmesa1855 Wollte es grade schreiben.

[@Serpico1954]

Excellent presentation, Danke! Just finding your website and happily subscribed. American in Frankfurt.

[@jaylewis9876]

For too long the smartest people have avoided politics and left it to the least capable. Thank you for embracing the challenge to reverse this

[@ausforaus7617]

Yes, sensible people like Sabine need to be heard above the bureaucrats and politicians ..... her 1.38 million subscribers is a good start.

[@johannestetzelivonrosador7317]

That issue is persistent across time and nations

[@biopsiesbeanieboos55]

When smart people do become politicians, they get torn to shreds. I honestly believe the best way to influence politics is from the outside. I know that sounds like a cop out, but the political machine is an emulsifier. It destroys individual ideas (and the soul of the idea giver) and blends them into a bland soup. When the emulsion of an idea inevitability fails, the idea giver is made to pay the political price for its failure.

[@kerycktotebag8164]

Smart means very little when willful ignorance is a thing, & people striving to crawl out of ignorance are eventually seen as too much of a threat to reach any auspices of political power except for the bare minimum of controlled opposition

[@Flo-vn9ty]

Unfortunately it's not enough to be smart. People tend to not vote for the smart politicians, at least not if they do smart things.

[@Michal_Bauer]

There is something in it. I'm a Pole as a kid in 1997 I lived in Germany for one year as my dad had a Humboldt Scholarship. It was another world - modern buses, modern trains (even if they were even more late than polish trains) clean cities. Everything was screaming "west", "modern", "rich" and "better". And Autobahns - it was something different compared to polish road network of 1997. And now when I visit I see dirty cities. Trains, buses and train stations so less modern than in Poland. And Autobahns? They seem narrow and uncomfortable compared to polish express roads.

[@rhettmeyers474]

Poland lacks much of the cultural enrichment that Germany has benefited from over the last couple of decades.

[@pmacc3557]

Poland is a great country

[@FoobsTon]

Who do you think's been financing the new stuff in Poland?

[@Thematic2177]

@@FoobsTon Polish taxpayers

[@FoobsTon]

@@Thematic2177 Sorry. From Statista: Since 2004, Poland has received nearly 246 billion euros from the European Union budget. During this period, membership payments to the EU budget amounted to over 83.8 billion euros.22 Apr 2024

[@Sirlix89]

I recently told my Vietnames coworkers that 100 mbits internet is fast in Germany (at least 5 years ago when I still lived there). They were speechless.

[@viviandarkbloom8847]

i live in Vietnam. It's good there's no 5G over there, as the Vietnamese are turning into zombies with their omnipresent electronic devices. The smarter the phone, the dumber the user.

[@emanueley8410]

lol, in Germany 30 mbits is fast. oh. and they actually just passed a law defining what "fast internet" means: 15mbits

[@celdur4635]

@@emanueley8410

[@simpson6700]

i have 50mbits and i honestly don't know what i'd do with more. yes it could be faster, but it's completely sufficient for watching live streams and movies, and game downloads are a one time thing that i can just do in the background without affecting me much. my upload also exceeds the twitch bitrate limit. i guess it could be a problem with multiple people watching streams in the same household.

[@celdur4635]

@@simpson6700 You don't know what you don't know. I have 600mbits, and now i finally feel i have no barriers. 50 is nothing.

[@marc_d.357Mag]

German road works take months where other countries need just days. Seen this in the US, Spain, Portugal and just two weeks ago in Denmark. During the week we stayed, they repaved like 20km road with little impact on traffic. They also repaved the center of a small village within 2 days!

[@denziljoe]

At work here in Germany I frequently get in trouble for taking initiative and trying to be proactive, I'll foresee a potential problem and try to prevent it only to be told by my bosses to stop. I should rather come to them first and they'll put it in the schedule for next week's meeting by which time the problem has actually arisen and has built up to the point that it affects the efficiency of the whole operation. Instead of allowing me an hour to create a solution that will result in efficiencies the whole way down the line of the project (not to mention increased safety) they wait until it has built up to the point that it takes many more man hours to solve, decreases safety and efficiency of the primary project as well as the solving of the problem, still don't try and mitigate any knock-on effects and then complain that the project is running slow and people aren't working hard enough. This has happened so often that now I usually don't even try, I just catch myself and have a little internal laugh and think "Oh well, it was a nice idea"

[@mwallace2922]

It's the same here in 🇦🇺

[@b.2194]

