paulkrantz.bsky.social
Editor of The Local Germany.
Explaining Germany for English speaking immigrants, and occasionally reporting environment & biodiversity stories for other outlets.
Tips: Paul.krantz [at] thelocal.com
163 posts
380 followers
310 following
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Now Germany's Interior Minister is pushing for more Tasers for federal police. Meanwhile Amnesty Intl recorded ten killings by police using Tasers in the country since 2021.
www.thelocal.de/20250610/wil...
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Admittedly that was a slight exaggeration... And we did find one thing to write about Merz' day after all
www.thelocal.de/20250606/ger...
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See also: www.thelocal.de/20250604/col...
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Honestly, can relate
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The list I keep in my head of French words that we refuse to pronounce correctly grows every day
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Honestly it's REALLY difficult to avoid plastic in our clothing, and it would take an industry-wide revolution to change that
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But if you were to replace that jacket with another poly-based rain jacket that one will also shed (and long before you can see it too) - ultimately the solution here is buying less plastic clothing (and seeking natural fibre alternatives)
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Sometimes I try to think of any possible grain of unforeseen upside there could be in this whole mess, and the best I can do is that if T man were to crash the economy so bad that it breaks capitalism we’ll at least has a shot at maybe trying to build a more sustainable system after
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Spotted on a hike in Pottenstein, Germany which I can absolutely recommend to anyone with a bit of time for exploration in Upper Franconia. Beautiful trails, castle on a hill and one of the nicest beer gardens I’ve visited.
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Europe’s right to repair directive has entered the chat
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Yes, as I understand it some key parts in Tesla cars are only made in China - which is the only country where Trump seems determined to keep tariffs in effect - and escalate them. Could be that Tesla cars actually get hit much harder in the end
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See also: www.thelocal.de/20250410/his...
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Yes, my understanding is this change only applies to compost waste in the brown bins. (Of course, you could still face fines for disposing of things improperly in the other bins but that’s not new.)
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I think a lot of Tesla parts are made in China and those parts would still be hit with the auto tariffs (Musk reportedly asked Trump to reconsider there.) but as others have said Musk’s toxic image has also done irreparable damage
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Hi Ulrike, would you be willing to share your experience around this w/ me for a write up in The Local Germany? I’m always looking for personal stories about the near-impossible hurdles of navigating German paperwork around things like this
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I’m up for it if I can call in from Germany (I previously contributed to a lil podcast here called Germany in Focus but it’s been paused indefinitely since last fall)
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City I like: Dar es Salaam
City I love: Berlin
City I think is overrated: Los Angeles
…underrated: Bologna
City I feel most myself in:Oakland
City I still need to visit: Bogotá
City I dream of living in: Vancouver
Most inspiring city today: Barcelona
Favorite city of all time: San Francisco
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Given that the brands main problem at the moment is it simply can’t sell enough cars in Germany or Europe anymore, the idea that it’s cracking down on sick workers (presumably to try and make more cars) just seems wildly misplaced.
www.thelocal.de/20250317/una...
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But also eggs shouldn’t have gone up so much - @moreperfectunion.bsky.social covered this recently, there’s pretty good evidence bird flu was not the biggest push factor on prices
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Hi Alex, I’ve got a chance to get a story about Tesla Takedown in Grist (US climate solutions media outlet). And I’d love to chat w/ you about your involvement and the evolution of the movement. Can we set up a quick chat?