D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
What's the situation with public reactions in Serbia?
European Politics
- Thread starter Forostar
- Start date
Some idiots are protesting in center of the city, but it's under control. Compared to what happened after Karadzic was arrested, this is nothing. But, only 12 hours passed since the arrest, so I guess that the worst is yet to come. When I see those idiots that cheer him as their hero, I suddenly wish to move somewhere far away from this country, Alaska for example 
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
Yeah, happens to me everyday. I just open the paper, and i either want to kill somebody or get the hell out of here. But then they'd win, wouldn't they? Motherfuckers.
Just wanted to say that you're lucky to be so young and not remembering that horrid stuff in early '90s, forgetting that North American Terrorist Organization shelled you in 1999. You were probably of same age or bit younger then, like i was when SFRY broke up and shit started rolling. Funny little place we live in, the Balkans. Each generation of my family fought someone, somewhere for something. I'd say that latest shit in 90s was the most utterly pointless occasion.
Just wanted to say that you're lucky to be so young and not remembering that horrid stuff in early '90s, forgetting that North American Terrorist Organization shelled you in 1999. You were probably of same age or bit younger then, like i was when SFRY broke up and shit started rolling. Funny little place we live in, the Balkans. Each generation of my family fought someone, somewhere for something. I'd say that latest shit in 90s was the most utterly pointless occasion.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
I agree with this article, for the most part. I really do not understand why Germany and the Swiss are doing this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13594503
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13594503
Because the majority of Germans are against nuclear power, and the current German government is easily the least popular there has ever been - they will do anything to get a few points on the polls.
What strikes me is how all of the sudden, shutting down nuclear power is not an issue anymore - after those clowns from the Merkel II administration upheld the mantra that it would not be possible within the next twenty or fifty years just half a year ago. Even the Schröder administration, you know, the red and green guys said that a reasonable nuclear power shut-down will not be possible until 2035 or something. Like most green voters, I wasn't happy about that, but understood it.
And now the hag and her monkeys are essentially saying that those nuclear plants weren't even necessary to begin with? Because if they were, you couldn't shut them down just like that. That means the last ten years worth of nuclear waste, people dying of leukemia and children born with deformations needn't have been. Fuck you, Merkel. Fuck you.
What strikes me is how all of the sudden, shutting down nuclear power is not an issue anymore - after those clowns from the Merkel II administration upheld the mantra that it would not be possible within the next twenty or fifty years just half a year ago. Even the Schröder administration, you know, the red and green guys said that a reasonable nuclear power shut-down will not be possible until 2035 or something. Like most green voters, I wasn't happy about that, but understood it.
And now the hag and her monkeys are essentially saying that those nuclear plants weren't even necessary to begin with? Because if they were, you couldn't shut them down just like that. That means the last ten years worth of nuclear waste, people dying of leukemia and children born with deformations needn't have been. Fuck you, Merkel. Fuck you.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
Looks like Portugal is looking to make some sensible moves for now and the future.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/eur ... 51173.html
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/eur ... 51173.html
Ranko
I'll shoot the gunner first!
bearfan said:
Actually, some of the materials being researched - the so-called third generation photovoltaic materials, which will come into usage in 5-10 years time - are promising to offer efficiencies equal to those that the first generation materials offer, but at a much lower price, so that power prices will be equal to those offered by conventional sources, "grid parity". (The second generation materials offer low cost but also a low efficiency.)
Well, bearfan, it's not like they're taking the plants off line tomorrow. It's a time frame of 11 years till 2022. Precisely because alternative energy sources must exist by then.
But it's also not like Germany is running at the limits of its energy capacities at the moment. There is far more energy produced than is actually required. Several nuclear plants have been shut down right after Fukushima, and the effects were nil.
But it's also not like Germany is running at the limits of its energy capacities at the moment. There is far more energy produced than is actually required. Several nuclear plants have been shut down right after Fukushima, and the effects were nil.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
Perun said:
I understand that, I do not see the point in setting a take off line date. It would make more sense to say "if/when we replace the power output of these plants with alternative sources in a cost effective manner, we will take these other plants off-line", I tend to doubt that they can increase solar/wind output enough by they to make up for the loss of plants they are talking about taking offline.
Energy is obviously the key to a modern economy, reducing capacity does not seem like a wise move, especially in reaction to a disaster that was brought about by circumstance that have as close to zero chance as possible to happen in Germany/Europe. The more prudent move would be to learn what lessons can be learned from the disaster in Japan and see if there are steps that can be taken to make the plants safer.
It's going to provide Germany with an impetus in providing renewable energy. Setting a date to get shit done tends to help get shit done.