It is all about power 😮 How embarrassing for your bosses when a “normal worker” discovers an arising problem and even has an easy solution for this, which was created in one hour! If your bosses let this pass, it would mean, their work and all of the meetings and blabla would be unnecessary. This is how companies work, this is how the health system, administrations and government work… all of the (useless) rules are made to justify and secure the existence of all of the people who could easily be replaced by a few people with common sense😕 Das ist auch ein Problem: umständliche Diskussionen, die zu nichts führen, aber Hauptsache: jeder “wichtige” Mitarbeiter hat was dazu gesagt… der gesunde Menschenverstand und die Eigenschaft Probleme zu erkennen, lösungsorientiert zu denken und die Probleme dann auch zu lösen, wird von den Vorgesetzten im Keim erstickt, weil ja dann ihre Existenz überflüssig wäre….

[@Fred-yq3fs]

Same in France. Initiative: 0. It's all overbearing hierarchy. No ability to make the most of the new opportunities and tools.

[@Fred-yq3fs]

@@mwallace2922 Nope. not a fair assessment. In AU you have initiative and things are moving fast. I know, I live in AU, and born French. Ozzies have no idea how "lucky" they are. Yeah renting is bad, but it's the same all over the West. The rest of the country works and move fw. When I arrived I was in awe at no queues to get a driver license. So fast, so efficient, so seamless, and with a smile. Try France and go eat sand.

[@zoetropo1]

@@b.2194Universities globally have been like this for decades. No wonder the world is getting dumber.

[@SpaceLaunchLabs]

I'm a mineral physicist, did my PhD in German (dumb idea). Had to do experiments at DESY, at the PETRA III synchrotron. Do you know what they did starting in 2022? They have the beam off for 20% of the time now. Why? To save on energy! Yes, they turn off a particle accelerator that is incredibly competitive for beam time, 20% of the year, because energy is too expensive. There's no surprise that Germany is falling behind. Those are the kind of decisions that are made daily there. Yes, it's still, now, in 2024, 20% of the year turned off. Screwed my research up quite badly!

[@donaldkasper8346]

Wind and solar over coal is five times more expensive.

[@effexon]

wait, havent they heard of company inventory management from accounting side.... if factory buys insanely expensive new machine, they better make sure it is used 99.99% to settle purchase cost in targeted time. I guess universities dont do this and thus they suck. Afterall even 50c electric is insanely cheap compared to billion euros CERN and other fancy science equipment. (I guess newest ones can be 15 billion euros range).

[@viperswhip]

There was a war against nuclear power because people are ignorant now. The only failures of Nuclear were from early version plants (3 mile, Chornobyl) or hit by a tsunami. Meanwhile, it is a great source of power that is safe, green, and wonderful. Oh well.

[@mal2ksc]

I can't imagine that kind of equipment likes being turned on and off frequently, either.

[@TheJerbol]

I think their decision to shut down nuclear reactors and instead re-open coal power plants is one of the most insane decisions of modern societies. Modern day Germany is so extremely reactive to global events. I somehow doubt that any of Germany's nuclear reactors are at risk of tsunami. Frankly Japan's idea to build a low-lying coastal plant was the main cause of the Fukushima disaster. They're literally surrounded by tectonic activity

[@seconduser1809]

Last year I traveled around England for 5 weeks and dealt with cancelled trains and strikes and hearing people complain about how everything in the country is falling apart. Same things in my own country, Canada. I think it's happening in many developed countries, including Germany, for a variety of reasons.

[@danielslocum7169]

Socialists will screw everything up. Its happening in the U.S. at an alarming rate.

[@ericjsmoczynski4374]

Yes because all Western European nations are now run by psychopaths who hate themselves and have already transformed them into Third World nations.

[@oneoflokis]

What are those reasons, then?

[@CarlosFernandes-vm6mh]

What's falling apart in Canada?

[@bobchungilo]

@@oneoflokis Governments that do not represent the people, but rather, corporations and the elites.

[@TheBluemikes]

I had fiber optic when I lived in Mexico City in 2012. It's criminal that I can't get it in Germany in 2024.

[@impexRQ]

German internet network is a nightmare… it’s like going back to 1800’s

[@HerbertDuckshort]

I lived in the old West Germany in the 80s. Everything worked, trains on time, streets spotlessly clean. I loved it. What's happened?

