German politicians keep trying their level best to ruin the country

The parliament agreed to rescue Spanish banks with 100 bn Euros and Germany guarantees with 29 bn Euros. I think we can kiss that money good-bye. Former federal minister of the federal state of Baden-Würtemberg Stefan Mappus (CDU) is accused of repurchasing stocks from the once sold power supplier EnBW for a price way too high. The script for that deal was given to him by Dirk Notheis of Morgan Stanley, who allegedly bagged 10 million Euros and is an old buddy from Mappus. So far the damage done is estimated at around 840 million Euros. The list wouldn't be complete without ..., step forward, Kurt Beck ( above,SPD), the  federal minister of Rheinland-Pfalz. Kurt once decided the "Nürburgring"- racecourse needed an attached amusement park and invested big time. Meanwhile the "Nürburgring"  declared bankruptcy and as it seems 330 million Euros whistled west. With that kind of leadership i ask myself, how is it possible that the German economy is sill doing comparatively well. Probably it has to do with the low-wages workforce of 7 million and people like my brother. He doesn't play up, delivers proper work and pays a lot of taxes.

Jazz guitar great Slim Richey ...

... got badly injured in an hit-and-run accident in Austin, Texas. Slim once showed me some cool stuff during a workshop in Levelland, TX . We had a really good time and i wish him a speedy recovery. The foto also shows Burm Snart, strumming a consummate 7th chord and my old Hồ Chí Minh  t-shirt. Being in Texas i thought twice  before wearing it.

Bye-bye Facebook

In a ever chattier becoming world, where a smartphone seems to be glued to many people's hands, so that they can swiftly share their latest baloney, i paddle backwards and deleted my "Facebook" account. I know it's hard, throws me back into isolation and a life under a stone quasi. But then again under a stone you meet creatures with similar brainpower like some "Facebook" users.

Bye-bye Paddy

The other day i tried to log in my Paddy Power account, but was denied. I asked them, what's going on and was told that due to new German gambling regulations they had to shut down my account. To say i am fed up with German politicians would be the understatement of the year. I then moved over to Ladbrokes and took a look in the Premier League's topscorer market. Can't fancy Rooney or van Persie next season, but the one i like is Nikica Jelavic. He left the financially troubled Glasgow Rangers last season for Everton and had an immediate impact. Everton is not a freescoring team like the top 4, but Jelavic is a clinical striker and at odds of 26 worth a play. Alternatively a few Euros on Sergio "Kun" Aguero from Manchester City at odds of 8.

The Great Euro Swindle

I watched an interesting documentary yesterday with the above title ( can be seen here ). Before the Euro was introduced the Greece finance minister Papantoniou complained to the German finance minister Theo Waigel, that the new Euro bills don't have any greek letters. Theo replied, that this isn't required since Greece is no member of the Eurozone and will never be. Papantoniou offered a bet. Greece then started to forge their balance of accounts invalidating nearly every rule of solid accounting with  no outsider having permission to check the numbers. But when they didn't succeed Greece pulled another trump out of their sleeves: Antigone "Adi" Loudiadis. This woman is an associate from Goldman Sachs ,  knows every trick of the trade and took matters in her hands. Greece shortly after that joined the Eurozone and the rest is history. Would i bet on a bright future for the Euro ? Not with stolen money

23.06.12 Royal Ascot - "Diamond Jubilee Stakes"

The world's fastest mare Black Caviar ( AUS, left ) is entered in this race. She is unbeaten in twentyone races at the highest level and for Australians defeat  is out of the question since their money pushed the odds down to 1.24 in a fifteen runner field. Usually with that kind of odds i would say "Ok, let her win "and stay away, but i found a horse named  THE CHEKA, which could figure at odds of 34 and is worth a dabble.*** Black Caviar won it, but only just. Her jockey misjudged the finish line, dropped his arms prematurely and nearly got pipped. Many millions were bet on her and had she lost that jockey would be immortal for the bookies and chased through town by punters.

Another great man passed away

The legendary EARL SCRUGGS died March, 28. 2012. He developed the driving banjo picking style that influenced countless people, myself included ( right ). This video shows him with Doc Watson playing the classic song "John Hardy ". Both gentlemen are sorely missed.

29.5.2012 Arthel "Doc" Watson died ...

... age 89 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Blind from early childhood he was an outstanding musician and personality, oozing class through and through and is also one of my main musical influences. I have fond memories listening to him live and visiting his hometown of  Deep Gap, NC ( right ). RIP Doc.
Check him out here

Football EURO 2012

The Euro crash looming ...+++ Neo-nazis and leftists turning the district of Hamburg-Wandsbek into a battlefield with 38 policemen injured ...+++ German subsidised submarine sales to Israel ... . Who cares,  for three weeks bad news have to take a backseat , 'cause  the football EURO is up and the principle of bread and games always works. Spain and Germany are obvious contenders to lift the trophy, but @ odds of 13 the value pick has to be FRANCE. Under new coach Laurent Blanc they are a tight unit and meanwhile unbeaten in 19 games. Further bets are - Spain, Germany, France and Russia to reach the semis @ 61 and Miroslav Klose to become topscorer @ 17.

