I get six weeks paid time off every year, on top of pay for 10 national or state holidays, this amounts to eight weeks pto EVERY SINGLE YEAR!

Oh, also, unlimited sick days (though after 6 weeks the pay goes down to 60% and is then paid not by my employer but by my cheap, statutory, mandatory health insurance) and other social securities that have allowed me to spend TWO (non-consecutive) YEARS without a job and take care of my mental health.

Yes, average healthcare costs per year in the US was $ 13,432 per capita and in Germany was $ 8,441 per capita in 2023 (PPP adjusted). Germany is the third most expensive comparable country, second most expensive was Switzerland with $ 9,688.

UK national healthcare btw. was $ 6,023, so less than half of US costs.

compared to the average healthcare costs in all US-comparable countries of $ 7,393, the US manages to spend nearly double.

Source

I have encountered big american pickups only seven times in my country. They all had some kind of nazi imagery or text attached.

So much so that our immigrant population refers to Germans as “Kartoffeln” (potatoes)

Pomme de terre

Yeah, but that’s not a rail problem, that’s a Deutsche Bahn problem.

I don’t speak Spanish, but when I heard Colores by Ska-P (“Por la libertad es fundamental la diversidad”) I was instantly in love. The music is great and the lyrics seemed straight up fire.

Then I translated their songs and now they are my second favourite band, after RATM.

A Chitón - On repression and censorship in the name of security

El Vals del Obrero - The Workers Waltz, on unity of the working class

I kicked a decrepit german shepard to death.

Study after study has shown that the ROI for foreign aid is positive and indicative of an overall positive effect for the country giving the aid.

I’m only writing that to express that there are no moral and no economical reasons to reduce foreign aid. Even the right should be in favour of aid, as it lessens the amount of immigration and asylum and has a positive effect on GDP.

The only reasons to reduce foreign aid are populism, a change in political culture of the receiver (for example giving less money to Israel) and to shuffle it around in the budget, for example what Germany did with its infrastructure costs… declaring them a military necessity to be able to increase the military budget to appease Trump while still repairing our roadways.

But that is afaik not happening here… this is stupid populism.

Oh goodness, 24 years ago I was uninformed, narrowminded and had been brought up sheltered and rather conservative. So I used to be hugely trans- and homophobic. I wasn’t actively hurting or confronting anyone, but I was definitely a big part of the problem.

It actually was webcomics that deprogrammed me. That showed me a world I simply did not know but quickly felt empathy for. Those were normal, lovely people who simply existed differently from me, they weren’t a threat and they had so many struggles pushed on them only for being different.

Today I’m far-left, progressive, super empathetic, happy that a lesbian friend calls me “one of the good ones” and that I, as a huuuuuge white cis guy, can be an ally and create a safe space around me for everyone who needs it.

Uhhh, strong or agnostic atheism? And what’s your take on Buddhism?

I’m a huge guy, 6’8" and immensely heavy, people do a double take when I tell them I can and do windsurf.

AfD already has a track record of russian support/money and chinese spies.

Here’s an article about it.

“Oh my god! She’s so unqualified! She’s a bartender!”

Sometimes I am quite happy about strict german naming laws.

The first name …

• must be recognizable as a first name
• must not be a widespread place name or brand name.
• must not be a family name. Exceptions have been made in particular for East Frisian middle names (for example “ten Doornkaat”) and for very rare, unusual surnames (for example Wannek, Birkenfeld), as well as of course for surnames that are mainly known as first names (such as Gerhart).
• may not denote a title such as Lord or Princess.
• does not have to be clearly masculine or feminine, as was the case until 2008, but may also be neutral.
• must not harm the child’s welfare by ridiculing the child or creating a connection “to evil”

Pikachu absolutely falls under ridicule and maybe even brand name

Thanks for letting us know that you escaped.

And just so you know: I love my girlfriend, because she is the adventurer between us. She climbs mountains and explores exotic countries, she’s rugged and confident and the coolest person I know. She is my knight and although I’m no princess, she is very much loved for wanting adventure.

That’s hardly an interpretation, it’s pretty much in there word for word.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+20%3A9&version=KJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deuteronomy+21%3A18-21&version=KJV

Maybe they mixed it up with magnetism? Because our magnetic field is due to the rotation of the earth’s iron-nickle core.

Holy shit I’m so sorry

Awww, that’s so sweet, but also important!

A leisurely stroll to the local school on a voting Sunday is indeed tradition in Germany. It’s always nice to see some of your family, friends and neighbors there, have a chat and walk in to do your citizens duty.

I never had the experience of being unable to vote but it must feel very empowering to somebody who didn’t have any influence on their country before. :) Congratulations to your wife!