Germany

Late last month, we noted that Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz was set to cut social benefits for refugees who failed to attend “special integration training courses.”

Austria, like Germany and multiple other countries in the Schengen zone, is struggling to cope with the influx of asylum seekers fleeing the war-torn Mid-East. Of particular concern is the “integration” process whereby those hailing from “different cultures” are having a decidedly difficult time blending into polite Western society.

As Der Freitag reports (via Google Translate), if the German authorities do not get rid of a refugee, you can just change his nationality. African embassies are paid for their help...

On Thursday evening we detailed the dramatic increase in Google search queries for gun permits in Germany. Specifically, since January 1, the number of Germans Googling “gun permits” has risen more than 1,000%.

Meanwhile, sales of non-lethal weapons such as tear gas pistols have skyrocketed, as Germans look to protect themselves against what many see as a hostile foreign invasion.

It is safe to say that nobody expected the BOJ stunner announced last night, when Kuroda announced that Japan would become the latest country to unleash negative interest rates, for one simple reason: Kuroda himself said Japan would not adopt negative rates just one week ago! However, a few BIS conference calls since then clearly changed the Japanese central banker's mind and as we wrote, and as those who are just waking up are shocked to learn, negative rates are now a reality in Japan.

As we’ve documented on a number of occasions over the past three or so months, Germans have a newfound love for pepper spray.

In November, we noted that frightened Germans fearing a “foreign invasion” from the Mid-East, were rushing to stock up on what amounts to migrant-be-gone aerosol just in case a refugee should get any designs on trying to get too close.