The Situation In Germany

[Ryan]

@Ryan the main point I was trying to make is that there are authoritarian followers everywhere. Their authorities can be anyone. You have many who choose to be led by those against the elected government leaders. Or they can be led by popular musicians, movie stars, etc.

Sure, and the main point I was trying to make is that the above fact cannot be used to claim the moral/psychic hygiene of one nation is just as inherently bad as another. There are qualitative differences and it's fairly obvious that such differences exist between Western and Eastern nations, to use a broadly general brush. A nation that contains significantly more psychopaths per capita is likely to be far worse off than a nation with less of them, regardless of if there's an equivalent percentage of authoritarians.

 

[genero81]

I've been following this blogger from Germany for a while now. He's quite good and keeps me posted on all the shenanigans going on in Deutschland.

Zombie Traffic Light: The German government teeters once again on the brink of collapse, but in truth it is already dead

The government that rules Germany is colloquially called the “traffic light.” This is because it is a coalition of three parties that are represented by the colours red, yellow and green.

www.eugyppius.com

 

[axj]

I also think that resorting to personal experience or expertise to add gravitas to one's argument is a sign that the argument is inherently weak.

I disagree. It is not about gravitas but what sources of information you rely on. And there was not even an argument from you, just the claim that there is plenty of free speech in Russia. That is why I asked what this assessment is based on.

From time immemorial there has never been "freedom of speech" on this planet and the current US notion of such is pure idealism used for cynical political motives.

That is a good point. It does depend a lot on what kind of "free speech" is restricted and why. The restrictions in Russia are quite different than in places like the UK and seem to make more sense.

The argument that freedom of speech never existed on this planet is a weak one though, since this is obviously a 3D STS planet. While I agree that "complete freedom of speech" on the level of society is impossible here, this idealism may become reality in an STO environment.

 

[Cosmos]

German government has “collapsed“ over night now and it almost certainly has something to do with Trumps win IMO. I really hope we get at least a bit more sane people there soon. What current nutjobs have done has brought Germany close to impeding collapse (for german standards).

 

[Cosmos]

Interesting that now all off a sudden all those nutjobs see a reason to cancel the government and propose a new election in March or January next year!

The clear dislike of the german people against what our government is doing to this country expressed a number of months ago by throwing them out in big local elections apparently gave them zero reasons to go the hell out, but now, that it is clear that Trump will be in charge soon, they suddenly find all their not existing backbones and cancel the government. What a bunch of sickening hypocrites devoid of any connection to the ordinary population! Go the f**k out already!

 

[heinrich]

German government has “collapsed“ over night now and it almost certainly has something to do with Trumps win IMO. I really hope we get at least a bit more sane people there soon. What current nutjobs have done has brought Germany close to impeding collapse (for german standards).

yes.PLEASE: get rid of stupid habeck, of stupid greens, continue to rely on oil, listen to the hundreds of qualified demonstrations that co2 is INNOCENT to any possible warming. let real engineers and physicists expose their demonstrations, allow factual science again, do not let incompetent and unqualified laypersons set our policies which are destructive to our civilisation. keep common sense, realize that individual death is our destiny. why not, while waiting for this event, lead an intelligent and knowlegible life?? indeed, knowledge, real knowledge, protects.
amen

 

[Keit]

That is a good point. It does depend a lot on what kind of "free speech" is restricted and why. The restrictions in Russia are quite different than in places like the UK and seem to make more sense.

This discussion probably better moved to another thread, because it's not about Germany. So I will be super brief. I did some research regarding restrictions on "free speech" in Russia, specifically fines or supposed jail time for likes or reposts, and apparently (which was suprising to me as well) it is actually nothing extraordinary and falls under the same definition of things that are not "free speech" in US, for example. In US "the categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, and fighting words."

If you search and read Russian legislation, they talk about the same. And so what seems to me that it is primarily a matter of "optics", nothing more, and also the fact that contrary to US, where people are quite sure that they have a freedom of speech and all the rest of the supposed "benefits" of the "free society", in Russia we have a lot of people who will be the first to blame the government for every evil possible. So the "optics" here is being "negativly distorted" by Russians themselves. While in reality there is not much difference.

 

[bianca etezete]

yes.PLEASE: get rid of stupid habeck, of stupid greens, continue to rely on oil, listen to the hundreds of qualified demonstrations that co2 is INNOCENT to any possible warming. let real engineers and physicists expose their demonstrations, allow factual science again, do not let incompetent and unqualified laypersons set our policies which are destructive to our civilisation. keep common sense, realize that individual death is our destiny. why not, while waiting for this event, lead an intelligent and knowlegible life?? indeed, knowledge, real knowledge, protects.
amen

I think that is the reason they buy some time, to NOT get rid of anyone. They need the time to put them in other places, that is what I think is going on right now.

 

[RedFox]

I've been following this blogger from Germany for a while now. He's quite good and keeps me posted on all the shenanigans going on in Deutschland.

Zombie Traffic Light: The German government teeters once again on the brink of collapse, but in truth it is already dead

The government that rules Germany is colloquially called the “traffic light.” This is because it is a coalition of three parties that are represented by the colours red, yellow and green.

www.eugyppius.com

FWIW I listen to this YouTuber who gives a good overview of the situation is Germany and Austria once a month.