[@rodrigomohr1277]

Inept politicians are destroying the country. :(

[@mikicerise6250]

Ironically... Maybe lack of competition after the end of communism? 😅

[@RJasonKlein]

Unfettered immigration…

[@John-ir2zf]

👈ism......that's what happened 🤷‍♂️

[@zm1786]

I blame.the zuckerberh trirbe

[@MCRuCr]

Bad internet and train infrastructure are by far not the worst problems here

[@daymenpollet4202]

Internet is fine bro.

[@AtlasReburdened]

The bureaucracy and general sense of native malcontention were the worst things I experienced in Germany.

[@Briand-ei1gs]

Too many German citizens are not really german but African and arab.

[@richrd0001]

@@Briand-ei1gs Bravo. Thank you.

[@uncletimo6059]

salam aleikum, fellow geman

[@JB_inks]

Sounds like Germany is following Britain's lead

[@Anerisian]

Yes, the causes are also largely due to Conservatives. Example, chancellor Schmidt in the 1980s had started a program to upgrade to fibre. In the 1980s! But a lost election later, this was cancelled by the Conservatives/Liberals. How about renewables. Germany was in a leading position in the 2000s, thanks Social Democrats with Greens. But an election or two later, this was choked off by a different energy plan towards Putin, Nordstream etc. because it was cheaper, see how that went. Tragically, this government (Social Democrat/Greens and Liberals) came into power when the Ukraine War started, so cruel irony is they are blamed for a situation we wouldn’t be in if they had their say - except for the Liberals who now brand themselves as a modern digital party).

[@craigsips8677]

Things are great here in Edinburgh. But then, I don’t watch the news.

[@A.R.-mk1lq]

You mean islamization and shitholization?

[@VEVOJavier]

​@@craigsips8677I live in Edinburgh and I can't wait to move out. How is it July and still freezing outside

[@kingbolo4579]

Nonsense. We British have policy failures and incompetence the Germans can only dream about.

[@diochu]

I visited Germany before, I am Brazilian and spent a lot of time in China too.I also visited Portugal, Spain and Italy in Europe, in Latin America I visited Paraguay, Argentina and Urugay, in Asia I visited South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Apart from China Mainland. For me it's like this: Asia is like 10x better comparing with 10 years ago, everything, cleaner, better maners, daily tech (optic fiber, 5g cover, instant payment system), airports, trains, highways, all got much better. Latin America: Slow improvements, but still improvements, mainly in the countryside things got much better (I do live in the countryside), daily tech much much better, internet everywhere, private schools and hospitals got incredible better, so even if things are slow to improve, at the end of the day, they improved. Europe: Just general decay, Apart from the historical stuff, everything felt kind of old and slow, nothing happening, visited some factories but they where not competitive, expensive stuff but nothing special, old infrastructure, flights canceled, bad airports, old hotels, depressed people. I know a lot of things still better in Germany for instance, than in Brazil and China, but specially in the regions I live and stay (which by the way and in the countryside in both countries), I can see a lot of improvements in the last decade, but I saw the opposite in Europe

[@SjaakSchulteis]

I live in Thailand, about 18 km from the nearest town (Hua Hin). My internet comes through glass fiber cable with over 800 mbps! Every year I have to send a life certificate to receive my pension from the Deutsche Rente for one more year: it has to be done by post. Twice it never arrived. Now I have to send it via registered mail, so I can follow it's tracks. They don't accept it via e-mail. It has to be done on paper! In 2024! Probably because of "privacy and security" reasons, but anyone can open the envelop on the way to Germany. I retired in 2012 and before that time I took the train to Frankfurt airport from a small place called Herzogenrath. I always had to take into consideration that there would be a delay, so I had to take one or two trains before the actual time that I had to be at the airport (I used to work for Lufthansa)... Oh I can go on about it... on the whole, I'm glad that I can live in a "third world" country like Thailand.

[@GazGuitarz]

Thailand is amazingly progressive in many areas. Most Thais use their mobiles to pay for everything. My wife comes from Kalasin (rural Northern Thailand) and even the internet in her village is faster than mine is in Australia.

[@belstar1128]

in the 90s nobody in Thailand owned a computer most of the population didn't even know what it was while Germany was cutting edge now Germany has fallen decades behind Thailand

[@planetdrinker5385]

Can you justify receiving a pension when you don't live in the country that gives it to you? I know you Boomers think you deserve the world.

[@twls153]

I'm from Brazil, and is very ironic seeing native people who lives in villages in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest here having better tech than a first world country.

