tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post7119845130777185582..comments2024-01-03T05:18:54.650-05:00Comments on CDR Salamander: Deutschland über allesCDR Salamanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981221786954902349noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-27801724590593742682010-11-01T08:09:26.000-04:002010-11-01T08:09:26.000-04:00Well, we have a Phillips-owned lightbulbs factory ...Well, we have a Phillips-owned lightbulbs factory churning out new energy-saving ones like there is no tomorrow in my neighbouring province, so not only Chinese ones get sold... I am overall pleased with dropping energy bills I have since switching to laptop pc and new bulbs last year. Overall EU membership was a huge boon to Poland with some excess workforce drained away to UK and now Germany, influx of the capital and increasing political standards regarding transparency. As for the Israelis, our army is mighty pleased with their Spike ATGMs. And they have years of experience of merging captured Soviet equipment with Western-quality electronics.ewok40knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-78010321428601967442010-11-01T03:46:33.000-04:002010-11-01T03:46:33.000-04:00ewok - makes sense. The Israelis must be experts i...ewok - makes sense. The Israelis must be experts in doing a lot with very little. Romania may well become to the EU what southern Italy was to northern Italy, but that is still a step up. As I have seen in the case of friends from Slovenia, EU membership has upsides and downsides. There must be a lot of investment they would not have gotten if they weren´t in the EU. On the other hand, being forced to pay for "stuff rich people like" isn´t fun. Take compact fluorescent light bulbs, now mandatory. In the village shop where I saw them, they were over 8 Euros a piece. And made in China. Regular incandescent bulbs used to cost a few cents.El Gordonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-84513178124629340922010-10-31T14:57:44.000-04:002010-10-31T14:57:44.000-04:00AFAIK Romania is in even worse shape than Poland, ...AFAIK Romania is in even worse shape than Poland, economically. Poland keeps low-to-medium growth steadily. In Romania succession of inept and corrupt governments failed to draw any capital in. But believe me, everything is better than hyperinflation and empty shelves in shops. Witnessed it myself in the final days of communism. Military drawdown was necessary from the times of Cold War. When communists first time published WarPac army numbers, I was amazed that Poland by itself had more tanks than UK and France combined. Soviet Union had more of them than the rest of the world combined.This must have been terrible drain on economy. Now with draft gone, professional military being costly, and additional costs of operations in Iraq/AFG, I am afraid militaries will be shrinking badly in all the new NATO members too.<br />I'e heard Romanian military has close ties with Israelis who have been modernising their aircraft and tanks, and lately there have been rumors of Israeli AF training mountain flying in Carpathia - possibly for Iran strikes.ewok40knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-17732857615995784042010-10-31T14:25:13.000-04:002010-10-31T14:25:13.000-04:00The Romanians I talked to were of mixed minds. The...The Romanians I talked to were of mixed minds. They, of course, were happy the government was no longer Communist. However they expected more benefit from becoming aligned with the European Union. At the average citizen level they are not seeing it.<br /><br />They have cut their military from 350,000 to 78,000. At that they still provide about 2000 to AFG, despite the fact that it is unpopular at home. Their economy is not growing-and they are feeling squeezed.Skippy-sannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-72098369695742282712010-10-31T04:37:42.000-04:002010-10-31T04:37:42.000-04:00Correct. Only the third verse is now allowed/sung...Correct. Only the third verse is now allowed/sung. "Deutschland über alles" is very taboo post WW2. Another big reason is that the original song sings about land no longer owned by Germany. <br /><br />- PEP Chief in the Bundesmarine. FCCSWAWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-38729820452960110412010-10-29T15:09:16.000-04:002010-10-29T15:09:16.000-04:00I bet should Germany ever again come under attack,...I bet should Germany ever again come under attack, it's enemies would have tough opponents. And regarding euro-politics: much of the day-to-day managing is done by the civil services, unelected, unsung, unpopular beaurocrats who speak numbers not ideas. And even career politicians tend to take reality into account.<br />I am living in a pretty run-down corner of Poland, unemployment is high since local shipyard went bankrupt. But still when I remember the crisis times of communism, I will take present day - anyday. Even unemployed are seeking jobs thru internet, and can afford cold coke or beer in summer.ewok40knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-8939865661032662842010-10-29T14:10:35.000-04:002010-10-29T14:10:35.000-04:00I went through Training Command Primary & Basi...I went through Training Command Primary & Basic with a group of Bundesmarine fellow JO's. Most of their fathers had, naturally, fought in WWII. We didn't bring up our faith (Jewish) and they didn't bring up what their father's had done, by some sort of silent agreement. Yet, becuase I speak some German, we were often the only non-Germans at their admittedly great parties. They were Boomers, just as we were, and there was nary a hint of the old attitudes, even when they were smashed.