Politics

Sep. 19th, 2005 10:40 am
estepheia: (Out for a walk. Bitch.)
[personal profile] estepheia
Happy birthday, [livejournal.com profile] suesworld2003!!! *Smooch*

Also, yesterday Germany voted. And right now Germany is puzzled. We have something that comes very close to a stalemate. We have no clue what will happen next. Due to the death of one of the (lesser) candidates, there will be a small election on October 2nd in which another 200.000 or so votes may be cast. But I doubt that will make a great difference. Overall there has been a move to the left, obviously people are scared that the social net will be further eroded, but neither the conservative camp nor the socialdemocrat-green camp are able to run the country the way they'd hoped. Can't wait to find out what will happen.
I found a post in the forum of Spiegel.de that pretty much sums up my thoughts. It's in German and it's

Diese Wahl war eine gute Wahl. Eigentlich ein Traumergebnis. Alle sind Sieger, die SPD, weil sie stärkste Partei ist, die CDU/CSU, weil sie die stärkste Fraktion sind, die Grünen, weil sie nicht verloren haben, und die FDP sowie die Linke sowieso.
Welche Koalition daraus erwächst, ob die Grosse, Ampel-, oder die Jamaika-Koalition (tolle Wortschöpfung !), ist eigentlich wurscht. Deutschland ist lebendiger geworden, und nicht neo-liberaler. Und als Westdeutscher möchte ich speziell den Ostdeutschen Danken. Hätte Kohl gewusst, wie links unsere 'Ossis' (geworden) sind, hätte er vielleicht mehr für sie getan.

Und denen, die eine Gesellschaft als gerecht ansehen, in der 10%-20% unter der Armutsgrenze leben, keine Chance auf Beteiligung am Wohlstand haben, ob nun aus Arbeits-Unfähigkeit oder -Unwilligkeit oder aus sonstigen Gründen, wurde deutlich eine Absage erteilt. Die USA sind vielleicht die wirtschaftlich stärkste Macht auf diesem Planeten, aber wie sich auch und wieder einmal bei 'Katrina' gezeigt hat, kein Vorbild für eine gesellschaftliche Ausrichtung.

Lasst uns also hoffen, dass wir wirtschaftliche Stärke und sozialen Ausgleich nicht weiter als Widerspruch, sondern als notwendige Bestandteile einer gesunden, gerechten, erfolgreichen Gesellschaft betrachten.
Eine Gesellschaft, in der ein Reicher mit guten Gewissen und ohne Neid reich sein kann, und in der ihm das von den Armen und Nicht-so-reichen auch durchaus gegönnt wird.

Weil nun einmal jeder nach seiner eigenen persönlichen Leistungsfähigkeit einen Beitrag zu der deutschen Gesellschaft leistet.
Danke für diese Wahl.

Ein kapitalistischer Sozialist

(Kamsala)


There are also other voices in Germany.

Ich bin fassungslos!

Der Sozi-Kanzler hat innen- wie außenpolitisch gleich 2 x eine glatte 6 hingelegt - und die Wähler sagen: mehr davon!!!

8 % für die Kommunisten? Offensichtlich geht es den Menschen im Osten und an den oft ach so bedauerten "Sozialen Brennpunkten" noch nicht schlecht genug! Also ist jetzt klar, wo den Bundeshaushalt saniert werden kann: Ersatzlose Streichung jedweder Ost-Transfers und Arbeitslosen- und Sozialhilfe! Den betroffenen Menschen geht es ja immer noch viel zu gut! Härtefälle können sich ja an irgend eine Suppenküche wenden.

Mich selbst interessiert das alles jedoch nicht mehr. Ich hatte bisher geplant, mich nach Beendigung meiner Promotion als Freiberuflerin mit meinem Partner selbständig zu machen und einige Arbeitsplätze zu schaffen. Aber wozu denn in einem Land, indem offenbar Millionen nichts anderes im Kopf haben, als sich in die soziale Hängematte der Kommunisten zu legen? Nicht mit mir! Habe gerade eben die konkreten Pläne (Gewerberäume waren schon gefunden) im hohen Bogen in den Papierkorb geworfen - MACHT DOCH EUERN SCHIET ALEENE! Im Postkörbchen liegen immer noch 2 attraktive Jobangebote aus dem Ausland herum - 1 davon werde ich annehmen!
(Kunigunde)

Fortunately, that disgruntled poster received a lot of flak and very little agreement. A lot of posters answered

Ja O.K., Menschen mit einem solchen Weltbild, wie sie es pflegen, brauchen wir hier auch nicht wirklich. Es gibt den Sozialstaat halt nur für diejenigen, die ihn nötig haben, also scheinbar nicht für sie. Das ist Pech, aber diese dann zu nichtstaatlichen Suppenküchen abschieben zu wollen ist kontraproduktiv. Das sollten sie wissen, wenn sie sich schon so überlegen fühlen.

Persönlich finde ich es im hohen Maße asozial, sich die Ausbildung von der Allgemeinheit bezahlen zu lassen und sich dann mit so einer Begründung vom Acker zu machen.

Gute Reise.

(KAP)


The entire thread can be found here. Alas, it's in German...

And here's a politics quiz that I gacked from [livejournal.com profile] peasant_'s LJ.

You are a

Social Liberal
(68% permissive)

and an...

Economic Liberal
(10% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist




Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating


See, this is why hubby calls me a "rote Socke". LOL. I blame my anti-fascistic upbringing. You'll never get me to agree to book-burnings or death penalty.

