News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Drang nach Osten referred to the German historical equivalent of America's "Manifest Destiny" during the mid-to latter part of the 19th century, in which the US-Gov.t felt it was her almost G_d-given right to move West and settle America's personal stake in her own future as divine providence foretold:-) The Native Americans interfered with that future and were hence subject to annihilation. Germany went in the so-called "opposite" direction, claiming her frontiers lay way to the East and that it was Germany's destiny to create Lebensraum in Slavic lands, from which, naturally, the Slavs would be displaced, peacefully if possible, forcibly, indeed brutally, if necessary, in order to make room for the deserving Germanic peoples.

You're comparing apples and oranges, Crow, AS USUAL:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

???? What on earth are you crowing about?

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Whereas Poland may have right-tilting tendencies which make Trump seem appealing, the same cannot be said for mainstream Germany. The protesters in Hamburg are extremists, and extremists of whichever stripe, be they right or left, can pose a danger, even to a hopefully stable democracy:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Germany continues to react to the Nazi Era, thus swinging to the other extreme, whereby media must clamp down on ordinary folks stating any sort of criticism of anything Germany says is "straitjacketing" their right to say the first thing that comes into their head, well considered or not:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Yo, pal, relativizing IS trvializing by its very nature! What's wrong with you? Where's your moral compass? Did ya trade it in for "peace of mind"?

::-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Until today, making snide cracks about the NS-period, mock Hitler salutes (regardless of how "harmlessly" intended) and the like can land anyone, German national or foreign visitor, native or tourist, in some awfully nasty hot water:-)

Ignorance of the LAW is never an excuse!

@Maf, when someone trivializes the Shoah, factually or not, this gives pause to wonder as to what that individual's motives are. Always thought you were on the correct side. Now, I'm not so sure.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Meaning that Merkel's government is continuing to fuel the "leftist dictatorship" angle of eternal provocateurs such as Thilo Sarazzin, Jonathan Meese etc., I suppose.

Great. We're back where we started:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

The problem with Schulz is that he speaks his mind, as does Merkel. Problem is, most aren't interested in what they have to say any longer; their liberal speech has long since fallen on deaf ears:-)

Sad but so, and somehow a Sigmar Gabriel chancellorship doesn't exactly inspire confidence on the Left either.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Necessity will determine that, dudar! Survival is the art of learning from previous mistakes, and correcting them:-) This means, making darn sure Turkey DOES NOT enter the EU come 2020, one of many planned dates for said catastrophe waiting to happen!!

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

You mean what is a "bitter pill", exactly?? Not sure I understood your "Serblish", Crow!
:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Similar to the situation in post-War occupied Vienna! The British under Sir Alexander Galloway and the Russians surely did their part to prosecute ex-Nazis aka Nazi sympathizers, in among other areas, the film industry, such as Karl Hartl and many others:-)

The Americans and the French acted more like caretakers than occupiers, to be quite frank.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Considering the US debt going into the trillions by now, that's hardly equitable:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Hopefully, Merkel will have learned from her missteps.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

German "imperialism", Crow??! From which outdated textbook are you quoting?! Yo dude, the war's over! The US, Russia, Britain, and France won the Big One and the danger's passed, so where's the problem?

I'll admit that PEGIDA and AfD don't exactly instill confidence, but in all likelihood, Merkel will handily take the upcoming election:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Ahemmm, it was Trump who harmed relations with Germany, NOT Merkel:-))

Love / Are Polish men handsome to you? [182]

I'm relieved to know that, Dirk:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Not quite so simple, Marsupial!

As usual, your type enjoys simplifying more complex issues of morality, justice, and ethics. While not German by birth, I view the destruction of Dresden along with numerous other once proud German treasures as an indication of the difficulties posed by recent German history! The Allies were damned if they didn't and damned if they did. Had the British and the Americans not bombed the cities in question, posterity would have recorded the turning a blind eye to the monstrousness of the Holocaust (among many other monstrous acts committed by the Germans/Nazis). That they did in fact bomb those cities was seen as just punishment for Hitler's nearly unstoppable evil and those misguided minions who lent their wholehearted support to his cause.

