Albert Schweitzer

1) Where I live noone takes off his shoes. We often say it is for "Spießer mit Birkenstock und Weißen Socken". In other words for the low-taste people with white socks and sandals. I hate taking off my shoes, it is kind of my ideology. I hate people running around in socks, I rather put on my sneakers or walk barefeet (is that the word?). The floor in a house is supposed to get dirty and I am supposed to clean it FULLSTOP. Same with guests, I dont ask anyone to take off his/her shoes... I think it is a sign of being stingy, un-male, boring ... I JUST HATE IT, I pay more attention to humans than to objects, I rather try to earn more money and buy a new carpet once in while than keeping it white for 100 years. And I hate people who take off their shoes in the train or plane...    Asking a girl that visits you to take off her shoes? tssss NEVER Interesting. Here it's quite the opposite. It would be seen as very rude and uncivilized not to take of your shoes, especially when entering another person's house. Do you live in Corea or Japan? Oh and lets not forget that in sweden people might have snow under their shoes too, that is a different thing!

Michael Moore... eh? I read his 2 last books and I have the right to say: "he sucks"!! First of all he is struggling for power just like any of the CEOs or Politicians he attacks. By now he is a big millionaire and the "I am one of you ordinary guys" reputation he has is totally wrong. He doesnt give any interviews, he doesnt allow any spontaneous criticism about his works and when he shows up in a show he wants to see the questions beforehand. Secondly he always repeats the same bullhsit in every country when promoting his films. He starts with "you british", "you germans", "you french" and then the ordinary "have something we dont have, social welfare". For the people that actually read his books should know that he twists facts the way they fit his picture. Fine with me, but the problem is that some people might actually take every word of his as "pearls of wisdom". No, with all my disrespect for Bush I still believe that propaganda is propaganda, may it be for the right or the left, for war or against war. I just have the ordianry new-german disgust for humourous and twisted presentation of facts. His films are fun to watch, no doubt and Bowling for Columbine was a good NON-political piece of documentary. For all the germans that just love Michael Moore for what he writes against the US, well read what he writes about germany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ I especially like that part ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Germany Still Hasn't Paid for Its Sins - and I Intend to Collect Did I miss the most exciting part of the fiftieth-anniversary festivities celebrating the end of World War II? You know, when every single German got down on his or her knees, begged for forgiveness, climbed into boxcars in a show of empathy, and then promised to devote one day's salary each week to a Holocaust survivor's family. Man, that must have been a sight. Did you miss it, too? I'm being a little too harsh, you say, on a country that has already repented and most of whose citizens weren't even alive for all the killing? Hmmm. Let's go to the tote board: 6 million Jews murdered 3 million Catholic Poles murdered 500,000 Gypsies murdered 12,500 homosexuals murdered Those, plus the Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other undesirables, bring us to a grand total of nearly 10 million defenseless humans slaughtered in the Holocaust. This figure does not include the 400,000 Americans who died in the war (fighting Germany and its partners, the Japanese and Italians), the 25 million Soviet citizens killed or starved to death, plus the millions of other Europeans, Africans, and Asians who died at the hands of what was considered to be the most intelligent, most civilized, most advanced society on earth. And to think, it all happened not many years ago. We continue to live with the results of this tragedy. All of our families, Jewish and non-Jewish, were somehow touched by this event. My dad's brother, Lawrence, was killed near Manila. The map of the world is forever screwed up by World War II, and whether it's Bosnia or the Middle East or skinheads terrorizing the residents of Idaho, you can trace the roots of these conflicts back to what the Germans did. And what was Germany's punishment for these sins? They got to become one of the richest countries in the world! And it took only three decades! How on earth did we let this happen? Today the average German enjoys a standard of living that has no equal. A factory worker in western Germany last year made an average wage of $29 an hour. In the U.S., that same worker made $19. The American worker annually has to put in nearly 200 hours more on the job than his or her German counterpart. That's five 40-hour weeks the Germans get paid and don't have to work while they're earning 50 percent more per hour than we Americans. And even though Germany is 25 times smaller in size than the U.S., and has one-third fewer workers, its gross domestic product, per capita, is nearly the same as that of the U.S. Can you imagine, as someone's grandmother was being shoved into the ovens at Auschwitz, an angel appearing to her and saying, "Don't worry, the Germans are going to be rewarded by the rest of the world with so much wealth, they won't know what to do with it"? Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that we should have treated Germany the way we did after World War I, humiliating them into submission and starving the country to death. Those conditions certainly created the climate for Hitler to be elected by a majority of the German people. And since the war, many Germans have lived their lives denouncing what their parents did. Young Germans today - if they aren't shaving their heads and beating immigrant domestic workers - are actually very progressive, pacifist, and well-meaning individuals who just happen, through no fault of their own, to be living the good life. The war may seem like a long time ago, and the work of only a few evil Nazis, but, according to Daniel Goldhagen, the author of Hitler's Willing Executioners, the German government has cataloged more than 330,000 average, everyday Germans who physically participated in the daily slaughter of the Jews. Thousands of those Germans are still alive today. In fact, there are over 12 million Germans still kicking around who were fifteen years or older during World War II. And what have these Germans done to make some kind of reparation for their sins? "We don't call