 

[Cosmos]

In other news: They are ramping up the discussion about banning the AFD again possibly in order to have them removed before the elections in February.

I likely will take the leap of faith in February and vote for BSW/Wagenknecht. My first vote in a very long time. Let’s face it, navigating the deepstate in Germany is at least as difficult as in America.

In terms of AFD I can‘t get over the fact how they partly behaved even worse than the mainstream parties, before, during and after covid. On the other hand Wagenknecht was basically the only german politician with something to say that strongly pushed back against that insanity while it happened. She is still vocal about what happened there. And all the other things she proposes/claims sound very good/decent as well. So I take the leap of faith.

By the way, she just pointed out again the utter hypocrisy and detachment from the people in the current failed nutjob government by noting that most of those people see nothing wrong with what they did and instead think it is a good idea that they run for high positions again in February!:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1856759192469819902

 

[luc]

In other news: They are ramping up the discussion about banning the AFD again possibly in order to have them removed before the elections in February.

The key word is "discussion": They want to scare some people by discussing a ban, but it's very unlikely they will do it, much less succeed. And it's impossible to do it before the elections. See this thread:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1856998299699413168

 

[Cosmos]

The key word is "discussion": They want to scare some people by discussing a ban, but it's very unlikely they will do it, much less succeed. And it's impossible to do it before the elections.

Yes, from what I understand banning the AFD would be very difficult if not impossible.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Will Scholz's phone call to Putin save his "glassy chair" while German opposition is breathing down his neck?

 

[thorbiorn]

The German Government is closing down the office of RT. The journalists have to leave by the middle of December.

27 Nov, 2024 06:52
Germany shutting down Russia’s Channel One office – broadcaster
The TV station has said its staff have been told to leave Berlin
[...]

The broadcaster cited a document it received from the German authorities, which reportedly stated that “the activities of Channel One represent a significant immediate threat to public order and security in Germany and the EU as they pose a threat to the process of the formation of the public opinion and decision-making in the member states.”

The document also said that despite the Russian TV station’s website being blocked in Germany, its content “is still available on the Internet, is distributed via Telegram channels and continues to influence the Russian-speaking population of Germany.”

“Russian media promoted the decline of the West and the economic collapse of Europe. This narrative and other far-right narratives have taken root among many Russian speakers, causing mistrust of the structures of the German state, the EU, and influencing far-right groups in Germany,” the document added, as cited by Channel One.

In late September, a couple from the German city of Karlsruhe was arrested on suspicion of broadcasting RT and other Russian TV channels via the internet. They may face at least one year in prison if found guilty of violating the Foreign Trade Act.

Russian speakers of course include most of the Ukrainians that have migrated to Germany.
"far-right groups in Germany" is most likely, if not exclusively AfD which they are trying to outlaw:
Germany mulls banning its second largest party ahead of snap elections 21 Nov, 2024
German Bank kills AfD donation account after leftist lobby against the party 07 Jul, 2024

The numbers differ, but according to the Wiki for the Demographics of Germany, the 2023 statistics show that there are more than 1.3 million Russians in Germany, while people from Ukraine, many of which would be ethnic Russians, account for 1 million and then one could add people from Kazakhstan which is another 1.3, out of which many will speak Russian. Add it all up and more than three million people would know Russian.

Perhaps the argument about preventing the influencing of Russian speakers in Germany is no more than an excuse to prevent those who only speak German from a source of information that is not curated according to the standards of many German MSM. There are also people like Angela Merkel, who is an example of a German that master Russian very nicely. Of course we don't know how many of that generation look at Russian media, but there might be some.

 

[heinrich]

The German Government is closing down the office of RT. The journalists have to leave by the middle of December.

27 Nov, 2024 06:52
Germany shutting down Russia’s Channel One office – broadcaster
The TV station has said its staff have been told to leave Berlin
[...]

Russian speakers of course include most of the Ukrainians that have migrated to Germany.
"far-right groups in Germany" is most likely, if not exclusively AfD which they are trying to outlaw:
Germany mulls banning its second largest party ahead of snap elections 21 Nov, 2024
German Bank kills AfD donation account after leftist lobby against the party 07 Jul, 2024

The numbers differ, but according to the Wiki for the Demographics of Germany, the 2023 statistics show that there are more than 1.3 million Russians in Germany, while people from Ukraine, many of which would be ethnic Russians, account for 1 million and then one could add people from Kazakhstan which is another 1.3, out of which many will speak Russian. Add it all up and more than three million people would know Russian.

Perhaps the argument about preventing the influencing of Russian speakers in Germany is no more than an excuse to prevent those who only speak German from a source of information that is not curated according to the standards of many German MSM. There are also people like Angela Merkel, who is an example of a German that master Russian very nicely. Of course we don't know how many of that generation look at Russian media, but there might be some.

i read rt for many years, and still do. their articles are sensible and of interest, and are necessary to get a more complete view of the overall situation. censoring them, as well as the afd, only shows the fear of those in power from their citizens. also putting fuellmich in prison is the same as the crime perpetrated by the uk and usa on assange. i see the downfall of stupid green germany with delicious schadenfreude...