How Are Things In Europe?

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Wolfeye
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How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Wolfeye »

I was originally going to ask specifically about how things are in regard to muslims & such (as I understand, ISIS in Libya is a bit of an issue & there was that Charlie Hebdo thing not too long ago), but I figure I amy as well ask about general conditions. Anybody got any information? I'm particularly interested in how things are in terms of if they're starting all kinds of shit with laws (ex: I remember hearing the Spanish government was breaking people's balls about video recordings & the British one was/is trying to get people to pay to protest) & how can a former American get along?

By-the-way: I'm not a muslim, I just figure things about that subject might be going on.
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MarcosZeitola
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by MarcosZeitola »

First of all: there is no such thing as "Europe"; it is a continent, the same way Africa, America and Asia are continents. You would probably agree with me when I said Brazil and Canada are very different from one another; similarly, Finland and Greece are also very different from one another. There is no "Europe", just a lot of different countries each with their own unique cultures.

Having said that, Europe still counts as "the West", and in many ways can be seen as an "America light". Still, there are enough differences between North-America and continental Europe, as there are between the UK and Germany, or Italy and the Netherlands. Some expats may prefer Southern Europe, while others may like Northern or Western Europe better. It's too complicated for me to answer in one post... you really would have to go there yourself.

Source? Born and raised in Western Europe.
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S_Parc
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by S_Parc »

A few distinctions exists, however, between comparing Europe to the Americas.

For one, the only country in the Americas, where its citizens are called Americans, is the USA. I've wondered if this grew out of the continental imperial aegis, guided by the Monroe Doctrine & Roosevelt corollary.

And while any geography lesson will tell you that the North American continent consists of USA, Canada, Mexico, and the chain of Central American nation-states, all the way to the border of Colombia, the truth is that in a vernacular way, ppl in the US (& some north of it) see North America as the US and Canada, with Mexico being the start of the southern part of the continent, since it's the first Spanish speaking nation.

Now, once you split the Latin language speaking zone from the US/Canada NATO pact, you then have a secondary language split, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. So if you see where I'm going with this ... we have a three zone continent, where one zone is viewed as a black box by the other, sans let's say Brazil and its non-Portuguese speaking neighbors.

Thus, I'd say that outside of the UK, since that's the mother nation of the northern American NATO zone, there's very little correlation between Europe and North America. Much of Europe's zones are distinct nation-states, and these zoning principles don't really apply.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Moretorque »

You need to worry about our rulers getting WW3 ramped up and using ISIS as the catalyst. They want a big one again so consider this where ever you go.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Jester »

MarcosZeitola wrote:First of all: there is no such thing as "Europe"; it is a continent, the same way Africa, America and Asia are continents. You would probably agree with me when I said Brazil and Canada are very different from one another; similarly, Finland and Greece are also very different from one another. There is no "Europe", just a lot of different countries each with their own unique cultures.

Having said that, Europe still counts as "the West", and in many ways can be seen as an "America light". Still, there are enough differences between North-America and continental Europe, as there are between the UK and Germany, or Italy and the Netherlands. Some expats may prefer Southern Europe, while others may like Northern or Western Europe better. It's too complicated for me to answer in one post... you really would have to go there yourself.

Source? Born and raised in Western Europe.
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@Marcos:
I think the OP is getting at two issues, which perhaps you can comment on as a Hollander (Dutchman?)

(1) We Americans are used to Blacks and Mexicans and know what to expect. Are Muslims "worse" as neighbors than our own minorities? Watching Fox News makes many Americans see Muzzies as dangerous folks. Are they - compared to what we're used to? (Obviously we are not concerned here with how decent they are in their countries of origin, rather with the social dynamics of the groups in Europe)

(2) We hear a lot about hyper-regulation in the EU, like how big a glass of beer is, dont deny the Holocaust, dont say "Muzzie", etc etc. This concerns many red-blooded Americans more than anything else. We have had plenty of PC already, and dont want more. Did you feel the weight of PC nanny-ism in Holland? Or is it not a concern?
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MarcosZeitola
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by MarcosZeitola »

Jester wrote: @Marcos:
I think the OP is getting at two issues, which perhaps you can comment on as a Hollander (Dutchman?)