it reparation," said the woman on the phone at the German Information Center. "It's restitution." Okay, so how much "restitution" has Germany decided each life they exterminated is worth? Well, according to them, nothing. They won't make any "restitution" for the dead, it was explained to me. But here's the good news. They will make up for any property loss the Jews suffered. So if you lost a few candlesticks in the Holocaust, step right up for your deutsche marks. Lost your life? Too bad. No geld for your loved ones. But ... if you can prove that you spent "at least six months in a concentration camp," were "confined in a ghetto," or were "forced into hiding for a minimum of eighteen months," then you can collect about $350 to $600 a month from the generous Germans. You say you were only tortured in Dachau for five months and twenty-nine days? Too bad! Sue the Germans and you might get a one-time settle ment of $3,000. To date, Germany has doled out $68.3 billion in "restitution" payments. If we break that down for everyone they killed in the Holocaust, how much is it for each of the 10 million they butchered? The answer: $6,831. That's it - $6,831 per mother, father, infant, girl, and boy they gassed, burned, shot, or buried alive. Not a bad price to pay, if it means you can end up one day as the wealthiest nation on earth. As far as I'm concerned, $6,831 per innocent life is not enough. Not that any amount would be "enough," but my life and your life are worth a little more than $6,831. I know some of you are saying, "Hey, Mike, the survivors got to move to Israel after the war. Didn't giving them that land make it up to them?" Well, I don't think Israel was actually "given" to them. The British were ruling the place (then called Palestine), and suddenly all these Holocaust survivors with nowhere else to go started arriving and the Brits didn't like that one bit. But they didn't have the energy to fight the Jewish guerrillas after having just lost most of their British empire, so they just bagged the place and said, "Fine, you want this, it's yours." Most Arab residents were not consulted in the deal. I have never understood why giving the Holocaust survivors Palestine/Israel was such a great gift. Have you ever been there? It's a friggin' desert! There's nothing there! Israelis like to tell you, "We've made the desert bloom!" Talk about rationalizing something . . . I'm telling you, it's 100 percent sand, rock, and more sand. Why did we think we were making it up to them by placing them in a horrible environment that has cost them even more lives in more wars? Because the Bible said so? When did the world start going by that book? If we had really wanted to do what was right - and punish the Germans - we should have given the survivors the state of Bavaria. Now, that's one beautiful piece of real estate! And it would have cost the Germans plenty. Turning Palestine into Israel didn't hurt the Germans one single bit. But losing Bavaria to the Jews would have really kicked those bastards where it counted. Israel has only 10,840 square miles; Bavaria has over 28,000! Israel has few, if any, natural resources; Bavaria is rich in minerals, forests, and water. Since the war, the Israelis have been surrounded by hostile enemies who want them dead; Bavaria is surrounded by the beautiful Alps containing a few goats and those three guys in the Ricola commercial. I guess it's probably too late to correct this mistake by moving Tel Aviv to Munich and forcing the Germans to go and try to make the desert bloom. I'd say that Germany got off real easy. Only 20 percent of its war criminals were ever put on trial. Many who fought in World War n are still alive. And where do you think they all are today? Florida! It's true. Tens of thousands of Germans, many of them of World War II age, have permanently moved to the state of Florida. German investment in Florida has increased by nearly 200 percent in the past five years. According to the Tampa Tribune, together with the British, the Germans provide over 50 percent of the total manufacturing jobs in Florida. They have over $1.8 billion invested in the state. Over on the southwest coast, just in the counties of Collier, Lee, and Charlotte, there are as many as 86,000 Germans. On a recent trip to southwest Florida, I arrived at the airport in Fort Myers, which has extended its runway so that nonstop jumbo jets to and from Germany can land there. I noticed German flags flying from houses. Everywhere I went there were signs that were printed in German: RAUCHEN VERBOTEN! - NO SMOKING. Menus in restaurants were printed in English and German. They are buying up property and businesses and settling in for the good life. And more and more of their friends from the fatherland are joining them. I am of two minds regarding this German invasion of Florida. On the one hand, I hate Florida. It's full of bugs, humidity, and stupid people running around with guns. And it's got those nutty Cuban exiles. If there were a pair of scissors big enough, I wish we couldjust snip the state where it hangs off the rest of the country. There is a part of me that likes the fact that all these ex-Nazis are moving there to terrorize the people of Florida. Serves them right. The Right-Wing Cubans versus the Geriatric SS in a fight to the finish! I'd pay money to watch that one on Pay-Per-View. On the other hand, it is ironic that right there in south Florida are thousands of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Is it right that those Jewish men and women who fortunately survived the Germans' slaughter should have to be reading menus written in German to accommodate their new "neighbors"? I don't think so. I have a solution. We all know that Florida is infamous for German tourists being murdered there. I do not believe this phenomenon is the result of gang-related violence. I think it's payback time. One by one, the survivors are getting their revenge. Somebody with a sense of justice has armed the elderly residents of Miami Beach, pointed them in the direction of Fort Myers, and let them loose to even the score. Who would have thought that the Germans would make it this easy for them, foolishly moving to the area that contains the highest concentration of Jews outside of New York? What were these Jerries thinking - that the Moskowitzes were going to "live and let live," and "turn the other cheek"? Obviously these Germans forgot about the tote board. I say arm every bingo player south of Fort Lauderdale and let's celebrate the real end of World War II. So - RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, KLAUS! And Happy 50th Anniversary!!

