Germany

Belgian banks have gone to the Orwellian extremes of outright refusing cash deposits without proof of source, even for small amounts as low as €50! The war on cash (war on privacy) is in full swing in Belgium.

At the same time, German ATMs are not producing receipts. My understanding of EU law is that the ATM must print a receipt if there is a currency exchange on the ATM’s side of the transaction (please correct me if I’m wrong). But I see no EU law requiring ATMs to print receipts generally. Some ATMs in Germany don’t even have printers; no slot for dispensing receipts. By extension, I suppose such ATMs must not be capable of offering dynamic currency conversion (which is bizarre because that’s where the most profit is in the ATM business).

In any case, it seems a bit off that you can get cash from a German ATM, get denied a receipt (you don’t know in advance that a receipt will not be given), and then you cannot deposit that cash in Belgium due to their nannying.

Or can you? What if you write down the ATM machine’s number, location, time, date, and amount. Would a log of that information serve to document the source of the cash to legal standards?

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/100174

Die Risiken einer deutschen Abhängigkeit von russischem Gas waren vor dem Ukraine-Krieg bekannt. Doch das Kanzleramt unter Merkel habe diese ignoriert, sagen Politiker der Grünen - und fordern einen U-Ausschuss.

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/99541

Raus aus der Wirtschaftskrise - dafür sollen die Deutschen laut Kanzler Merz wieder mehr arbeiten. Sein Appell dürfte zu neuen Diskussionen führen. Auch, weil laut einer neuen Studie in anderen Wirtschaftsnationen mehr gearbeitet wird.

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/99836

In einer digitalen Welt ist die IT-Sicherheit zentral. Trotzdem droht Strafe, wenn Hacker solche Lücken ehrenamtlich finden und melden. Von Philip Raillon.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/63714263

German software giant SAP will cut several of its diversity programmes to abide by new requirements of the US administration, a spokesman told AFP on Sunday, confirming reports in the local press.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2739025

Thousands of people rallied in cities across Germany on Sunday to protest right-wing extremism and demand a ban on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The demonstrations were organized by the network Together Against the Right and other civil society groups.

In Berlin, protesters gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, with police estimating the crowd at around 4,000 by late afternoon, while organizers claimed approximately 7,500 participants. Around 2,500 demonstrators also took to the streets in Munich, with rallies announced in more than 60 cities nationwide.

Organizers urged political leaders to begin formal proceedings to outlaw the far-right AfD, Germany's largest opposition party.

In a statement, they argued that the issue of banning the party should be seen not as a political decision, but as a legal matter.

"To clarify this, politicians must find the courage to file a motion for a ban," it said.

The organizers are calling on the Bundestag and Bundesrat legislative bodies, as well as the new federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, to initiate ban proceedings against the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court.

[...]

The AfD is known for its anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, eurosceptic and nationalist rhetoric. The populist party has been a flashpoint in German political life for more than a decade. It has benefited in recent years by tapping into economic discontent and growing unease over refugees.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/63665523

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/29860239

Germans have an increasingly negative view of Israel 60 years after the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, said a new survey released by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Friday

The report pointed to a significant change in the mood of Germans towards Israel over the past four years.

Back in 2021, 46% of German citizens surveyed had a positive attitude towards Israel. Meanwhile, only 36% have a positive opinion of Israel, while 38% rate the Jewish state negatively.

The German government has been one of the strongest supporters of Israel but has come under growing public pressure as a result of Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza.

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/35878761

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/29798053

der norden bleibt stabil

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/63314568

Germany’s new interior minister has issued orders to reject undocumented refugees and migrants and wants to deploy thousands more police officers at the country’s borders, according to the Bild newspaper.

cross-posted from: https://metawire.eu/post/70025

Nach der AfD-Einstufung als gesichert rechtsextremistisch sei es an der Zeit für ein Verbotsverfahren, findet Gewerkschaftschef Frank Werneke. Unionspolitiker zeigen sich hingegen skeptisch.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11833209

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62965039

US Vice-President JD Vance accused "bureaucrats" of rebuilding the Berlin Wall, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the designation as "tyranny in disguise".

In an unusual move, the foreign office directly replied to Rubio on X, writing: "We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped."

edit: added archive https://archive.ph/r5GYW

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11710050

Wenn die Deutsche Bahn ihre Bilanz vorlegt, bessert häufig die Tochter Schenker die Zahlen auf. Künftig klappt das nicht mehr: Der Konzern vollzieht den Verkauf an einen dänischen Logistikkonzern, Stellen in Deutschland werden wohl gestrichen.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11553555

Merz hat ja einen totalen Haufen Unbekannter engagiert.

Someone operating a small gratis online service in Germany posted an address for GDPR requests. I happened to be passing through the neighborhood so I went to the address to drop a cash donation in their box. But I was blocked because it was an apartment building with a locked front door and no access to mail slots which are apparently in the lobby. Buzzing yielded no answer, so I could not donate cash.

About half the apartment buildings on the street were designed to block public access to mailboxes. A bartender told me it was some kind of German privacy rule and that postal workers get a front door key to all such buildings. I don’t quite grasp the issue being solved. Mail slots can have flaps that prevent inadvertently seeing someone else’s mail. Is there a problem with malicious snoops probing into mailboxes with a camera? Or mail theft? If someone is so interested in snooping, wouldn’t they just wait until a legit resident uses the door and do a tailgate entry anyway?

Anything to increase security is a good idea in the absence of compromise. But this seems like a bad compromise because it means that Deutche Post has an exclusive monopoly on mail delivery (like USPS in the US). In the case at hand, I would not trust the postal network with cash.

Postal services are now threatened by relentless digitization. E.g.:

• Belgium has reduced non-priority mail delivery to just a few times per week
• Denmark has completely eliminated mail delivery (yikes!)

If the Denmark scenario were to play out in Germany, the mailboxes would be unreachable to 3rd party couriers. Maybe it’s favorable in the sense that the access restriction could actually prevent Germany from becoming as foolishly digital as Denmark.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11503424

Die AfD könnte ihre Bundeszentrale in Berlin-Reinickendorf räumen müssen, wie aus einem Medienbericht hervorgeht. Grund dafür sei die Wahlparty der Partei nach den Bundestagswahlen.

Die AfD könnte laut einem Medienbericht ihre Parteizentrale in Berlin-Reinickendorf räumen müssen. Wie die „BILD“-Zeitung berichtet, habe der Besitzer der Immobilie alle Mietverträge fristlos gekündigt und nun sogar eine Räumungsklage beim Landgericht Berlin II eingereicht.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11502057

Eine der größten GfD-Veranstaltungen fand am Samstag in Dortmund statt. Etwa 800 Menschen kamen.

800...

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11475945

Archiv

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/11453915