(May 18, 2015 at 10:06 am)vorlon13 Wrote: I've heard Spandau Ballet is actually a British group !!

Say it ain't so !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn7HXmzxqV8

How do folks look at Martin Luther (acknowledging a diversity of opinion) nowadays ??

(May 18, 2015 at 12:54 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: How do folks look at Martin Luther (acknowledging a diversity of opinion) nowadays ??

Mostly uncritically (I'm from a protestant background - not precisely Lutheran, but close enough). He's mostly perceived as the guy who fought against church decadence, composed a lot of hymns, and, last but not least, translated the bible and thus shaped our language in ways few other individuals have. There's a relatively new statue of him in a town square where I grew up, and it always pisses me off that they would still put up such a thing in the 80s. I went through years of religious instruction in school and was confirmed, and only years after that I stumbled across all the stupid stuff he said and was like - wtf, why did no one ever mention this shit?

(May 18, 2015 at 1:06 pm)Alex K Wrote:

(May 18, 2015 at 12:54 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: How do folks look at Martin Luther (acknowledging a diversity of opinion) nowadays ??

Mostly uncritically (I'm from a protestant background - not precisely Lutheran, but close enough). He's mostly perceived as the guy who fought against church decadence, composed a lot of hymns, and, last but not least, translated the bible and thus shaped our language in ways few other individuals have. There's a relatively new statue of him in a town square where I grew up, and it always pisses me off that they would still put up such a thing in the 80s. I went through years of religious instruction in school and was confirmed, and only years after that I stumbled across all the stupid stuff he said and was like - wtf, why did no one ever mention this shit?

The republicans are willing to ignore all manner of stupidity from their leaders just because they HAVE leaders, if you know what I mean. I imagine it was the same regarding Luther. It behooved people to continue holding him up as a paragon, despite his stupid outbursts.

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Fascinating stuff about the regional differences, btw.

Any opinion on the Pegida movement? How large is their support and opposition?

I get 600 euros a month after taxes. I think people are better valued in Germany, what do you think Alex?

(May 19, 2015 at 7:21 am)PäronMårts Wrote: Any opinion on the Pegida movement? How large is their support and opposition?

Isn't it pretty much dead already?  I've never met a supporter, which is probably because I live in an ivory tower, but still - the general sentiment over the past months seemed to be that it is losing steam fast. Nowadays, some of these rallies barely have any participants anymore.

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(May 19, 2015 at 7:40 am)LastPoet Wrote: I get 600 euros a month after taxes. I think people are better valued in Germany, what do you think Alex?

Yes, 600€ is pretty abysmal. What do you estimate are the costs of living and of other stuff, e.g. tech, compared to Ger?

(May 19, 2015 at 7:46 am)Alex K Wrote:

(May 19, 2015 at 7:40 am)LastPoet Wrote: I get 600 euros a month after taxes. I think people are better valued in Germany, what do you think Alex?

Yes, 600€ is pretty abysmal. What do you estimate are the costs of living and of other stuff, e.g. tech, compared to Ger?

The cost of living for veggies, national meat if you shop well, are quite survivable. Tech wise, it is just about the same all over the EU. The tax system over there seems more reasonable than here, but for some reason we made an effort so that greece can keep it's pools. If anything, we are weak for our kindness.

One good thing is that we graduate good scientists and techs that unfortunately have to leave home to make a living.

What places would you want to visit outside of Germany?

(May 19, 2015 at 9:09 am)Neimenovic Wrote: What places would you want to visit outside of Germany?

Many... Oddly, I've never been to Scandinavia (except on the airports). I'd like to go to Yucatan. NZ and OZ. I finally need to see the American west coast.