yes, the belgium police is well equipped, no doubt. They are very polite but if xou see the price of the fines then you know why they are so polite. BUT, the police in belgium is not like the german police. In your country the police is often located on spots that are actually dangerous. I didnt get flashed so far when going to Paris. Not because there wasnt any police but because I drove carefully around the dangerous parts of the roads...and thats where they are. And to speak frankly, the road-cowboys in Belgium are not the germans, it is the frenchies!

I pass through Belgium everytime I go to Paris. The highways are all fully covered with street-lights (excellent) but the condition of the roads is pretty bad (at the moment, but they are rebuilding basically everything). And No, on these roads I never drive quicker than 160, I sense that there is more risk. Especially the entries and exits are arranged more dangerously (or to put it differently: made for a speed-limit of 120-130). There are simple rules that make life on the highway simple. Keep distant to car ahead. be careful when you approach a car that might want to overtake and stay concentrated. You would be astonished to see how FEW accidents occur because of high speed on an Autobahn compared to drivers faling asleep, not keeping a good distance to the driver ahead, truck-drivers reading newspapers, women reading street maps... italians using their mobiles. When you drive 220 you have both hands on the steering wheel. You are fully concentrated and you HAVE respect again of the speed you are driving. Humans are able to control a lot as long as they stay focused. Getting tired, loosing concentration.. those are risks!