(1) We Americans are used to Blacks and Mexicans and know what to expect. Are Muslims "worse" as neighbors than our own minorities? Watching Fox News makes many Americans see Muzzies as dangerous folks. Are they - compared to what we're used to? (Obviously we are not concerned here with how decent they are in their countries of origin, rather with the social dynamics of the groups in Europe)

(2) We hear a lot about hyper-regulation in the EU, like how big a glass of beer is, dont deny the Holocaust, dont say "Muzzie", etc etc. This concerns many red-blooded Americans more than anything else. We have had plenty of PC already, and dont want more. Did you feel the weight of PC nanny-ism in Holland? Or is it not a concern?
Well to answer your questions:

1) The Muslims are pretty good folk to get along with, in my own experience. Just last week I had a wondderful conversation with the Turkish owner of a local restaurant, who gave me advice on how to bring my wife to my country if I so desired. I told him that I wished to leave my country, which surprised him a little. When I explained myself well, he said he understood and complimented me on my balls, haha. I've had very few negative experiences with Muslims, really. They tend to not give anyone a hard time unless he's a flaming homosexual or walking around with an Israeli flag on his back. But who the hell does that? ;)

2) The Holocaust is a sensitive subject in Western Europe, yes. In Eastern Europe they couldn't give two shits about it. In Germany, it's downright illegal and you could not even own Mein Kampf until very recently. Political correctness is on the rise overall, I have seen in it the Netherlands too. Muslims are often very politically incorrect EXCEPT when it's about their own culture and they feel protected by PC'ism. The blacks are the worst in this regard, especially some of the Surinamese intellectuals that came to the Netherlands after their country achieved independence in 1975. Among native Dutch, use of the word "neger" (negroe, or nigger) is very common. Especially the older generations use politically incorrect words and phrases all the time. It's only the youngest generations that have been brainwashed to be overly sensitive to these things, but many don't care either. There's a Jewish lobby in the Netherlands too, even though we hardly have any Jews anymore, and they are quite vocal and quite whiny. The Dutch football club Ajax, from Amsterdam, is known as a "Jewish club" and supporters sometimes even wave Israeli flags, causing fans of their rivals to sometimes chant stuff like: "we'll gas you guys" or do the Hitler salute. Which will then be milked out in the media massively, lol.

The nanny state is a thing, and immigrants, especially non-White and non-Western immigrants, are typically treated much better then the native population. Unless said member of the native population has some form of handicap, of course, in which case he's pampered as well. Take note that the Dutch people from the "Randstad" (the area of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag) is much more politically correct and has a far higher percentage of foreigners and non-Dutch then the provinces in the North, South and East of the country. Especially the North can be quite politically incorrect and the South is notoriously relaxed and generally doesn't give a f**k. So it's very much a matter of where you go, and who you talk to. This is the state of affairs anno 2015.

Hope this was helpful.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Dragon »

MarcosZeitola wrote:I've had very few negative experiences with Muslims, really. They tend to not give anyone a hard time unless he's a flaming homosexual or walking around with an Israeli flag on his back. But who the hell does that? ;)
How about both? :wink:

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publicduende
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by publicduende »

S_Parc wrote:Thus, I'd say that outside of the UK, since that's the mother nation of the northern American NATO zone, there's very little correlation between Europe and North America. Much of Europe's zones are distinct nation-states, and these zoning principles don't really apply.
Well stated. I can't say I have seen the whole world, but from my experience I believe culture has very little to do with race, but with the way a society was shaped by internal and external events over the course of centuries past. It would be impossible to explain otherwise, why Colombia and the Philippines have much more in common, despite being half a planet apart, then Italy and Holland, which are only a few thousand kilometers away from each other.

Heritage should always be taken into account, even for societies which like to brand themselves as modern and progressive, like the US or Canada. The US was built on mass migration to escape famine back hom or reap fat profits, and that element of Calvinist survivalism and individualism still inform large swathes of that society. The true disruptive element have always been the latest waves of migrants from Latin America, which have brought a different take on aspects like community and family life.

