TOM SIMS and NETTE NOESTLINGER IN the German town of Ratingen, exploding cash machines are a hot-button topic. Two got blown up early on the same morning last month, at branches of Santander and Deutsche Bank across the street from each other close to the Duesseldorf suburb's main square. A year ago, residents of the apartments above Santander unsuccessfully sued to have the machines removed due to concerns they could be raided - a gesture that might in retrospect be deemed prophetic in other countries. But in Germany, thieves are blowing ATMs up at the rate of more than one a…