Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only valid question would be: Should the US Embassy in Germany have moved to Berlin prior to 1989 when the city was still divided and disputed territory?
Frankly, I didn’t care what Germany did. Ain’t my country.
However, it wasn’t just the SPD...the overwhelming majority of West Germans didn’t approve of reunification when it happened. They wanted an incremental timetable that made fiscal sense. Who am I to argue?
Moreover, Berlin isn’t the only great international city in Germany. Hamburg is every bit the equal of Berlin as a great city, and so is Munich. That said, Berlin only beat out Bonn because East German lawmakers tipped the vote. West Germans were fine with leaving the Capitol in Bonn by overwhelming numbers.
It's not your country but you already offered a rather loud opinion on the place. As you invariably do ...
The overwhelming majority of West Germans did not approve of reunification yet they voted Kohl in for another term. And another one after that. Germans made that claim so that they would not look power hungry, especially with Thatcher and Mitterand telling them to cool it.
The DDR could not function and was falling apart. Kohl did the pragmatic, human, sensible, and yes, Patriotic thing to resolve the situation. And resolve it he did. Reunified Germany is a smashing success.
Berlin had been the capital before and was still the capital of the DDR. It brought something to a shell of a country that had existed on lies and Russian brutality. Berlin is on par with London, Rome, and Paris. An important and large nation deserves a grand capital city.
Berlin blows Hamburg away and Munich is too Bavarian. Hitler favored Munich too but that is neither here nor there.
Incremental timetable? The entire population was heading West. You cannot slow the inevitable. Reunification went better than anyone expected. What exactly did Kohl do that was so bad?
It's not your country but you already offered a rather loud opinion on the place. As you invariably do ...
The overwhelming majority of West Germans did not approve of reunification yet they voted Kohl in for another term. And another one after that. Germans made that claim so that they would not look power hungry, especially with Thatcher and Mitterand telling them to cool it.
The DDR could not function and was falling apart. Kohl did the pragmatic, human, sensible, and yes, Patriotic thing to resolve the situation. And resolve it he did. Reunified Germany is a smashing success.
Berlin had been the capital before and was still the capital of the DDR. It brought something to a shell of a country that had existed on lies and Russian brutality. Berlin is on par with London, Rome, and Paris. An important and large nation deserves a grand capital city.
Berlin blows Hamburg away and Munich is too Bavarian. Hitler favored Munich too but that is neither here nor there.
Incremental timetable? The entire population was heading West. You cannot slow the inevitable. Reunification went better than anyone expected. What exactly did Kohl do that was so bad?
The entire population WAS NOT heading west. That’s just not factual. I was living right in the heart of Germany at the time. Most East Germans would’ve had nowhere to go in West Germany.
The only real deluge of Easterners into West Germany was for the one-for-one money exchange, and this is yet another episode that enraged West Germans.
Moreover, to say that Berlin blows Hamburg away is nonsense. That’s laughable on its face. Hamburg is a ginormous City with every bit the culture and nightlife that one finds in Berlin. And to boot, it’s better located, has a massive port, and is closer to nations that Germany is culturally closer to.
Berlin is big, wonderful, culturally great, nightlife off the charts, but it’s no better than Hamburg in any way except that it’s somewhat less provincial.
What did Kohl do that was so bad? Why are you asking ME that question? I’m not German. I told you that already. Jesus.
Status:
"everybody getting reported now.."
(set 16 days ago)
Location: Pine Grove,AL
29,543 posts, read 16,524,552 times
Reputation: 6029
Quote:
Originally Posted by wallflash
When other nations follow suit in the years ahead, and this issue is off the table and a non issue in the Arab/Israel situation, you will understand.
Short term, probably no immediate benefit. Long term, when moving the ME process past the Jerusalem argument onto other issues, a benefit to the entire world.
This argument only works if you believe it was always a non issue, and I just dont think that is true.
I actually hope you are right in the long run(i would guess most do), but I think it is more complicated than that.
The entire population WAS NOT heading west. That’s just not factual. I was living right in the heart of Germany at the time. Most East Germans would’ve had nowhere to go in West Germany.
The only real deluge of Easterners into West Germany was for the one-for-one money exchange, and this is yet another episode that enraged West Germans.
Moreover, to say that Berlin blows Hamburg away is nonsense. That’s laughable on its face. Hamburg is a ginormous City with every bit the culture and nightlife that one finds in Berlin. And to boot, it’s better located, has a massive port, and is closer to nations that Germany is culturally closer to.
Berlin is big, wonderful, culturally great, nightlife off the charts, but it’s no better than Hamburg in any way except that it’s somewhat less provincial.
What did Kohl do that was so bad? Why are you asking ME that question? I’m not German. I told you that already. Jesus.
I am asking you because you are criticizing his policies.
A smart guy like you. Educated and fully versed in German culture after having lived there.
Yet you shoot your mouth off and then squirm away when challenged.
I am asking you because you are criticizing his policies.
A smart guy like you. Educated and fully versed in German culture after having lived there.
Yet you shoot your mouth off and then squirm away when challenged.
Feikling.
I didn’t criticize his policies even once. I gave a view of his policies from the point of a typical west German. I didn’t say even once that I disliked what he did.
I didn’t criticize his policies even once. I gave a view of his policies from the point of a typical west German. I didn’t say even once that I disliked what he did.
Damn...Nervensaëge! Unbelievable.
You have a tendency to make statements and then when challenged, shrugged your shoulders and say you don't care. Well if you do not care, what are you doing even mentioning it.
What does all of this have to do with Israel and Jerusalem anyway?
You have a tendency to make statements and then when challenged, shrugged your shoulders and say you don't care. Well if you do not care, what are you doing even mentioning it.
What does all of this have to do with Israel and Jerusalem anyway?
You have a tendency to claim that I said something in the exact OPPOSITE spirit of what I meant when I said it. I already told you that I don’t care what Germans do in Germany. It ain’t my country. I never said once that I disliked any Kohl policies. You simply assumed that I did, and started talking outta your neck. So why ask me what Kohl did wrong when I didn’t say that Kohl was wrong about anything?
As to what this has to do with Israel, I’m not gonna insult your intelligence or mine by bothering with it. You already know.
It's been a Holy City to Jews, Christians and Islam for a long long time, it is also disputed territory.****
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob702
The only valid question would be: Should the US Embassy in Germany have moved to Berlin prior to 1989 when the city was still divided and disputed territory?
If it was so "holy" why did no Arab leader visit between 1949 and 1967? And more to the point why was there no outcry for "Palestinian" rights during that period; only after the war? The answer is that the Arabs started the war, lost, and wanted an excuse for a do-over.
If it was so "holy" why did no Arab leader visit between 1949 and 1967? And more to the point why was there no outcry for "Palestinian" rights during that period; only after the war? The answer is that the Arabs started the war, lost, and wanted an excuse for a do-over.
Bottom line is that there’s NOTHING “holy” about Jerusalem or any other city. It’s home to 3 superstitions that have caused nothing but trouble for this world, and that’s about it. This world would’ve been a much better place if Jerusalem had never existed, or at least not existed as some faux holy shrine to a bunch of unreasonable zealots.
And yeah, perhaps the Palestinians want a “do over,” but so what. Hell, most of us would love a do over in this life if we could do it with the knowledge we have today. That’s human.
However, for us as Americans, it’s here nor there. The two groups will figure it out on their own...or not. It’s nothing to us one way or the other.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Germans made that claim so that they would not look power hungry, especially with Thatcher and Mitterand telling them to cool it.