[@JoseGranny]

Can we stop using the term "third world country"?

[@marcoac-sx6lq]

In Italy, we usually refer to Germany as the perfect example of punctuality and efficiency for trains. Having traveled a bit in the last few years, I can say that Spain, Italy (excluding the very south) and France are light years ahead.

[@leobe2104]

That stereotype should be applied to individuals, but definitely not Deutsche Bahn, god I hate them

[@morrisse0_088]

@@leobe2104 the Bahn can only do as well as the politicians running the show. And let’s not act like this has only become a problem under this administration…

[@Soundbrigade]

Didn't the trains be in time in Italy many years ago when a bald "duke" ruled the country?! The situation in Sweden, where I live, is also a misery.

[@domenicodecaro5154]

@@Soundbrigade nope, bald guy would rather invest in the army than the railway. Saying that the trains were on time is the stereotypical thing that the weird single uncle says at Christmas' lunch when someone points out our current problems.

[@FSantoro91]

The only good thing about the German railway system is that it's extremely interconnected, with a lot of branch lines to small villages, whereas in Italy many of those were closed to favor the automobile industry.

[@nlpnt]

In Germany half the trains are delayed. In Britain they're not even considered "delayed" unless they're at least an hour late. In America the last train left in 1952.

[@cladglas]

because in 'america', people drive 800Km for fun.

[@mshepard2264]

I just drove over 1600km to deliver something and was basically in the same part of the USA the whole time

[@deansmith4752]

Late is also only referenced by a 1 Hour delay at the final stop - the middle are a 'free fr all'

[@daniellarson3068]

Trains are coming back to America. It's slow getting started, but happening. Trains will remove cars from freeways.

[@Mythhammer]

@@daniellarson3068 Doubtful. Look at the past history of rail in the US. Now look at its present. The ICE isn't going anywhere any time soon.

[@ross4814]

I love that this popped up into my feed... this week.

[@KlausPrettner]

Thank you very much for this video. I worked in Germany for years and enjoyed collaborating with my German colleagues tremendously. However, I learnt the following important rules: - do not commute by train (Deutsche Bahn will make you hate trains even if you loved them before); - do not hope for German politicians to raise investment in infrastructure, education, research and development, or digitalization (even if they frequently state how important doing so would be for our prosperity); - keep new ideas that would simplify bureaucracy for yourself (they are seen as offensive, even if they are intended as helpful); - do not try something new (if you fail, you will be grilled, if you succeed, someone else will claim responsibility); Anyway, I hope things will improve again at some point, so keep spreading the message as loud as you can.

[@leobe2104]

I don't think these new ideas are seen as offensive, it's just that people probably already thought of them and troed it themselves, but people higher up are so slow and opposed to change that it lead to nothing, so they are just annoyed as they know how to improve the situation, they just can't do anything about it

[@thefranciswatts]

I talked to a German while in a Sauna in Oslo, and he expressed the same.

[@MHalblaub]

That couldn't be true. A serious German would tell you to be quiet in a saune because Finnish tradition? In case you ask if he ever visited a sauna in Finland he will leave disgusted.

[@idlewise]

No talking in the sauna!

[@migooknamja]

0:18 Answer: mass immigration from the 3rd world. instead rambles on about slow internet and the EV/Green agenda

[@VeritasIncrebresco]

Import the third world, become the third world

[@artlein..]

@@Ceerix hahaha... yes, imagine that! 🤣🤣🤣❤

[@frankclough380]

I worked with a German company in the 1970's installing automation in a continuous casting steelworks. The competence and standards were very high, they only had two standards, perfect and upwards, nothing else was acceptable. I learned a lot about German perfectionism and it was impressive. I learned a fair bit of the language as well, but that was a long time ago

[@Arcaryon]

This approach is still present but it has to compete with the corruption that has taken root in much of the country, both state and federal government are infected and so far, its not enough to make people actually aware of what's going on because the carefully constructed lies still hold up.

[@AaronGrady-e1o]

And I am working under a German manager right now who is totally incompetent and always bitch about others to secure his place. 😂

[@harryharefoot3058]

​@@AaronGrady-e1o 😂 Ja, sowas in die Richtung habe ich auch schon erlebt.