If this works - and it's a big if - by 2022, Germany will be producing more renewable energy than the rest of the world, combined. Most places get under 1% of their energy from renewable sources. As fossil fuels dry up and as public demand moves away from messy coal and dirty, expensive oil (and as uranium becomes increasingly more difficult to locate for nuclear reactors), the technology developed in Germany over the next 11 years will become desired elsewhere in the world.
Look at the great public work projects in history. They had dates to get done, even if people said they couldn't be done. The first Canadian and US transcontinental railroads had a target time for completion. Kennedy picked a time for the moon landing. Who will ever forget, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade." It's not much different. Merkel has the charisma of my left foot, but this was done smartly. It's a goal to work towards. I'm not saying this is equivalent to the Apollo project in terms of importance, but it gives Germany something to do. Something they can become world leaders in. This is a country that has been lacking in its world leader status for a long time (like it was destroyed and partitioned 65 years ago or something), and it could be the world leader in green energy very shortly - a technology that will be in increasing demand over the next 50 years.
It's something that every other modern nation should commit to doing, because otherwise, we risk falling behind. The Germans are using Fukashima as their impetus, but it's not the real reason. The real reason is to find a reason to be great again, to give an entire economy a purpose.
If this works - and it's a big if - by 2022, Germany will be producing more renewable energy than the rest of the world, combined. Most places get under 1% of their energy from renewable sources. As fossil fuels dry up and as public demand moves away from messy coal and dirty, expensive oil (and as uranium becomes increasingly more difficult to locate for nuclear reactors), the technology developed in Germany over the next 11 years will become desired elsewhere in the world.
Look at the great public work projects in history. They had dates to get done, even if people said they couldn't be done. The first Canadian and US transcontinental railroads had a target time for completion. Kennedy picked a time for the moon landing. Who will ever forget, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade." It's not much different. Merkel has the charisma of my left foot, but this was done smartly. It's a goal to work towards. I'm not saying this is equivalent to the Apollo project in terms of importance, but it gives Germany something to do. Something they can become world leaders in. This is a country that has been lacking in its world leader status for a long time (like it was destroyed and partitioned 65 years ago or something), and it could be the world leader in green energy very shortly - a technology that will be in increasing demand over the next 50 years.
It's something that every other modern nation should commit to doing, because otherwise, we risk falling behind. The Germans are using Fukashima as their impetus, but it's not the real reason. The real reason is to find a reason to be great again, to give an entire economy a purpose.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
But scarcity is not an immediate issue, they are pushing inferior energy output at a premium cost for something that will have a minimal economic benefit for the country and putting the engine for the entire economy at risk. If and when solar/wind becomes more effecient and cost effective versus oil/natural gas/nuclear it will take over. The transcontinental rails, mission to the moon, etc had a limited purpose to explore/open up something new. It was not there with the goal of making semi-better ahead of it's natural time. I think Vaclav Klauses book "Blue Planet in Green Shackles" makes a terrific argument against this sort of manipulation.
LooseCannon said:
I guess that is the position some economists in this country are taking. But you guys need to realise, the Germans have always hated nuclear power. The plants were built against major protests, and people have never been comfortable with them around. Every single nuclear waste transport met with major demonstrations. Remember that Germany was the first country that the green movement became a mainstream political force. The Green party was founded in 1979 or so, and got into parliament by the end of the decade; in 1998, they joined the federal government for the first time, and they have been on the rise ever since. That was mostly due to their promise to get rid of nuclear power as soon as possible. People never trusted nuclear power here, no matter how safe or modern the plants were supposed to be. Chernobyl happened in Germany's extended neighbourhood, and that was a state-of-the-art plant. The question that is predominating here in the discurse is: "What else needs to happen until people realise it's just not worth the risk?" Somebody once said a meltdown in a nuclear plant is an event that is likely to happen maybe once in a thousand years. Now it's happened twice in 25 years. There is no trust anymore. In the light of these events, I don't see why I should trust it myself. So maybe major earthquakes don't happen around here, but then again, every once in a while they do hit 6 on the Richter scale. The plants aren't secure against plane crashes or tornadoes - which also happen every once in a while - and quite honestly, there are just too many unpredictable possibilities. They will never be 100% safe, and in this case anything below 100% is too big a risk.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Nasty race law wish arises again among Mannheim student club. 
German duelling clubs in race row over Asian member
A row with uncomfortable echoes of the past is gripping the world of Germany's student duelling societies after a club admitted a non-European member.
Duellers in Munich objected to the fact a Mannheim club had allowed a member with an Asian background to join, despite his service in the German army.
Mannheim members stood by their decision, and called for a more liberal direction for the clubs.
The clubs' national association insisted they were not racist.
