Free Republic

Thirty years since German reunification, the “new states” from the former East still suffer the effects of mass deindustrialization and emigration. But if reunification hasn't delivered the promises of 1990, socialists should recognize why most East Germans didn't defend the old system — and why welfare and public services aren’t enough to build a viable socialist society. Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of German reunification — a decisive event in the end of state socialism in Eastern Europe. On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), formerly one of the most enthusiastic members of the Warsaw Pact, was annexed...

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel forcefully condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine in her first public speech since leaving office in December of last year. Premising her comments by saying that she did not want to give advice from the sidelines, Merkel described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “barbaric war of aggression” which constituted a “far-reaching turning point” and the most “glaring breach of international law” in Europe since the Second World War.

Germany plans to buy up to 35 US-made F-35 fighter jets and 15 Eurofighter jets, a parliamentary source said Monday, as part of a major push to modernise the armed forces in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin would replace Germany's decades-old Tornado fleet, according to media reports confirmed by the source. Tornados are the only Luftwaffe planes capable of carrying US nuclear bombs stationed in Germany that are a key part of NATO deterrence.

Berlin (AFP) – Up to the final hours before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, former chancellor Angela Merkel had been touted as the person favoured by Germans to try to talk President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict. But as Russian bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, a shadow has fallen on Merkel's 16 years in office, with some observers now questioning if her detente policies with Putin had in fact left Germany, and Europe, vulnerable. Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran centre-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's reliance on Russian...

At a time when US officials are saying virtually every day that the US is in “active discussions” to ban Russian oil imports, Germany’s economy minister said that while he regrets the country is still dependent on imports from Moscow, he warned against a comprehensive ban on energy imports from Russia. As Dutesche Welle reports, “Germany is currently still dependent on Russian fossil fuels”, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday; he spoke out against a ban on energy imports from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I would not advocate an embargo on Russian imports of...

VIDEORemember how the liberal media kept screeching that President Trump was Putin's puppet? Well, the reality was quite the opposite because President Trump OPPOSED the one thing most important to Vladimir Putin, namely the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. A project that President Trump knew would make Western Europe dependent on Russian energy which is why he imposed sanctions upon it.Oh, and does anybody out there really think Russia would have invaded Ukraine if President Trump were still in the White House? But, hey, at least we no longer have mean tweets.

BERLIN–German oil and gas company Wintershall Dea AG, one of the investors in the now frozen Nord Stream 2 pipeline, said it would write off its 1 billion euro, or $1.1 billion, financing in the project and won't pursue new energy ventures in Russia. Germany last week halted the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project that would have doubled the capacity of an existing pipeline traveling along a similar route and linking Russian gas fields directly to Germany. The project was backed by a number of Western energy players, including Shell PLC, which said on Monday that it would end...

Merkel's Legacy as Russian Invasion Lays Up to the final hours before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, former chancellor Angela Merkel had been touted as the person favored by Germans to try to talk President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict. But as Russian bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, a shadow has fallen on Merkel's 16 years in office, with some observers now questioning if her detente policies with Putin had in fact left Germany, and Europe, vulnerable. Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran center-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's...

Former President Donald Trump spoke with Laura Ingraham Wednesday night as Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale attack against Ukraine. Trump says “this is something that shouldn’t have happened,” and people are going to be “needlessly killed.” “This is something that should have never happened,” he said. “This would not have happened during my administration. In fact, some people were saying, why didn’t this take place over the past four years during my administration? And it didn’t for a very good reason. I’ll explain that to you someday. But it wouldn’t have taken place, and it wouldn’t have taken...

BERLIN (AP) — Members of Germany's biggest opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have chosen prominent conservative Friedrich Merz as its new leader, the party said Friday. Merz's election with a strong mandate appears to mark at least a symbolic break with the Merkel era. Making his third run for the CDU's top post, he took 62.1% support in a ballot of the party's membership to beat two centrist contenders. A party convention next month will have to sign off officially on the membership vote, but that should only be a formality. Armin Laschet,...

A military ceremony has been held in honour of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is due to step down next week after 16 years in office...

