Paul Krantz
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paulkrantz.bsky.social
Paul Krantz
@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
Five years into riding Deutsche Bahn trains, I've JUST discovered that my 'BahnBonus' points get me free drinks - including beer!

Feel like I've stepped into a whole new level of German living.
January 28, 2026 at 6:47 PM
This is actually starting to look like a more serious possibility than I had actually imagined
January 27, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Paul Krantz
Didn't have 'Germany boycotts World Cup over US diplomacy breakdown' on my 2026 bingo card but nothing is too crazy to be true anymore I guess

www.thelocal.de/20260121/how...
How is Germany preparing to respond to US tariff threat over Greenland?
As Europe waits for US President Trump to signal his next move on Greenland, Germany and its European allies are taking stock of their options for retaliation. From a 'trade bazooka' to a World Cup bo...
www.thelocal.de
January 21, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Didn't have 'Germany boycotts World Cup over US diplomacy breakdown' on my 2026 bingo card but nothing is too crazy to be true anymore I guess

www.thelocal.de/20260121/how...
How is Germany preparing to respond to US tariff threat over Greenland?
As Europe waits for US President Trump to signal his next move on Greenland, Germany and its European allies are taking stock of their options for retaliation. From a 'trade bazooka' to a World Cup bo...
www.thelocal.de
January 21, 2026 at 12:14 PM
'Make American Go Away' and 'USA already has too much ICE': The Protest slogans against the Trump regime truly wrote themselves.

www.thelocal.de/20260118/eur...
European leaders denounce Trump's 'tariff threats' over Greenland
Several European leaders have denounced US President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on European countries opposing his efforts to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland.
www.thelocal.de
January 18, 2026 at 11:16 AM
"Yeah French wine is okay, but have you tried this Swedish Suav?" -me in 2035, probably
Most of the wine you drink likely comes from a handful of countries: Spain, Italy, France – or perhaps Romania. That may soon change. Rising temperatures are shifting Europe’s wine-growing zones away from Southern Europe and toward Central, Eastern, and even Northern Europe.
January 12, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Timeline cleanse:
January 8, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Paul Krantz
It’s almost like green energy is the only way forward and a handful of oil barons are doing everything in their power to keep that from happening so they can get even richer at the cost of literally everything else in the world.
Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business
Banks Notch Higher Fees From Green Bonds Than Fossil Fuel Debt
Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business.
bloom.bg
January 3, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Early last year I had to pull punches in my reporting (below) becuz quarterly sales numbers weren't final, but it was so obvious Tesla sales were tanking hard. Musk's recent trillion dollar pay deal suggests the company's value is immune to business reality

grist.org/transportati...
January 3, 2026 at 5:05 PM
All I want in 2026 is to stop seeing Trump centred headlines every time I look at the news (or social media, or my phone)
January 1, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Paul Krantz
Elections and reforms: What can be expected in German politics in 2026?
Elections and reforms: What can be expected in German politics in 2026?
The year 2026 brings state elections that are likely to shake up coalition politics in Germany, and may even mark the beginning of a major shift for the republic. Here's an overview of what to watch out for.
www.thelocal.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Paul Krantz
Wow @thetimes.com, that’s impressive

An entire article about “freak heat” in the Dolomites causing mayhem amongst skiers without once mentioning climate change…🤷🏼‍♀️

🧵
1/5
December 18, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Trump's press secretary has since doubled down on the idea that US citizenship should for some reason be exclusive (despite a prior Supreme Court ruling that said otherwise)
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, just introduced a bill to ban Americans from holding dual citizenship. The bill says that to “preserve the integrity of national citizenship, allegiance to the United States must be undivided.” It’s called the Exclusive Citizenship Act.
December 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Again, the beat continues to be whatever dumb thing the Chancellor said lately until morale improves

www.thelocal.de/20251120/stu...
Students walk out on German Chancellor's speech on integration
About 30 people walked out during an awards ceremony on Wednesday when Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood up to deliver a speech. The silent protest was a striking moment at an event meant to celebrate s...
www.thelocal.de
November 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
My beat will continue to be 'whatever racist / xenophobic thing German Chancellor Merz has said lately' until morale improves

www.thelocal.de/20251119/how...
How the German chancellor pissed off the entire nation of Brazil
Germany's chancellor recently visited a climate conference in Brazil where he advocated for international cooperation. But comments he made after returning to Berlin have invoked the ire of the world'...
www.thelocal.de
November 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I'll admit I tried this once with Robitussin in high school. Vision went white for like 5 minutes and later I threw up a bunch of purple goo in my friend's backyard. 0/10 absolutely do not recommend.
November 17, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Also in Europe I'd reckon
If I had to predict a high-impact story that is flying under the radar now but will play a big role in next year's major federal and state elections in the U.S., it'll be electricity prices and data centers. Easy-to-understand affordability and corruption story.
The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived
A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year.
www.wired.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:19 PM
From a news report on a protest camp against a Gravel mine in Hesse: "The forest was also damaged by the camp. Nails and wood screws were driven into trees..."

The plan is to cut down the forest where the camp is. But yeah, let's focus on those nails and screws.

www.tagesschau.de/inland/regio...
Polizei räumt Protestcamp gegen Waldrodung in Hessen
Die Polizei in Hessen geht seit dem frühen Morgen gegen ein Protestcamp von Umweltaktivisten vor. Sie hatten ein Waldstück besetzt, um die Bäume vor Rodung zu schützen. Dort sollen Kies und Sand abgeb...
www.tagesschau.de
November 12, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Paul Krantz
Since 1990, the emissions share of the richest 1% has increased by 13%, and the richest 0.1% has grown by 32%, while the poorest 50% has decreased by 3%.

policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/cl...
November 10, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Rosalía on learning different languages: "through understanding the other better maybe you can understand yourself better, and you can learn how to love better"

www.thelocal.de/20251030/why...
Why does Spanish pop-star Rosalía sing in German in her latest single?
Her latest song 'Berghain' has gone viral online, with fans speculating about the artist's unusual language choice. So why does Rosalía sing in German in her new single, and what does she say?
www.thelocal.de
October 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
I just found out that @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and I share the same birthday. Same day and same year.

So that's pretty cool.

(In honour of the German custom I'll refrain from wishing him a happy birthday ahead of time)
An important message to the people of New York City.

More information at zohranfornyc.com/birthday
October 16, 2025 at 2:09 PM
In the midst of writing this I asked a German to guess how many Bürgergeld recipients were Germans versus foreigners and they assumed WAY more of them were foreigners than the actual number.

Anyone else want to take a guess?
October 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM