French youth like to burn cars on New Year's - and they don't mind lighting a few the rest of the year, either. German youths apparently really get their "arson on" when the economy takes a dip, as it happens to be doing right now. According to Bloomberg, at least 29 luxury vehicles have gone up in flames in Berlin so far this year, instigated by "'youths across Europe who 'perceive their future as rather precarious'."
The torchings in Berlin have been centered on the nicer, gentrified areas of town like Prenzlauer Berg, where some residents feel they are being squeezed out to make room for the moneyed. There is even a group called BMW that is claiming responsibility for some of the fires, but this time the acronym stands for the Movement for Militant Resistance (auf Deutsch, naturlich).
If cars are going up in smoke so quickly right now, perhaps the real question is: What will the disgruntled turn to next when things get worse? The police have created a special unit to investigate the arson, since it's considered a political act, but the advice from a Berlin police commissioner is: "I wouldn't advise someone to park their Porsche on the street." Thanks for the tip, Eric!
[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Tigerhawk]
The torchings in Berlin have been centered on the nicer, gentrified areas of town like Prenzlauer Berg, where some residents feel they are being squeezed out to make room for the moneyed. There is even a group called BMW that is claiming responsibility for some of the fires, but this time the acronym stands for the Movement for Militant Resistance (auf Deutsch, naturlich).
If cars are going up in smoke so quickly right now, perhaps the real question is: What will the disgruntled turn to next when things get worse? The police have created a special unit to investigate the arson, since it's considered a political act, but the advice from a Berlin police commissioner is: "I wouldn't advise someone to park their Porsche on the street." Thanks for the tip, Eric!
[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Tigerhawk]
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