Berlin: The state finance minister of Germany's Hesse region, which includes Frankfurt, has been found dead. Authorities said he appears to have killed himself and the state's governor suggested Sunday that he was in despair over the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. The body of Thomas Schaefer, a 54-year-old member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, was found Saturday on railway tracks at Hochheim, near Frankfurt. German minister Thomas Schaefer commits suicide over coronavirus worries, body found on railway tracks File image of Thomas Schäfer (CDU), Minister of Finance of Hesse. AP

Jake Tapper inadvertently admits COVID security theater.. CNN host Jake Tapper inadvertently revealed the security theater that is ‘COVID-safe’ after he tried to reassure people “we took off our masks just for the photo.” Tapper posted an image of himself and his CNN staffers for a “bake off” event before tweeting, “for anyone concerned, we took off our masks just for the photo, but generally we all wear masks around the office. also, we’re all vaccinated.” ... Apparently, COVID has developed artificial intelligence and knows not to infect people when they’re doing a photo-op. “Did you get everyone’s permission in...

Cuomo fires back at sheriff, AG James over criminal charges 'At 38,000 feet, we are all you have' - flight attendants are fed up with a growing… President Biden said during a meeting with top German leaders on Saturday that Russia cannot be able to manipulate natural gas for political purposes. iden met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Group of 20 summit in Rome on Saturday and emphasized the importance of working to implement the U.S.-Germany Joint Statement on Support for Ukraine and European Energy Security in an effort to "ensure that Russia...

BERLIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Two of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's closest political allies and most senior ministers will quit the German parliament to make way for a new generation that can rejuvenate her conservative party after its election defeat, they said.

German Parking Garage Unveils Dedicated Spaces For LGBTQ And Migrant Drivers Today in “our obsession with inclusiveness is once again leading us back to segregating people” news, a car park in Germany is unveiling dedicated parking spaces for LGBTQ and migrant drivers. The three “diversity” parking spaces were put up in an underground car park in Hanau city centre, according to the Daily Mail. Hanau is considered a city of diversity already, the report noted. Hanau’s population was “already ethnically diverse” before the 2015 migrant crisis. The aim of the spots was to “help people who feel a special need...

A hotel in the eastern German city of Leipzig was facing accusations of antisemitism on Tuesday after a musician said he was denied service for wearing a Star of David. The video sparked sharp criticism from Germany’s Jewish communities and drew the attention of police. In a video posted on social media, German musician Gil Ofarim said he attempted to check in to the Hotel Westin in Leipzig on Monday evening. Ofarim, who is Jewish, was wearing a necklace with a Star of David pendant. Due to technical issues with the hotel’s computers, a long line had formed at the...

Germany's four biggest parties have held a series of bilateral meetings on Sunday to communicate their positions before deciding on further steps in forming a new government. The centre-left Social Democrats, who won Germany's national election last month, first met with the Free Democrats before holding talks with the Greens. The latter two had already met on September 29, though it is unusual for smaller parties to make the first move. The sessions in Berlin — that some observers described as akin to a political "speed dating" — were rounded off by a meeting between the Free Democrats and the...

Two climate activists ended their hunger strike outside parliament after a leading candidate for chancellor of Germany agreed to a public meeting with them following Sunday's general election. The hunger strikers said Scholz called them on Saturday afternoon, seven hours after they stopped taking liquids, and agreed to a public meeting within a month after the vote. Scholz confirmed the agreement in a statement on Twitter, saying saving lives takes precedent. The candidate and his two rivals from the environmentalist Greens and the center-right Union bloc had turned down the hunger strikers' initial demand for a meeting before the election....

In the history of the world, German electricity prices have never been higher… … and if what just happened at the Steag Bergkamen-A electric plant is any indication, they are about to get a whole lot higher. According to Bloomberg, the global energy crisis has forced a German electricity producer to halt a power plant after it ran out of coal. Steag GmbH – which operates six large-scale hard coal plants in Germany with an installed capacity of more than 4,000 MW – closed its Bergkamen-A plant in the western part of the country this week due to shortages of...