Regarding the future of Germany as well as the EU, the former has shown herself a worthy ally of the West. She cannot be expected to eternally stand in the shadows of her past. She has more than paid her debt to civilization. Chancellor Merkel is well aware of this!

Love / Are Polish men handsome to you? [182]

...you mean the guys in trenchcoats, resting on those skinny brollies aka umbrellas?
:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Translation, please Marsupial?

@danke, weg04:-)

Ironside, for your information, Warsaw was one of my urban invasions undertaken by both the Nazis as well as the Allies during the War. Dresden's bombing was revenge, pure and simple!! I agree with weg04, look up firebombing; it ain't pretty.

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Not only spelling errors, my friend! Germany had her ass bombed so bad, it was still being rebuilt up until the mid-60's:-))
Has Poland anything to quite compare with the firebombing of Dresden??! Only in the new millennium was her once famous cathedral even refurbished. Much of her Old Town has been lost forever!!

I sense more than a little self pity in your condescension.

Love / Are Polish men handsome to you? [182]

Fashion still holds sway in Europe compared to the States. I was always impressed by how Italian youth dress while on vacation.
Poles too tend to dress nicely. The exception to the above are the Germans, Scandinavians, and the Dutch. In Holland, the Marlon Brandoesque "bad boy" sixties' look is quite common, including some shoulder length hair among guys, ripped Levis, and peace belts. Someone who recently visited Amsterdam remarked all the guys want to look like a young Rutger Hauer:-))

lol

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Meaning that Poland's economic interests have been subsumed by Germany's, is that it? You're clearly right, no disagreement about that!
Perhaps we all wish it weren't so, but Germans have shown themselves to be preturnaturally resilient, climbing out from under the rubble of '45 and essentially rebuilding their country by their own grit and determination, Marshall Plan dollars notwithstanding:-)

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

...pepek, upierd etc.. Yes, we know(:-

Was watching Wajda's classic "Popiol i Diamenty" on BRAVO channel several evenings ago. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. Their Polish seemed soooo classic, if totally natural for those times:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Ahhem, posters at large. Certain above quotes attributed to me, were in fact NOT posted by me:-)

@Maf, no doubt that Germany's helped enrich Poland in more ways than one.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

By definition, if something's old-fashioned, it's no longer in fashion, right? You can't have it both ways!

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Whilst we persist in "carpetbagging" Germany into some kind of latter-day pillager and plunderer of old, let us not neglect a hidden degree of jealousy afoot here! Germany remains the economic engine of Europe and it was this dynamo upon which much of the world continues to depend for high-quality workmanship, that is, that which hasn't yet been outsourced to cheaper-wage countries:-)

@Ironside, I'm not enamored with much of Poland's history. On the other hand, I don't about denegrating many of her noteworthy accomplishments either.

Poles are envious of Germany's economic achievments as well as her engineering, let's face it!

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Maf, the EU's a mixed bag, any intelligent person can see that, we both agree, I think! You asked me though to name you a single thing Germany's done to make peace, so to speak, with the EU. Schulz isn't perfect, heaven knows neither is Merkel. Yet, ever since the Greece debacle several years ago, Germany has once again been made to appear as the bogeyman of Europe, the perennial whipping boy for all of Europe's ills, from the "sick man of Europe" to cancer of the continent.

It's really enough already! I must reiterate, although they seem diplomatically close, Putin is far scarier and much more of a bully than either Schulz or Merkel ever were!

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Fall '17! By Fall '18, people will have doubtless already recovered from what hit 'emLOL
Typo:-)

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Appointing Martin Schulz to spearhead the deeply fractured SPD. That's for starters. For closers, will have to wait and see after Fall '18, save for the post-election blues if the wrong team should win:-) Or as the Germans often like to say: "Mal abwarten und Teechen trinken!"

News / Germany After the EU and the Russian Scenario - future of the European Union and Poland [310]

Maf, the latter is merely an outmoded stereotype, come on, I'm surprised at you falling for that one:-) Putin's nearly as much of a bully as both Hitler and Stalin combined. Merkel's a bleedin' piker next to Czar Vladimir. But oh yeah, Russia was an ally after the War who liberated Buchenwald along with Berlin, so they're not so bad, right?

lol