Wait Darklight. First of all what I did is NOT against the law and we KNOW why there IS no such speed limit on these parts of the Autobahn. Point 1. Did you ever drive a BMW or Mercedes at 220 on a german Autobahn, I tell you it is a yoke and you are not loosing control of your car AT ALL. A Phaeton can slow down rapidly from 250 to 120 without you noticing much, the steering is as stable as a Polo at 100 km/h. All cars drive into the same direction (hitting a car with 220 that itself drives 100 is still MUCH better than hitting a car that comes towards you with 60 when you drive 60 . Visibility is far, the road has bumpers everywhere, reflectors and a security lane for emergency maneuvers.  Point 2. Most accidents are caused by abuse of traffic rules. AND the Autobahn rarely the cause of it. Trucks cause accidents and there you are under risk to drive into an existing accidents. Point 3. You can see cars from 500m away. You can adapt your speed when you approach them and THEY should be aware and adapt to the style of driving on the Autobahn. Point 4. On the road to Düsseldorf hundredes of cars drive everyday faster than 200 and there are rarely any accidents. Point 5. Speeding on an ordinary road with 80 is much more dangerous and the risk of getting killed or killing others is much higher. How do you explain the huge difference in traffic deaths in France, Italy, Spain and even Malta. No, my friend, speeding on the Autobahn when it is allowed is no real danger. I get your point and I fully agree. I drove around Tuscany and hell I loved it. Early in the morning...red sky...nice fresh air.. nice domiciles everywhere... fantastic.. but I saw a couple of accidents and the roads are not as empty as I expected.. actually they are pretty crowded

When I look for a new appartment I always look for a good wodden floor in a renovated old building. Carpet ? Thumbs down! Oh hell, you got my intolerant spot with this thread

1) Where I live noone takes off his shoes. We often say it is for "Spießer mit Birkenstock und Weißen Socken". In other words for the low-taste people with white socks and sandals. I hate taking off my shoes, it is kind of my ideology. I hate people running around in socks, I rather put on my sneakers or walk barefeet (is that the word?). The floor in a house is supposed to get dirty and I am supposed to clean it FULLSTOP. Same with guests, I dont ask anyone to take off his/her shoes... I think it is a sign of being stingy, un-male, boring ... I JUST HATE IT, I pay more attention to humans than to objects, I rather try to earn more money and buy a new carpet once in while than keeping it white for 100 years. And I hate people who take off their shoes in the train or plane...    Asking a girl that visits you to take off her shoes? tssss NEVER 2. I often transformed some good threads into pdf. AND I often quoted comments posted here in other forums. After all it is a good brainstorm we do here.

BTW: has ever anybody understood what this smily is supposed to show ?

I guess you are It always depends on your own sense of safety. Just imagine you have a good straight road, with reflective side-barriers, 2 good trustworthy lanes and and zero to no traffic AND the other car-drivers are used and accustomed to other cars driving real fast. Noone should forget that the other drivers are an important factor in the equation. If you drive that fast in a country with speed-limits then you risk to cause an accident. I use my mirror differently than an italian does. I dont only look if there is a car coming behind me, I observe at what speed he is approaching me, sounds logical but is the most important thing to do on the Autobahn.

that is because of the weather conditions and the reduced traffic! Â but it has nothing to do with the architecture of the roads. During my time in Malta I often had to go through italy to visit home. The autostradas are no different than the old Autobahns AND you got to PAY! I would defend your point if you would favour the spanish highways or france but italy? Come on, you gotta be kidding! Lots of hills, lots of bad curves, LOTS of accidents, AND definetly as much much traffic. And as I said I had to cross italy 2 to 3 times during that year from south to North and back! I fully agree, but the Phaeton is a very heavy car and you seriously dont have to be a driving hero to handle it at that speed, not even the outside sound gets louder.

you are from?