[@AaronGrady-e1o]

@ Die Geschichte endet jedoch nicht hier. Das Büro liegt in einer abgelegenen Gegend, in der er selbst wohnt, was ihm den Vorteil verschafft, jeden Morgen pünktlich um 08:00 Uhr im Büro zu sein - und ganz ehrlich, das ist das Einzige, was er gut macht. Die anderen Kollegen kommen aus den Städten, und leider ist die Deutsche Bahn nicht mehr zuverlässig, was dazu führt, dass viele zu spät kommen. Er hat es geschafft, eine Mitarbeiterin, die ihm in ihrer Leistung und Kompetenz haushoch überlegen war, entlassen zu lassen, indem er sich täglich bei der Geschäftsleitung beschwert hat. In Wahrheit ist die Produktivität dieses Managers sehr gering, und er besitzt unzureichende Fähigkeiten für seine Position. Ich denke, er wird dort länger bleiben als die talentierten Mitarbeiter, die es wirklich verdient hätten, dort zu sein. 🤣

[@Sercil00]

I once took a semester abroad in Finland. It was eye opening, seeing students from all over the world and also learn how they perceive Germany. They constantly assumed we must be lightyears ahead of them technologically, but I just couldn't believe the insanely advanced state of even Czech internet compared to Germany when a Czech talked about it. In Finland, I had bought unlimited high-speed internet access PHONE CARD for 30 days, for something like 20€. I couldn't even FIND such an offer in Germany, for any price. 20€ probably would have gotten me 10GB at the very most at the time. My phone doubled as the internet router for 3 people watching tons of Netflix or doing online gaming. Even in the depths of the forest, I had 4 or 5 bars of connectivity. This is mind blowing for a German, but it's normal for a country with a very comparable size to Germany but 1/15 of the population? How? 10 years have passed, and we're still nowhere close to this level. Literally every single student there could not even imagine living with internet as terrible as ours.

[@huonglarne]

A friend of mine is developing a chatbot for a German company. Their internal software system is so terrobly designed and hard to use and so they wanted to use AI to help users make sense of it. Along the way, the developers realized that in the past, there have been multiple other IT projects to cope with that software beside the chatbot, but none of them really helped. My friend kept wondering why they didnt go with the obvious solution, which is designing an entirely new software to replace the old ones. Instead they kept it and keep slapping new tech like AI like a bandaid over it. But since they're paying my friend, the chatbot project goes on. It's exactly the same story as not upgrading to optic cables but trying to improve copper sables instead.

[@Blink_____]

sunk cost fallacy

[@chrisbent5734]

something something -man empire.

[@athmaid]

And when they finally decide to fix it, they implement a more powerful version that is even worse in terms of user experience lol

[@sortasurvival5482]

American banks would like t[ have a chat. At least one major one still has all their back end run by cobol...

[@rushyscoper1651]

no that a very different problem with tech in general, its goes like this, new less-code solution become trendy promising ease of use and being able to do 80% what more-code solution do, company switch to and start wanting to implement the 20% only to find out that the 80% is the easy part that even an intern can do, their solution grow in complexity slowly and now they are stuck in this model. dev that specialized in these less-code solution over time became so complex and fought over by the very few leftover companies that are stuck, but also in a way those dev are stuck cause if that market fail their job is gone and they so out of shape in coding in general.

[@fabiosogni3420]

Hi Sabine, I'm a new born German. I am Italian, I have been living in Germany since...ever. I asked for the German citizenship a year ago and I have just obtained it. Pretty slow, right? But having been here for a long time and knowing what you're talking about, I can't help but disagree: the problem isn't slowness, it's denial. A problem that has been known for some time ;) What you described in your video, the backwardness of the infrastructure, has been clear to me since I moved here three decades ago: at that time no one accepted credit cards as payment in shops, only cash; the results of medical tests were given to me on sheets of paper (in Italy they gave me a CD); the ATMs had outdated and buggy software (I worked in that field, yes)...just to mention some issues. Can you imagine what happened when I pointed out all this backwardness? I was scolded by friends and colleagues. So I learned that the Germans, the most anxious people in the world, deny the existence of problems as long as they can, but when they are forced to admit them then they react very quickly. I am thinking of Germany's reaction to the 2008 financial crisis, but I can give other examples. Basically the problems you described have always been there. What is new is that the profound (identity) crisis that Germany is experiencing now has made all these problems evident. I am confident that as soon as the direction to solve these problems is established, the reaction will be very fast, but here my personal fear begins: the Germans are amplifiers and implementers of ideas, whether good or bad. My personal embarrassment is that one of the worst ideas was taken from Italy and then amplified and implemented. The real challenge now is to come up with good ideas. That's why I have decided to ask for the German citizenship, even though as a European citizen I don't need it. Precisely because the times require it: I want to vote, I want to decide which are good ideas and which are bad, and I want to participate in the building of the future of the country. As you can see, I'm not at all embarrassed about being German, perhaps because I'm a very young German. ;)

[@ZY1982]

"Deny the existence of problems for as long as they can" Yes. YES. 100% this ☝ This fellow Italian living in Germany fully agrees with you, sir. You overall message and your conclusions are spot on!