Stefan Dobner, its spokesman, said it was wrong to say the row was over an "Aryan" condition of membership for duelling societies.
The fraternities condemned racism, he said.
Under Hitler, Germany enacted race laws which stressed the superiority of the "Aryan race", as northern Europeans were defined by the Nazis.
About 1,300 Germans are active members of the 100 or so student duelling societies, or Burschenschaften, which also count some 10,000 past members.
Swords and scars
The current argument is over whether people with immigrant backgrounds can be true Germans, and part of what some see as a quintessentially German institution, the BBC's Stephen Evans reports from Berlin.
The row has thrown into disarray an arcane and secretive world of fraternities forged through duelling, he says.
Such societies are usually male and involve dressing up in traditional 19th Century outfits, as well as drinking and fighting with swords.
Real swords are used and the men who join often sport a scar on their cheeks to show they have fought a real duel.
The Mannheim issue was to be debated at the annual meeting of the societies to be held in the town of Eisenach this weekend.
There was a feeling from the more conservative elements in Bavaria that, according to internal documents, members with "non-European facial and bodily characteristics" did not qualify as Germans and so could not join what the objectors see as a bastion of true German identity, our correspondent says.
"Especially in times of rising immigration, it is not acceptable that people who are not from the German family tree should be admitted to the Burschenschaften," as one document puts it.
Different times
The threatened club responded with a statement on its website signed by its spokesman, Kai-Ming Au.
It said that the club would fight strongly against the attempt to expel it from the national association and would push for reform at national level.
A spokesman for the umbrella organisation of the fraternities in Germany said there had been long discussions and it had been decided not to expel the Mannheim club, though there would be further discussions.
The difficulty for the associations is that Germany has changed, our correspondent adds.
Citizenship used to be based on "blood lines" - in other words, immigrants were excluded - and the duelling clubs mirrored that idea.
German duelling clubs in race row over Asian member
A row with uncomfortable echoes of the past is gripping the world of Germany's student duelling societies after a club admitted a non-European member.
Duellers in Munich objected to the fact a Mannheim club had allowed a member with an Asian background to join, despite his service in the German army.
Mannheim members stood by their decision, and called for a more liberal direction for the clubs.
The clubs' national association insisted they were not racist.
Stefan Dobner, its spokesman, said it was wrong to say the row was over an "Aryan" condition of membership for duelling societies.
The fraternities condemned racism, he said.
Under Hitler, Germany enacted race laws which stressed the superiority of the "Aryan race", as northern Europeans were defined by the Nazis.
About 1,300 Germans are active members of the 100 or so student duelling societies, or Burschenschaften, which also count some 10,000 past members.
Swords and scars
The current argument is over whether people with immigrant backgrounds can be true Germans, and part of what some see as a quintessentially German institution, the BBC's Stephen Evans reports from Berlin.
The row has thrown into disarray an arcane and secretive world of fraternities forged through duelling, he says.
Such societies are usually male and involve dressing up in traditional 19th Century outfits, as well as drinking and fighting with swords.
Real swords are used and the men who join often sport a scar on their cheeks to show they have fought a real duel.
The Mannheim issue was to be debated at the annual meeting of the societies to be held in the town of Eisenach this weekend.
There was a feeling from the more conservative elements in Bavaria that, according to internal documents, members with "non-European facial and bodily characteristics" did not qualify as Germans and so could not join what the objectors see as a bastion of true German identity, our correspondent says.
"Especially in times of rising immigration, it is not acceptable that people who are not from the German family tree should be admitted to the Burschenschaften," as one document puts it.
Different times
The threatened club responded with a statement on its website signed by its spokesman, Kai-Ming Au.
It said that the club would fight strongly against the attempt to expel it from the national association and would push for reform at national level.
A spokesman for the umbrella organisation of the fraternities in Germany said there had been long discussions and it had been decided not to expel the Mannheim club, though there would be further discussions.
The difficulty for the associations is that Germany has changed, our correspondent adds.
Citizenship used to be based on "blood lines" - in other words, immigrants were excluded - and the duelling clubs mirrored that idea.
Rotam
Night and day I scan horizon, sea and sky
Perun said:
That's because they really became more conservative and especially a turbulent and messy party. It explains why they only were in office briefly 3 years and 11 months in the last 15 years. Actually, the conservative Party has a much more experienced leader, and was climbing high on polls: the now prime-minister was so afraid of this, that he publically said the new Abortion Law could be on the line ! unbelievable.
His victory was not outstanding, and he needed to make a coalition government with the Conservative Party, and 4 independents.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
I understand the genesis behind these laws, but it is beyond belief to be that someone can be put on trial for saying something
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/06 ... ner.trial/
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/06 ... ner.trial/