Depends where you live. There are many stretches where you can go without speed limit for an 40 minutes,then you got to slow down for a couple of seconds and then accelerate again.At night even far more. The problem is that they are currently expanding most roads and the usual reason for a speed limit restriction are roadworks. AND STILL. Our roads are far safer than those of italy, spain and France. The fastest I drove so far in my life on a highway was around 250 km/h with a Phaeton. Well the motor is definetly able to give more but there is an electronic barrier (thats what they told me), and trust me that was not hard to reach but a totally different feeling than just 210. If you want to respond with your record then please stay honest and realistic. The highway from Aachen to Düsseldorf gives you enough space and straight road to drive at that speed without great risk for 10 minutes ... then usually there are some cars in your way and you better make sure you approach them with a decent speed.

oh great... State flag important part of local decorations (see flag of Texas, which other state flag of the US do you know?) Strange folk-music still more popular than contemporary music. Citizens proud of "made in Bavaria" rather than made in Germany. (made in Texas) Salt from Bavaria, oil from Texas Houston...Texas. Those two words usually come together just like "Bayern München" State Surrounded by simillar Freaks e.g. Czecks and austrians(Texas near to mexican border). Bavarians are proud of their independant and traditional way of living... so are the guys from Texas Bavaria has its sausages, Texas has its spare-ribs and super steaks ...

I like that Please Housekeep drive C: "Canibalism is another example of non separation of subject and object." Holy ... never seen it that way  Anyhow... the search engine is pretty simple... it looks for word x plus "is" and shows the rest of the sentence (if it is short)

relax... Actually my sarcasm was directed towards italy and england. In case you didnt get the yoke.. I was making fun of nations that are bad and unsportive loosers. England: "The ref is to blame that we lost" Italy: Â Â "sweden and denmark made a 2-2 deal" Italy: Â Â Â "The ref was cheating" Italy: Â Â Â "the world doesnt want us to win" (eehhrrr, that is not just a rumour, that is TRUE TRUE TRUE)

I think you are right! Â BTW. Can someone please tell me how incredibly few goals the greeks had to take during the entire competition? 1? 2?

The greeks didnt deserve to win. The ref was blind.. there were several fouls that should have cause penalty kicks. Yes and the ref finished the match to early. And did I forget to mention that the greeks and the portugese had a secret arrangement that greece would win (1-0) so during the worldcup greece would loose against portugal. And then I am sure the pitch was badly done in the greek corner so any attack from the portugese was doomed to fail. Aehm... am I getting to Italo-brit now?

Huh ? It´s not all Stoiber over here  I dont mind Stoiber. It is this exaggerated sense of state-pride.... and the Oktober-fest!

wait, are they waving the greek or the bavarian flag? They look too simillar! Â Strangely enough one flag makes me happy (greek) and the other makes me feel a sense of pittyness and disgust at the same time (bavaria) Â

strange.... on my computer every image shows up except my own avatar.

Can anyone tell me logically WHY my avatar doesnt work.?

Do I have to rub the screen in order to make the picture visible? If you every had a real transformer in your life you know what I am talking about. And for the others: NO I wasnt making a naughty yoke!

Hope I am not anoying Ms Avon now cause she always responds so humorously to my confused messages.. anyhow. If you want to make a semi realistic comparison (comparison does not mean setting equal, it means contrasting, nothing else) try the former german law for the "Schutz von Volk und Staat" and compare it with the patriot act. You would drop your pants right now in astonishment if you would see the similarities. Okay someone could argue that a tighter control LOGICALLY implies a certain restriction of personal rights and liberties. Both laws were implemented to oppose terorists. In the case of the US those terorists are brutal murderes and in case of Nazi germany those people were everyday communstic politicians who fought their battle only with words. One law was issued to monopolise power and surpress counterforces, the other was made to ensure a better home-security. BUT, the risks remain the same from one law to the other: "Abuse of power". Not every employee involved in national protection might be a person who thinks and judges objectively. Maybe one or the other chief at the airport might have lost relatives on 911 and I doubt he is emotionally capable to surpress anger and grief. But the airport is not the only field of action. We all know of the incidencts when business travellers or students with arabic (or not) were kept in custody for WEEKS. Others ended up in Guantanamo (if they had strong islamic involvements). The new laws leave it up to the staff to judge what are wise and unwise actions. Abuse is the logical consequence. And lets admit it openly, we all somehow would be afraid to have to go through a US passport control, not because of strict guards but because of fear to be pulled aside and then it is up to their mercy what happens to us.

the name of the company I work for is called SCOPE I just thought I mention it... even though noone would realy care

Polish troops have found 17 mustard gas warheads in Iraq. (from the 80ies) german press, der spiegel