Date: 2005-09-19 10:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sueworld2003.livejournal.com
Oh thank you so much for the birthday wishes luv.

That's so sweet of you!

*hugs*

Date: 2005-09-19 11:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] petzipellepingo.livejournal.com
Well hopefully your election won't end up like the mess we had in 2000. I'd like to think that other countries have more sense.

Date: 2005-09-19 09:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
It looks like a big mess. Maybe we'll get a big coalition. Personally I'd love to see red-black-green rule together. But that's not gonna happen. We'll either get red-black (okay), or red-green-yellow (even better), or black-yellow-green (eek!). *sigh*
Or we'll get another election.
I just hope we get past the complete blockage that we've had for the past few years. Our government got blocked by the Bundesrat no matter what they did.

Germany going to the Dogs?

Date: 2005-09-20 09:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shatten.livejournal.com
I think you are likely to see a Red yellow green coalition (the so called traffic light coalition - lovely how they simplify it for use poor punters on the street -, but with the way people have been looking daggers across the political table I wouldn't rule out the Black Yellow Green either.

Clearly Merkel stuffed this election up. She went in with a 20 point lead and managed to say all the wrong things, while her partners in crime (Stoiber) were also saying the wrong things...

Sadly she is right. The social net does need to be tightened. At the moment, paying someone two thirds of their salary to be unemployed is unsustainable for any country, let alone one that just recently inherited the mass unemployed of a bankrupt communist state.

But she didn't sell it, mainly because she is not a politician. She is a scientist and as Douglas Adams once said, anyone capable of getting themselves elected should on no accounts be allowed to do the job. The same would seem to stand for NOT getting yourself elected.

I think this is a sad day for Germany, but a lesson for those people in the UK (mainly lib-dems) who are calling for proportianl representation. To my mind this last election clearly shows why it does not work. YOu just end up with a coalition of weakness that cannot lead and cannot make the hard decisions needed to pull the country out of the mire.

Being a politician is one thing. Being a leader is another. Being a tough leader, something else again.

Re: Germany going to the Dogs?

Date: 2005-09-21 09:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
IMHO we needed a great coalition after Kohl promised blühende Landschaften.

Not everybody who got caught in the social net is undeserving of its benefits. Making sure that the people with fat bank accounts, terrific insurance, and wonderful prospects can enjoy their luxury without having to waste a thought on those less fortunate just isn't the way to go. Just my two cents.

In times of overall need *everybody* has to cut down.

Date: 2005-09-19 07:52 pm (UTC)
ext_30116: (Default)
From: [identity profile] libco.livejournal.com
In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day i have a link to How to tlak like a German Pirate: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/howtogerman.html

Date: 2005-09-19 07:52 pm (UTC)
ext_30116: (Default)
From: [identity profile] libco.livejournal.com
I also got the 'zact same score.

Date: 2005-09-19 09:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
*High Fives You*

Also, if you are into German and/or naval dialect/music, look for Achim Reichel. All his music is about water in one way or another. He often wrote music to well-known German (or Plattdeutsch) poems. :-)

Yo ho ho!

Why don't I have a piraty icon, I wonder. Yo matey!

Date: 2005-09-19 09:40 pm (UTC)
ext_30116: (Default)
From: [identity profile] libco.livejournal.com
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Date: 2005-09-19 09:33 pm (UTC)
ext_2027: (Default)
From: [identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com
Also, yesterday Germany voted. And right now Germany is puzzled.

That sums it up quite nicely. ;)

Date: 2005-09-20 07:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
Oh, that icon is absolutely perfect. :-)

Date: 2005-09-20 03:47 pm (UTC)
ext_2027: (Default)
From: [identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com
Ah, thanks. I quite like it myself. I think I'm sticking with that one for a while.

Date: 2005-09-20 06:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trepkos.livejournal.com
I'm pleased to say that all my flist that I've seen do this quiz so far are coming up "socialist"!

Date: 2005-09-20 07:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
That's great news!
*uses bright red icon*
I don't like socialist regimes, but that does not mean I can't get behind certain socialist ideas. :-)

Would you believe that I have a rampant Spike/Riley bunny nagging me right now? What a shame that I don't have the time to get into it. Baah. But RL is still crammed full with, well, RL. I thought I'd have more time when Toyah starts school, but so far that's not the case. *sigh*

Date: 2005-09-20 02:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trepkos.livejournal.com
I'm a bit nervous of reading other people's Spike/Riley, as I haven't finished playing with them yet, and I don't want to risk other people's ideas and phrasing creeping in. Don't want to be accused of plagiarism!

Date: 2005-09-20 10:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trepkos.livejournal.com
Hey, I have been given "Four Fear" to concrit!
Do you want to e-mail me a word document with as much in as you want con-critted? The bit that was linked to looked quite short.

Date: 2005-09-21 06:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estepheia.livejournal.com
Whooohooo, that's great news!
Yes, I can send you the file. Let me hunt down your email.
Yeah, I know, the link only leads to the first chapter. The story is pretty long and the last chapter is currently being written, so if you don't get the whole thing critiqued, I don't mind. A few chapters are cool as well.

I'd be very interested to know which kinds of expectations the story raises and where I manage to surprise the reader. I also need to know if passages read cumbersome, if I need to cut stuff, if you feel a scene needs to be longer... that kind of stuff.
Thank you so much. Oh, and no rush! *hug*

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