Posted on 01/04/2006 11:45:20 PM PST by Atlantic Bridge
German Chancellor Angela Merkel can look forward to the red-carpet treatment in Washington next week as US President George Bush -- who never got on with her predecessor Gerhard Schröder -- hopes to signal a fresh start. But a top German official warns that despite improving trans-Atlantic ties, America's reputation among the European public is waning.
(Excerpt) Read more at service.spiegel.de ...
Could be my own words.
ON THE NET...
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3242
"Two Germans vs. Islamism"
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
January 3, 2006
yeah, but you are you and not who we are talking about. You are on FreeRepublic with me. I have a feeling we'd get along pretty well in person. You could laugh at my rusty/inadequate Deutsch. Wir sind fleisig geschaftswerkmannern...i told you it was rusty...Viellicht wir konnten ein trink haben und macht die probleme des weld zurecht....wie haltest do davon?...I'm embarrassing myself I know.. aber es gibt venige leuten mit Deutch zusprechen....oh well I tried..its been zwansig jahren....I'm putting a clutch in a 4WD truck right now, I'll check back later. ciao
The funny thing is that some Americans also believe into a caricature when they talk about Germany. I remember two nice young girls who visited my business-partner (they were his grand nieces or something). They were totally surprised about the good German infrastructure and the high living standart of its people. Somehow they expected poor rural people just as if the Morgenthau plan would have been realized. Furthermore they were unsuspicious enough to tell it to my friend...
Silly and uninformed people will never die out. It doesn't matter on which side of the Atlantic they live.
Since David's medienkritik was started last year it is indeed the best blog about German media you can find! Therefore again:
http://medienkritik.typepad.com/
Bump and Ditto.
From the country that gave the world Hitler.
But the question that Germans and other Euros should be asking themselves is where are they going? Everything changes, and the changes can be good or bad. In your opinion is Germany headed down the right road? I mean that it terms of retaining not only its sovereignty but its German character or essence.
The real historical problem with my country is that the wrong conclusions were made out of the nazi tragedy. Instead of defending freedom with force Germany prefers doing absolutely nothing since the appearance of our troops could cause a psychological trauma (the bad bad nazis are striking us again!) on the side of the enemy. It is pathetic.
BTW - All this "Eurabia" propaganda is BS. It is correct that we have a problem with young muslims in our country since they are usually undereducated and unemployed. This is the reason why they get aggressive - just as some minorities in the US. But there is one thing for sure: They will not take over the power here. Most Turks in Germany are assimilated, peaceful and decent people. I employ some in my own business and I know what I am talking about. The much more fanatic Islamiacs come usually from northern Africa or Pakistan. Their part in our populace is nearly zero. That does not mean that we have to ignore the problem but we should get the right dimensions.
If everything around you sucks, could it be that it´s not the others around you sucking but you? Just a question from someone who gets tired of so "well-founded" ahem comments like yours.
That´s a comment I agree with. The main problem is misinformation and misperceiption. Whenever I got in an arguement about the US-German relations, I was able to make the anti-US guys silent with a few questions, for instance "if the US was so evil, why is there such a great cooperation between our intelligences and governments?" "Why do we blame the CIA/NSA but rely on their informations?" "How comes that you don´t know that 90% of the people in Iraq have a better live than before the liberation?" "What is wrong in protecting Afghanistan and giving girls the chance for a education that is more than calculating the number of goat milk bottles?"
There´s a lot of double standard and unlogical thinking. I´m optimistic that we can push it back with a pro-American sound from the Chancellery. Merkel needs to address the good things America is doing, we should get the focus not only on the bad things.
You mean Austria??
Nothing like a tasty bratwurst.
So Hitler was the ruler of Austria, not Germany?
"the US reputation in Germany is declining as the Moslem population in Germany is rising."
That is really it JLS! I strongly urge all Freepers to read the latest Mark Steyn article; 'It's the Demography Stupid'
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007760
I just returned from a visit to my uncle in Germany. He is a great guy, and he thinks Bush the Elder was America's best president. But he doesn't like Bush the Younger. It just doesn't compute. He says he thinks puppy Bush is just trying to outdo the dad.
I do believe old Europe is afraid of the Muslim immigration. What will they do if Bush frees all those Muslims to wander all over the place? Better that they were rotting away in Saddam's prisons.
If you read Steyn's piece, and it is the best I've read on the Middle East problem, you will see that the Shia culture will soon overpopulate the European culture.
Hitler was born in Braunau as an Austrian. He moved later to Germany. When he was Reichskanzler he ruled over the "Großdeutsches Reich" (Greater Germany) that included Austria since 1938. To the nazis Austria was always a part of Greater Germany. BTW - Austrians were among the staunchest Nazis you can think of. A large part of the SS-Totenkopf-guards who ran the concentration camps were from Austria.
Thank you for the backing!
I think it is important that we understand each other better. Therefore we have to discuss such unpleasant issues. Many things have to be changed in Europe soon. The place of Europe is on the side of freedom. Therefore it is important to me to obtain our friendship unregarded of such leftist BS.
Have a nice day!
Andreas
.....First of all Germany needs more time to solve its own problems.......
There is an implicit assumption that the problems are solvable. There is an equally valid assumption there is no such possibility projecting current trends.
Major change appears to be required and there is no indication of the political will to cause such change.
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