[@tk80mufa5]

@fabiosogni3420 "My personal embarrassment is that one of the worst ideas was taken from Italy and then amplified and implemented." could you specify / explain that , please ?

[@kevinfalls662]

@@tk80mufa5 Really????

[@tk80mufa5]

@@kevinfalls662 what's your one word comment going to achieve ? Either explain it or stop spamming. It's late here , and I couldn't make out from his text , what he might be talking about. Simple as that.

[@Patrick_Engels]

​@@tk80mufa5 I assume you are honest and actually dont know. They are talking about Fascism. Benito Mussolini, the dictator of italy came up with it. When you asked "Could you speficy/explain that, please?" it sounds like a Fascist who tries to play dumb, as if Facism isnt one of the worst ideas. Hope this helps.

[@roanbrand7358]

The nuclear thing was the biggest for me, could not believe they wanted to stop

[@franciasii2435]

They = coal and oil lobbies

[@albertcscs]

What better way for Merkel to help her friend Vladímir to help sell more fossil fuels to the West?

[@mousethehuman7179]

tbh the nuclear plants had the same problems like most of our infrastructure: most plants were pretty old by now, hard to upkeep and pricey (heavily financed by the state to keep them somewhat profitable), the waste difficult to deal with, new ones needed decades to be build, and they contributed not even 20% to our energy consumption in their best times. To compare: renewables contribute over 60% at the moment. Nuclear was nice to have for some time, but it was not the answer for everything.

[@johnbrobston1334]

@@franciasii2435 So the "environmentalists" who have been protesting nuclear power and filing lawsuits right and left are backed by "the coal and oil lobbies"?

[@hoppingrabbit9849]

@@mousethehuman7179 state subsidies don’t make anything profitable. Nuclear is one of the most expensive ways to provide power… especially when you take into account the never-ending expenses associated with waste storage.

[@theostapel]

Dear Sabine - keep buzzing along - finding the nectar - wherever - one may. Release sweet notes - for those interested. Sting a few sleepy or naughty ones - if needed. Keep thinking - analysing - being active and of course - laughing Fare thee well - on life's journey.

[@theostapel]

From another German - but not so committed - (I like India, too)

[@juremustac3063]

I have been living in Germany for 5 years now. The cancer of German society is bureaucracy. It is the root cause of almost every problem here. It is completely out of control, and it seems nobody has a solution to this. Furthermore, it doesn't seem like anybody is actively fighting it. There are no people gluing themselves to the highway in protest because bureaucracy has laid waste to their country. It seems that people have accepted it in the same way that someone living in Greenland accepts the cold. Yes, they complain, but as I have seen, there is no active resistance or attempt to put serious pressure on politicians. At this point, I don't see any way this can end well.

[@johnking5759]

In general the Germans are very organised and compliant people - only a good thing when you have good government.

[@bowwak5366]

​​@@johnking5759yeah they were always very compliant even at times when they should'nt

[@tagtraumhoch2]

It's how they provide "jobs" to the older population. Just letting them in old positions. Germany is full with old people

[@ms-jl6dl]

That's socialism for you.

[@ando_ow]

As a Dutch person, I kinda felt embarrassed when I visited Japan. I realized we made things normal what should never be normal; for example: you can't withdraw money at night to prevent crime, gas stations has projection glass, we get warnings to be alert for pickpocketing in the train and so on. While in Japan, Trains are on time, people stand in line without overtaking, man as well as woman can just walk alone in night without hiding their watch and so on... European countries are sadly declining.

[@informer3000]

Immigration

[@bartek4210]

in eastern Europe, in Poland you can walk at night ... mostly western Europe is declining and lost it's moral values

[@jimcy1319]

Have you figured out why. I could tell you but it's more fun if you work it out for yourself.

