#299: Germany's legal drinking age is 14
Tesla would like its coffee mugs back
Hello 20 Percent!
A quick note to remind you to get out of Berlin once in awhile.
I just spent the last two days in Saxony and had a marvellous time. The village of Freiburg was quirky and a little too proud of its mining past (as small villages are wont to be) and my day in Leipzig … well I’m not allowed to tell you how great it was because Leipzig’s biggest fear is becoming another Berlin (as small cities are wont to be).
But maybe google a little and put that Deutschlandticket to use before it gets more expensive (start with Leipzig, maybe).
Have a good weeekend!
Andrew
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Dad, can I have a beer? Maybe not.
File under: We had no idea it was allowed. A Berlin politician wants to make it illegal for German children under the age of 16 to drink beer and wine. Health senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) wants to eliminate the legal practice of begleitetes Trinken (supervised drinking) that permits children between14 and 16 to imbibe in restaurants as long as they are accompanied by their parents, according to Tagesspiegel. Her idea is likely to become federal law — it’s suppported by health ministers in Germany’s 15 other states as well as the country’s top healh politician, Karl Lauterbach (SPD).
Görli may get bouncers after all
Closing hours, lockable gates and a fence around Görlitzer Park became more likely Tuesday when an administrative court ruled that Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg lacked the legal foundation to sue the Berlin senate to halt the construction, according to taz. Why? Because they’re both part of Berlin — you can’t sue yourself. Districts are responsible for maintaining their own parks but Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg refused to implement a plan from mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) to add the 220 meters of missing fence at Görli as well as lockable gates to enforce closing times. Wagner wants to thwart the crime fueled by the open-air narcotics market that has thrived there for years. The new fence and gates would cost €1.8 million and the additional security an extra €800,000 per year.
Missing: 65k Tesla coffee mugs
We have too much Tesla news in here, which is me saying this is going to be about Tesla: The head of the works council at the plant on the border to Berlin recently complained that employees have absconded with 65,000 Ikea coffee mugs, the equivalent of 5 per employee, according to RBB24. Cutlery is also missing from smaller kitchens throughout the plant southeast of Berlin in Brandenburg. Cutlery is no longer available in the smaller kitchens and no word if the coffee cups will be replaced. The news actually leaked as part of an article in business daily Handelsblatt (paywall) that said the works council was so out of touch with employees that it was worried about coffee mugs and not working conditions. Works councils represent employee needs to executives.
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Germany-wide news
💥 German arms boss targeted by Russia for supplying Ukraine
🚀 Long-range, US missiles are coming to Germany (again)
☎️ Chinese parts to be banned in 5G networks
🛩️ An electric airplane shuttle between Belgium and Germany
Factoid
About 4.2% of our city-state’s electricity comes from solar panels with a plan to bump that figure to 25% by 2025 (we’re skeptical). About a fifth of the capacity comes from panels on government buildings, like at the convention center above. Residents can also apply for a €500 subsidy to put panels on their balcony but it’s complicated (because: Berlin).
📫 📫 📫 Postkutsche (reader mail) 📫 📫 📫
Reader Meri wrote to tell us about a community event in Neukölln:
For the past few months we've been running rap and poetry workshops for children at the GU Britz refugee centre in Berlin. These workshops empowered the children to write poems about their lives and create their own beats and vocals. We're excited to celebrate their achievements with this family-friendly
What: Lilipad Community Event
When: July 20th, 16:00 - 22:00
Where: Refuge Worldwide Niemetzstraße 1, 12055 Berlin
Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.de/e/community-event-rap-poetry-edition-tickets-938159258597
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For €800k/y they can as well just buy up all the drugs from Görli and send the dealers to chill somewhere outside of Berlin