i always thought the german laws would be the most dumb ones

[ungua]

... and now i see it's not even there. any german in here? how does this thing work?

regards,
ungua

\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

[Serendipity]

Welcome to Dumb Laws, Ungua http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif (should I say wilkommen? http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif) Which part of Germany are you from?

If you know of any dumb German laws, email them to Jeff Koon at: jeff@buenotech.com

Any good ones will be included on the site, I'm sure, and Jeff will say danke. http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif

Ogb is our longest-standing German member, and a great bloke he is too.

Ummmm. This forum is for making suggestions about how the message board works, so this thread may be moved, perhaps to General Discussion. Don't take this personally! http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Beware The Wrath of Mod!
Mod Squad Poster (http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/serendipity/MSPoster/ModSquad.html) - print it out and pin it up!

[Enforcer]

Aw the poor newbie will be looking for his thread forever...
http://rockbottomdlux.freewebspace.com/smilies/Sniffle.gif

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Phoenixes RULE!
Come to Enforcer's pizza shack!

Respect my authority!BEEFCAKE!

[Serendipity]

We won't move it before Ungua replies, 'Forcer.

[ungua]

;-) serendipity, i'm from north-germany, »schwerin«. you?
i'm reading the newspaper regularly, there will be a lot of laws to post... ;-)
@enforcer: i have a spam- and forum- mail- address so i find the thread via linking... ;-) anyway, not much to say in this thread i always test the forum people with a starting thread like this when i start posting in a new forum. *lol* just to see how the people are...

regards,
ungua

\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

[Sjax]

Hi Ungua, and welcome on board.
I think I might be the one on this board living closest to you, although Im not quite clear on where Osnabrück (ogb's place) is.
I live in Odense in southern Denmark, only a couple of hundred km away from Schwerin.
Actually I'm planning on moving to Berlin for a year starting in October to study. I havee just finished my application for that.

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Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. (George Orwell)

[Serendipity]

I live in Carlisle, northern England.

i always test the forum people with a starting thread like this when i start posting in a new forum. *lol* just to see how the people are...
And how are we? http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Beware The Wrath of Mod!
Mod Squad Poster (http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/serendipity/MSPoster/ModSquad.html) - print it out and pin it up!

[ungua]

sjax, have you been in the »la fontaine«, copenhagen, in the beginning of february, talking to two long-haired german!? i met someone there who told me something similar as you did... *lol* that would be just another »world-is-a-village« surprise... ;-)
WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH (george orwell) - a great book!
serendipity, how long have you been posting to get up to almost 4,ooo!? i saw it yesterday when the site was reloaded but didn't ask immediately because my compuserve pro connection at home is... let's face it... »bull****«.
btw, you're pretty nice. i feel myself integrated at once... ;-)

regards,
ungua

\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

[Enforcer]

Dordercht is also close...

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Phoenixes RULE!
Come to Enforcer's pizza shack!

Respect my authority!BEEFCAKE!

[TAHUTI]

Hi there. I used to live in Germany (loooong time ago, more like another lifetime, lol), and one of the dumbest laws that comes to mind (that is supposedly still in existance today) is that people are forced to retire at age 65 because room has to be made for the new incoming "young" workforce.

In the USA, this would be considered age discrimination, and it well should be. People would be screaming loud enough here that the lawmakers would eventually hear them. With the German law, it seems to me they are trying to force people to be old before they are ready. In the USA, some people are just starting out at middle or early "old-age", meaning they are starting a new business, career, go back to school, whatever.

I am under the impression that the Germans still have no problem with this law. But then, without meaning to offend anybody (remember, I am of German origin myself), I have always found the Germans to be a passive lot who rarely question their leaders.

[Serendipity]

Glad you feel at home, Ungua. http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif I've been here since Oct 2000, visiting the site most days.

Check out the rest of the board: Everything Else and the Playground is where we get informal... http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif

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Beware The Wrath of Mod!
Mod Squad Poster (http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/serendipity/MSPoster/ModSquad.html) - print it out and pin it up!

[ungua]

@tahuti, i don't think you have to retire. you are allowed to retire with full »rente«® (money you get after you're out of work) at the age of 65. most of the people don't want to work anymore anyway and if you're becoming unenmployed at the age of around 45 or older it is very hard to get a new job again - at least in the east where i am living.
people question their government very hard. for instance nobody likes them to say okay to everything the americans say or at least they tolerate too much (unworking rocket defense system; development of new atomic weapons). where are you living now?

serendipity, so have been posting about twice a day, on average... ;-) *groovy*

regards,
ungua

\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

[Sjax]

Originally posted by ungua:
sjax, have you been in the »la fontaine«, copenhagen, in the beginning of february, talking to two long-haired german!? i met someone there who told me something similar as you did... *lol* that would be just another »world-is-a-village« surprise... ;-)


Sorry Ungua, I havent been in Copenhagen for a looooooooooooong time.



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Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. (George Orwell)

[TAHUTI]

Originally posted by ungua:
@tahuti, i don't think you have to retire. you are allowed to retire with full »rente«® (money you get after you're out of work) at the age of 65. most of the people don't want to work anymore anyway and if you're becoming unenmployed at the age of around 45 or older it is very hard to get a new job again - at least in the east where i am living.
people question their government very hard. for instance nobody likes them to say okay to everything the americans say or at least they tolerate too much (unworking rocket defense system; development of new atomic weapons). where are you living now?


\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

I'm living in New York City now, and I've been living in the US for 20 years.

So, from what you are saying it is still the case that in Germany you can't find another job once you are a certain age. There are several reasons why I have mixed feelings about the German vs. US system. In Germany, you have guaranteed security (mainly job security, free higher education, guaranteed retirement income, etc, etc.) This is a good thing, and I wish we had a similar system in place in the US.

On the other hand, I find the German system kind of rigid. It is almost unheard of for a person to make a career change, for example, in mid life. Once you are in a job, you are probably going to be in it for the remainder of your working life. Here in the US, you can re-invent yourself as many times as you want. It is not a stigma to quit your job at age 45 (or be fired from it), and it is not that hard to find another one. The price you pay for this flexibity is lack of the aforementioned economic safety net. (It is much easier and more commonplace here to fire people, for example.)

You say that most people want to retire at age 65. I don't know if that's true. I don't know how old you are, but I remember a lot of discussions back in the 70's (when I was a teenager in Germany) about older people protesting this policy. Many complained about being thrown on the "scap heap". The German expression was "zum alten Eisen". Why should a perfectly healthy, active person, who may have another good 30 years left in him/her, be forced to sit in the rocking chair with slippers on for the rest of their lives?

[ungua]

okay, i'm 19 and maybe you think that's no perspective to talk about this issue but i know a lot of people (for example my girl-friend's father who is more like a good friend to me is 66 years old - on sunday...). and that's a mood you get from the media, too.
people think of retirement as new part in their life with a lot of new possibilities - without being caught in a relationship like »work«. and you can change your job and do what you want or become the boss of your own company, too. it's up to you but not common... :-(
am i allowed to ask whether you left during nazi time?

regards,
ungua

\http://eidsbugarden.ungua.de

[TAHUTI]

LOL!! Oh, my God, no! Nazi Time?! I must have given the impression that I am some old fogie or something. My *parents* were toddlers during Nazi time. I left in 1981 at the ripe old age of 21 because I was married to an American soldier and once I was in the US, I just stayed... http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/smile.gif