[@thecooletompie]

Lol such a selective memory of Japan. Try to book some shinkansen tickets online and you will see a web interface from the early 2000s (btw this ordering systems is considered modern in Japan), in fact try to do anything that involves modern technology in Japan and you will be shocked to find out it doesn't exist. The best route planner in Japan for public transit is google maps or navitime (add riddled garbage) since the train companies refuse to make proper one themselves. If a train is delayed in Japan (yes this happens and actually quite often outside of Kansai and Kanto) it is nearly impossible to figure out what the new best route is to mitigate your delay while any modern transit app in Europe will show you this. Not to forget Japanese office culture (fax machine are modern am i right?) and more reasonable thing to notice is that Japan is stuck in the 90s early 2000s.

[@bierundkippen720]

@@informer3000 If you have immigrated, this might in fact be a problem.

[@MajinXarris]

I had visited and stayed in Germany many times and each time I find something new that shocks me. I love the country but things need to change.

@@2b_or_not_2b_4gotten Yes, our government is supporting foreign interests. US interests primarily. Nobody even talks about how the US (Baltops 22, Seymour Hersh) destroyed our most important energy supply in an act of terrorism just because US strategists do not want us to work together with Russia. They rather have us kill each other in a third world war Europe VS. Asia/Russia, while watching the whole thing from over the atlantic, eating popcorn. The Ukrainian war is also just a proxy war between NATO and Russia, funded mostly by Germany and Europe, while the US is enjoying the show. (Of course I am only talking about the government, military etc. - not my fellow American patriots)

[@borussiadortmundlondon9368]

Als Beobachter Deutschlands seit den 80er Jahre muss Ich schon sagen das das Land sich in manchen Dingen schon verschlechtert hat zb eben die Bahn und aber auch die Freundlichkeit der Menschen zum Teil (dieses Arschlochgessellschaft in der jeder nur fuer sich ist kann manchmal einem schon richtig runter kriegen) aber insgesamt darf man durchaus auch stolz sein auf das war ma dort nach dem Krieg zustande bekommen hat. Es ist ein Land mit zig Tausend Jahre Geschichte in dem so vieles fuer Zivilisation erreicht wurde zb in der Musik, Philosophie, Wissenschaft oder eben auch Sport, mein Fach. Deutschland ist ein wunderschoenes Land mit eine wunderbare Kueche, sehr gute Infrastruktur - besonders im Vergleich zu den meistenn anderen Laender Europas, auch wenn modernisierungsbeduerftig besonders im Osten, mann muss aber auch erkennen das die Sprache eine Barriere ist die sich nur schlecht ueberwinden laesst. Die moderne Welt ist leider nur Mal Anglofon und as wird sich denke auch nicht so schnell aendern. Was mir an dem Video heute nicht gefaellt, sogar ganz und gar nicht ist die Aussage 'I'm not and have never been proud to be German'. Nur als Beispiel welches andere Land hat 1 Million Fluechtlinge aus der Ukraine oder Syrien aufgenommen? Nicht ein Mal USA. Wenn ich eines aendern koennte an Deutschland ist das die Menschen versuchen sollten etwas Humorvoller in den Tag zu gehen und nicht immer so ueberheblich sein. Arroganz hat noch nie jemanden etwas gebracht und es ist leider eine sehr unangenehme Erscheinung die man viel zu oft erlebt in den Umgang mit deutsch-sprachige. Diese Art und Weise und die fehlende Hilfsbereitschaft zum Teil nimmt einem, gerade als Auslaender total die Lust weg. Hoert endlich auf den Willen der USA zu machen entwickelt eine eigene Europaeische Politik und Kopf hoch und macht was draus, Europe needs Germany!

[@SpectacularSuperSoup]

I used to work for a major global video game developer. We used to test our online gameplay in Germany to see how things go in environments with bad internet! 150 Mbps isn't bad, Sabine. Where I lived in Germany, one of the biggest cities in west Germany, I was lucky to get 15 Mbps!

[@SirBalageG]

Leaving Hungary and arriving to Germany, I thought my phone was broken because even the weather app was NOT loading in human time. Rare occasions when I prefer my homeland, but only in spite of mobile internet

[@tehsimo]

However, in rural Ireland 20 miles from a city, you can get 1.6Gbit

[@hanstubben]

150 Mbps is bad, I do have 600 Mbps here in Brazil and can get a plan for 1 Gbps if I want. This is possible for a big part of the country.

[@TheWolfsnack]

Here in a rural Canadian village I get 50 mbps.....which is better than the 10 a few years back.