Been there, done that - My trip to New Zealand

Upon arrival in Auckland immigration detained me for two hours. I was told my presence was of some concern , so they interrogated me and thoroughly searched my belongings. I have gone places, but  i never experienced something like this before. Flying down under only to be treated as an miserable crook- ridiculous and let me put it straight right here: Never in my life i cared about drugs and touched a fuckin' joint !!! A fellow traveller didn't declare an forgotten apple in the luggage and had to reach in his pocket to dish out 400 NZ$, a little less than 400 US$. I eventually left the airport and stood in heavy rain. Weather rarely got much better after that. NZ is a expensive country for low-budget travellers, for starters a pack of ciggies sells around 20 NZ$, and that brings me to the next bugger - I moved in a backpacker hostels dorm. Socializing with people half my age and the smell of some deodorants is nothing i appreciate. Regular New Zealandians treated me very nice, albeit the majority of the Maoris seem to be natural born bouncers. Auckland is a slick city, surrounded by water with a subtropical feel. However the downtown area has to be avoided on a saturday night when the youth goes completely bonkers. The beer is excellent ( "Mac's Hop Rocker") and drinking a pint at 6.45 in the morning watching the Champions-League final was a highlight. I marked off the usual touristic attractions and also ventured out to the countryside. I can confirm, all very beautiful. Heading back home i handed over my passport at immigrations to a grumpy woman and all of a sudden red alert was triggered. She jumped out of her booth and ordered me in a rude manner to come with her to a room, where it all happened again. When i finally got off the hook i sprinted to the gate to catch my flight. Luckily i am still in good shape and EMIRATES airlines were waiting for me. My thanks go out to them - fantastic airline. So all-in-all was it worth it ? For personal reasons yes, for the country itself no. Drinking beer in a wooden shack in a so called third world country is more to my liking.

Final seasonal football bet

Bettingwise it wasn't a great season and sometimes it seemed a horse race with class six plodders on heavy ground is more predictable than the beautiful game. One standout bet however is Robin van Persie ( left ) to become  Premier-League topscorer at odds of 10. With two games to play he is two goals ahead of Wayne Rooney and i expect him to wrap up my bet on Saturday against Norwich City, which lost the plot after being saved from the relegation zone. In the German Bundesleague Mario Gomez meanwhile lost his top position to Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Bayern Munich plays now Cologne, which have a defense hardly deserving that name and i suppose Gomez will be eager enough to regain the top spot. My bet is a double with van Persie scoring twice and Gomez scoring anytime at combined odds of 3.8. Off to Auckland next Sunday.*** Lost

New Zealand

Always had sympathy for low key countries like Australia, New Zealand or Canada, but never  any interest traveling to them. This has changed now and i am heading to New Zealand next week. Seeing my favourite little lady there is another incentive for going the distance.

Aintree follow-up with a view on experts

Before the race experts let me know - don't bet on a French horse, they are not bred for
 a distance that long - don't bet on a grey, they didn't win since '61 - don't bet on a horse carrying more than 11 stone 5.Would be too much for the grueling distance - don't bet on a horse trained by Paul Nicholls. Yes,a champion trainer, but never won the race.
                                 

Well, the race was won by Neptune Collonge, a French bred, grey horse, carrying 11 stone 6 and is trained by
Paul Nicholls. Experts are pushing to the limelight in many areas trying to impose their opions on others, but  they get it wrong all the time. So the lesson is, never to forget about the own judgement and to be critical - paid me a nice dividend. Apart from that, riding such a magnificent animal and crossing the line first in such a big race must be one of the finest moments in sports. Unfortunately all i ride is a rusty bicycle.
                                                        
                                                                                                         

14.04.2012 Hamburger SV - Hannover 96

German Bundesliga - Matchday 31
Bookies still clueless about Hamburg  making them favs despite their dismal home form, which reads 2-6-7. Hamburg dwells in an dogfight against relegation and you want to see them fighting teeth and nails, but what did i see yesterday against modest Hoffenheim - zilch, zippo, nada. Hannover is no away force, but they need to win to qualify for the Euroleague and with Ya Konan and Diouf up front Hamburg defenders might quickly feel like whirligigs. Some already demand to stop this guy from singing before the game, because he puts everybody in a sluggish mood. Ladbrokes offers odds of 3 for the away win and this writer gladly accepts.*** 1:0

In times, when The Netherlands become baseball ...

... world champions it is obvious, that things are not, what they used to be. But what you still can count on are incomprehensible laws and rulings made by the German government on taxpayers expense. Talking about so called child care subsidy. In short every child in Germany up to three years was granted a kindergarten spot by law. But there are not enough  for everyone , so the government decided to pay their parents some money ( "oven premium" ) for forfeiting their rights. In other words  parents receive money for keeping their kids away fom the kindergarten and attend them at home, something you would expect every good father or mother to do. The price tag for that nonsense lies at 1.9 billion Euros annually and coinicidentally that law comes into effect in January 2013, a few months before general elections. Living in a democracy are they trying to buy votes ? If i vote at all i do so with my feet.