Hartz IV

November 5, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Hartz IV was selected by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache as the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year) in 2004.

Hartz IV is the name given to the financial support for the long-term unemployed.  The term derives from the name of the person who led the commission to reform, amongst other things, unemployment benefits.

The length of time that someone is unemployed before they stop receiving normal unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) and receive Hartz IV instead depends on a number of factors such as their age and the length of time that they have paid unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung).

The amount of support that someone receives depends on factors such as the size of the flat that is considered to be large enough for them, any savings they may have, how many people are dependent on their income, etc.

For example, the allowance for food is set at 4EUR per person per day, which led to the publication of a so-called “Hartz IV menu” earlier this year.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

Filed Under: German Words Explained, Podcasts, Unemployment Tagged With: , , , ,

Politics in Hessen

November 4, 2008 By 1 Comment

Whilst most of the World is watching what’s going on in the U.S.A. today, one part of Germany is still trying to cope with the results of an election held months ago.  9 Months to be exact.

Since January, no single political party and not even a coalition has had a majority in the local parliament in Hessen.  This has meant that the previous Ministerpräsident has simply stayed in office whilst the parties try to find a way to form a government.

Last week the SPD thought that they had managed it.  Their candidate, Andrea Ypsilanti, was to be voted in to form a minority coalition government between the SPD and the Green party, with support from Die Linke.  This was controversial from the outset as during the election campaign Frau Ypsilanti had said that she would not work together with Die Linke party.

Then, yesterday, it all went wrong.  Previously one of the SPD MPs had said that she would not be voting in favour of Frau Ypsilanti, yesterday there were suddenly three more!  The majority was no longer possible – even with the cross-party support, and so the vote was not held.

Instead, most of the parties have told the press that they want to have new elections.  They may even call for them in the next sitting of parliament, meaning that the elections would be held in January.

And that’s something that many politicians want to avoid, as it would mean campaigning through the Christmas and New Year periods, when people are generally less interested in politics.

But that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen.  So here are my predictions for the forthcoming election campaign:

– the election will take place on the earliest possible date, ie. 18th January

– the parties will be campaigning at the Christmas markets, no doubt giving out free Glühwein and Stollen, leading to a number of TV reports along the lines of “the economy is bad enough, but the vendors at the Christmas markets are doing even worse than expected due the amount of free Glühwein being given away”

– the SPD and the Green party will lose voters, and Die Linke will have an even stronger roll to place in the next parliament, although the CDU and FDP will have enough gains to form a coalition.

What do you think?

Filed Under: Current affairs Tagged With: , , , ,

Howletts Wild Animal Park

November 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Howletts ist ein großer Zoo, der insofern außergewöhnlich ist, als dass er schon seit langem versucht vom Aussterben bedrohte Tierarten zu schützen und wieder zu vermehren. Es gibt verschiedene Affenarten, Gorillas, Tiger, Elefanten, Zebras, einige Vogelarten und andere Tiere.

Der Zoo legt auch viel Wert darauf, dass die Tiere viel Platz haben und sich nicht eingeengt fühlen. Dann ist die Chance auf Nachwuchs auch höher. Die Tiere haben in ihren Gehegen auch zahlreiche Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten. Die Affen können klettern und auch rutschen und der Tiger kann auf einer Art Brücke die Sonne genießen. Denn Langeweile ist auch für Tiere schlimm. Der Park ist sehr weitläufig und es lohnt sich einen Tagesausflug daraus zu machen. Es gibt genügend Möglichkeiten zum Essen und Trinken, aber man kann auch eigenes mitbringen und ein Picknick machen. In den drei Shops kann man den Zoo unterstützen, es gibt in jedem Shop andere Souvenirs zu erstehen.

Eines der Affengehege
Eines der Affengehege

Ich war vor ca. 3 Jahren schon einmal da und hatte einen schönen Tag mit meiner Familie. Meine Tochter war zu dem Zeitpunkt noch recht klein und konnte nicht alles richtig verstehen. Sie hatte aber trotzdem ihren Spaß den Tieren zuzuschauen und sie konnte sich auch auf dem Spielplatz in der Nähe des Restaurants austoben. Sie hat damals ein T-Shirt von dort bekommen und hat heute noch Erinnerungen daran.  Sie war auch sehr beeindruckt von dem Tiger, den man teilweise sehr nah sehen konnte.

Ein Tiger genießt die Sonne
Ein Tiger genießt die Sonne

Am besten kommt man mit dem Auto zu Howletts denn er liegt etwas außerhalb von Canterbury. Aber man hat auch die Möglichkeit mit einem Linienbus hinzufahren.

Filed Under: All Things British, Ausflugsziele Tagged With: , ,

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