[@FossilTunes]

back in the city i was last year in "rural" Hessia (near Darmstadt) i had 10Mbit.... no chance of getting anything better.

[@georgepantzikis7988]

I live in the UK but work for a German company, and the level of bureaucracy to do anything (God forbid you want to make a slight change) is so bloated it borders on disfunctional. For example, the building where I work has coffee making facilities and, alongside that, sells some alcohol. The alcohol suppliers have changed their prices on certain items, meaning that we can no longer sell them. We wanted to remove those items from the menu to avoid confusing and disappointing customers. Well, it turns out that to remove an item from the menu we would need to write a proposal for why it needs to be removed, with relevant statistical evidence to prove that advertising items we don't have is a bad idea, and send that report to the CEO of the entire company, in the Munich headquarters, where he would have multiple meetings with his team to decide if this change is acceptable. 2 months after we submitted this report, the response came back that we were not allowed to remove the item. The reasoning was "Well, if someone goes to another building of the same company in a different country and notices the difference in the menus, they will upset by our inconsistent standards. Let's wait and see if it causes a problem." Meanwhile, we were getting multiple complaints every single day for having a wrong menu.

[@smo-king6504]

Gotta side with the company on this one

[@georgepantzikis7988]

@@smo-king6504 Why? If we can no longer sell an item, you think it is better to keep it in the menu, misleading customers?

[@smo-king6504]

@@georgepantzikis7988 why can't you just charge more for the product. If thats an international chain consistency is key to capturing tourist/travel markets

[@smo-king6504]

@@georgepantzikis7988 hm looks like my reply got filtered but I basically said if this is a chain I think it would be better to raise prices to supply uniformity

[@colingallagher1648]

Crippling infrastructure is a rapidly growing disease, as is dysfunctional government both certainly have a correlation. As a New Yorker, I’ve always found it funny that the subway is seen as such a big part of its identity. But the city really seems to ever care if at all to actually get it to work well, or even just work.

[@roncaruso931]

What ever happened to Joe Bidens' "Biden Build Back Better"? Where did all those billions go for our infrastructure?

[@nothanks3236]

Or make it safe to ride.

[@BoRisMc]

NYC subway is spooky to say the least.

[@seriousmaran9414]

Pretty much the same for all of the American electricity system. Should be unified but it is in 3 separate grids. Getting the paperwork sorted to link alternative energy sources is hell on earth.

[@yakovdan]

And yet, you've got 3.6 million daily users on a weekday in 2023. So clearly it is working, even if not as well as some would like. Where I live, I can only dream of urban railway infrastructure as far reaching and as well functioning as the nyc subway. I get it that it's best to strive for more and better but it's ok to take stock of what you have already every once in a while.

[@ericschellhammer6107]

I feel like the root cause of the "slowness" or the "Technologieoffenheit" is something that - if it happened in other countries - we would point at accusingly and call it 'corruption', but when it happens here in Germany we simply call it 'lobbyism'.

[@paddythefly]

This ist exactly the problem!

[@gorkyd7912]

It's not necessary to totally and always keep up with other countries technologically. It's better to fall behind, focus elsewhere, and then jump ahead when the time is right. The countries with the worst infrastructure now had the best 50 years ago. Other countries jumped ahead. And, when the time comes, those countries will be behind.

[@CrniWuk]

It's not just lobbyism. Talk to some people. Average people. And you quickly realise how "anti-technology" a lot of the population actaully are. We Germans love to sell our selfs as engineeres, techies and progressive. But that's not the reality I am afraid. Our society is, compared to other nations, relatively conservative. Conservative in the sense that we really don't like too much change or too many new things. Up to the point where we rather keep 30 year old technologies around even though we know they are complettely outdated. It's not just a political problem. A lot of it comes from our society and the stance it has to implementing technology.

[@paddythefly]

@@CrniWuk And that´s the other side of the same problem.

[@tommapar]

@@CrniWuk I've seen in my country (Argentina) how the lefties became the conservatives, because they keep on putting useless people in places of power, where by ignorance or inoperance everything is always worse off than before. And nothing new is allowed to thrive, UNLESS YOU GET IN BED WITH GOVERNMENT. Because that's modern western socialism for you. If you're my friend you enjoy free market. If you're not, you enjoy overtaxing, overregulation. Nothing is ever allowed to change or grow. The more liberal the better usually for letting technology progress. Take that to your next election!