<br /><br />Yet watching that video gives me the big creepies. What with the lighting and the torches, just a wee bit too reminiscent.Andynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-36020397758604192942010-10-29T13:44:09.000-04:002010-10-29T13:44:09.000-04:00Yep, 20 years is just long enough to forget what l...Yep, 20 years is just long enough to forget what life was like when Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu ran the place. Now <b>THAT</b> was draconian.<br /><br />Of course revolutions tend to occur when the government fails to meet rising expectations.C-dore 14noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-87274165929989020492010-10-29T13:38:51.000-04:002010-10-29T13:38:51.000-04:00It was always interesting to hear it played at NAT...It was always interesting to hear it played at NATO ceremonies (especially ones that included the French).<br /><br />BTW, its tune, "Austria" by Franz Joseph Haydn, is the music for the hymn "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" that I've heard in Episcopal and Lutheran churches ever since I can remember.C-dore 14noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-83363667648310486222010-10-29T12:49:19.000-04:002010-10-29T12:49:19.000-04:00Even the last German finance minister, a Social De...Even the last German finance minister, a Social Democrat (!) named Steinbrück, spoke of avoiding "crass Keynesianism". The German equivalent of the stimulus was far smaller, a bigger share went to infrastructure projects which were already scheduled anyway and it also contained tax cuts. Add to this better labor relations, the overhaul (euphemism for cutting) of unemployment benefits under the last government and and the fact that real wages have been stagnating for several years. That was some bitter medicine to swallow and Germany still has huge unsolved problems. But you know what would be the biggest problem? A government that causes deficits of 10% of GDP while ramming through even more expensive, anti-growth policies like there´s no tomorrow.<br /><br />I said this to people around the time Obama held his Berlin speech in 2008: Germans may like the idea of Obama as American president but they would not have voted for him. Not after having a closer look. They are no longer looking for saviors. They by and large despise their politicians and want them boring and well-controlled.<br /><br />When Obama/Pelosi took over, it was perfectly clear to me that the US would have stubbornly high unemployment. Social Democracies generally have unemployment, permanent underclasses and cannot integrate immigrants. None of which helps the common guy. Why should the US be different? We don´t even have the honest and efficient public administration and homogenous culture of Germany or Sweden. We are simply to big and diverse for that nonsense.El Gordonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-14399415563883762632010-10-29T12:23:56.000-04:002010-10-29T12:23:56.000-04:00The first verse of the national anthem, the one th...The first verse of the national anthem, the one that begins "Deutschland uber alles", is not used in Germany. It has been "verboten" since the Third Reich. Sing it and Germans will assume you´re a nazi. And if you´re a German singing it, you probably are.El Gordonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-40414231762437304162010-10-29T12:19:28.000-04:002010-10-29T12:19:28.000-04:00You are ignoring some fundamental differences betw...You are ignoring some fundamental differences between here and Germany and Romania. Romania was part of the third world in 1990, and not even one of the better parts. Romania is probably better off today than at any time in history, certainly any time in the last 60 years. Austerity? They have hardly had time to get rich.El Gordonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-12060700537492186942010-10-29T00:55:46.000-04:002010-10-29T00:55:46.000-04:00You are ignoring some fundamental differences betw...You are ignoring some fundamental differences between Germany and here. Plus austerity is not working everywhere in Europe. I spent the whole summer in Romanian and they are under a draconian austerity program-and it is not working. And the Romanians were pretty pissed off abougt it-especially the military folks I was working with who just ate a 25% pay cut.<br /><br />But, not to worry, when the US Navy sends Sailors there-they are going to screw them over even worse. Not enough Sailors and not enough facilities-all in the spirit of saving money.Skippy-sannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-54230266678652013662010-10-28T21:48:05.000-04:002010-10-28T21:48:05.000-04:00Curtis, the name of the piece is "Deutschland...Curtis, the name of the piece is "Deutschland uber Alles", the German national anthem. <br /><br />Deutschland, Deutschland uber Alles,<br />Uber Alles im die Welt...<br /><br />The German ceremonial song equivalent to our Taps is "Ich hatt einen Kameraden".<br /><br />"Ich hatt einen Kameraden, einen bessren finst du nicht..."<br /><br />I once had a comrade, a better one you'll never find. <br /><br />Incredibly moving song.UltimaRatioRegisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-29138337738651970102010-10-28T21:27:35.000-04:002010-10-28T21:27:35.000-04:00On slightly less scale the same here in Poland (h...On slightly less scale the same here in Poland (helped with constitutional limit on national debt)... Heck, even Sarkozy in France is standing firm on increasing pension age. Go Europe!ewok40knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-67389169726112593752010-10-28T21:19:15.000-04:002010-10-28T21:19:15.000-04:00It's sad to have to ask as a native born Germa...It's sad to have to ask as a native born German, what was that?Curtisnoreply@blogger.com