The Off Topic Topic

[Valmy]

Not strictly on topic, but I found this interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/conflict-with-russia-raises-buried-questions-of-german-identity-a-963014.html

Wow that is pretty horrifying.

The flipside to Germany's longing for Russia is its desire to differentiate itself from the West. Fundamental opposition to the West's putative superficiality is seen as being part of the Russian soul: The perceived busyness and money-grubbing ways of the Western man stand in contrast to the East's supposed depth of emotion and spirituality. "When something is romanticized, there is always an antidemocratic streak," says Baberowski. It privileges harmony over conflict, unity over confrontation.

Holy fuck.

The question of guilt has created a link between Germans and Russians, but the issue evaporated fairly quickly for the Russians after the war. Unlike the French, Scandinavians and Dutch, the Russians don't tend to name and shame the Germans for crimes committed during the German occupation.

Wait so the Russians are ok with us being Nazis?  Sweet.

Seriously that almost makes me physically ill.  Surely Germans are not this contemptible.

[CountDeMoney]

Not strictly on topic, but I found this interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/conflict-with-russia-raises-buried-questions-of-german-identity-a-963014.html

Wow that is pretty horrifying.

What a crock of shit.  The only thing the Germans and Russians have in common are a hatred of Jews.

[11B4V]

Tell me how German foreign policy has improved with Merkel.
Like most countries in Europe, foreign policy is a fundamental cross-aisle thing between the big parties. An inheritance from the Cold War, mostly, but still true. The only significant change in German foreign policy happened during Willy Brandt's chancellorship.

Not strictly on topic, but I found this interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/conflict-with-russia-raises-buried-questions-of-german-identity-a-963014.html

[MadBurgerMaker]

Here you go Seedy:



I've since cut the ends of the front bumper and put end caps on it (it's somewhere between a "stubby" and a "mid-width" bumper now) and put the flare liners back in there behind the tires.  There's no lift, but I put those new flares on there to give it some more clearance.  Did just fine climbing up some shit last weekend, although since it's the longer wheelbase, it (and all the other 4 doors that went up there, lift or not) dragged a little on some center armor when I went over a particularly pointy rock. 

[CountDeMoney]

Very nice.  Aggressive-looking without being douchebaggy. 

[Razgovory]

Not strictly on topic, but I found this interesting:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/conflict-with-russia-raises-buried-questions-of-german-identity-a-963014.html

Wow that is pretty horrifying.

What a crock of shit.  The only thing the Germans and Russians have in common are a hatred of Jews.

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

[CountDeMoney]

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

It had its own primacy as a cultural and intellectual center in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, one that fit with the rest of the nations that benefited from the Enlightenment. 

[Sheilbh]

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

I find it really interesting and heartening how the countries who were once victims of Mitteleuropa are now restoring the concept. Central Europe definitely exists again as distinct from West or East. It's very nice to see.

[Razgovory]

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

It had its own primacy as a cultural and intellectual center in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, one that fit with the rest of the nations that benefited from the Enlightenment.

One could say the same thing about St. Petersburg.  I'd say the Prussian junkers were more like the Russians then they were like the French.  Hell much of Russia was run by Germans in the early 20th century.  Russia drew heavily on the Baltic German speaking aristocracy for it's military and bureaucracy.

[HVC]

Power is out in like half of Toronto.

[Ed Anger]

Time to loot

[HVC]

Time to loot

[CountDeMoney]

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

It had its own primacy as a cultural and intellectual center in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, one that fit with the rest of the nations that benefited from the Enlightenment.

One could say the same thing about St. Petersburg.

No, not really.  Not by a long shot.

[Valmy]

I don't know, Germany only really became "Western" after WWII.  Before that it was "Mitteleuropa", halfway between Western democracy and Russian despotism.

I find it really interesting and heartening how the countries who were once victims of Mitteleuropa are now restoring the concept. Central Europe definitely exists again as distinct from West or East. It's very nice to see.

If it includes love affairs with dictatorships and embracing extremist propaganda I would find it rather disheartening.  And why wouldn't it?  Those were its hallmarks before.

[Ed Anger]

Time to loot

It's in your eggplant blood boy. Stealing that is.