Modern Italy was born in the second half of 19th century out of a gruesome civil war masterminded by the British Royals and freemasons. The lowly middle men and petty criminals who were chosen to foment the revolts against the two leading powers of the time, the much-loved Spanish Bourbon dynasty in the South (they gave us the best welfare system in Europe) and the Papacy in central Italy, are still celebrated as national heroes in all school history books.

I agree with Marcos when saying that Europe is far from being a single cultural block, but the same applies to all over the world. Dissimilarities appear across neighbouring countries and territories, just as similarities may appear between two peoples a world apart. That's one of the things that makes the world interesting, I guess.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Wolfeye »

Guys, by all means continue the back-and-forth, but do remember that I had been asking about things are going in that general region. I figure I want to know anything of note, really- even though I have a couple of specific destinations in mind, I want to know what's going on near there. I figure Spain & the Czech Republic are the top two, but I think I have relatvies in Italy & would also be interested in Portugal & Norway. I'm all over the place, but then I don't really know the "lay of the land" on most stuff.

Spain & the Czech Republic seem to be the most compatible for me. I would definitely like to know if there's any good bushcrafting places.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by eurobrat »

Wolfeye wrote:Guys, by all means continue the back-and-forth, but do remember that I had been asking about things are going in that general region. I figure I want to know anything of note, really- even though I have a couple of specific destinations in mind, I want to know what's going on near there. I figure Spain & the Czech Republic are the top two, but I think I have relatvies in Italy & would also be interested in Portugal & Norway. I'm all over the place, but then I don't really know the "lay of the land" on most stuff.

Spain & the Czech Republic seem to be the most compatible for me. I would definitely like to know if there's any good bushcrafting places.
I suggest going there.
I would not recommend either country if you're not willing to learn Czech or Spanish (Spanish is easier by far).

Both countries have little to none english speakers.
See the attached map.

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Jester
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Jester »

Marcos, you really answered my questions well, thanks

Euro,
Great map. Greece, eh?

OP, bushcrafting I gues is what we Americans call survival skills? If so seems like Norway would work better than Spain?

Public, your post about Italian history is astounding. ***NO*** English-language history text covers this. We learn that the Bourbon kingdom in the south of Italy was "sleepy", and that Garibaldi's 1000 "red shirts"simply marched south unimpeded. And that he then turned it all over to the Piedmont-Sardinese monarch, on a silver platter.

There has never been any mention of a bloody civil war there at that time, in any English-language history textbook.

Now that we have the internet, I will google it sometime, and see what I can learn.
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publicduende
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by publicduende »

Jester wrote:Public, your post about Italian history is astounding. ***NO*** English-language history text covers this. We learn that the Bourbon kingdom in the south of Italy was "sleepy", and that Garibaldi's 1000 "red shirts"simply marched south unimpeded. And that he then turned it all over to the Piedmont-Sardinese monarch, on a silver platter.

There has never been any mention of a bloody civil war there at that time, in any English-language history textbook.

Now that we have the internet, I will google it sometime, and see what I can learn.
Well, what's astounding is that you even know Garibaldi and his "expedition of the thousand". :) As they say, winners get to write history, and will afford the Truth the same kind of war treatment: freedom to torture, rape, kill, and bury in the depths of silence. The birth of modern Italy has been one of the most cruel, unglorious and humiliating political processes any European country ever had to go through. The British crown and the freemasons (mostly Jewish new-rich in London) financed the whole thing, as they saw the golden chance to get rid of the Pope (a record left unsettled since the times of Elizabeth I) and the French-Spanish Bourbon dynasty, no longer powerful yet still a symbolic arch-enemy. Summed up by yet another mythical cry of war from Garibaldi: "we will hang the last Pope with the guts of the last King".

What I forgot to write in the earlier post is that, just like a child who has to endure years of abuse and violence - perhaps at the hand of several men - nothing good can come from societies that lived the trauma of centuries of dominance, servitude, abuse from a host of powers. Countries that never experienced bouncing from one foreign master to another, one state at a time - so France, Germany, Britain and the Scandinavian countries but also Greece and Turkey - may well have had their ups and down in history, but have societies that present themselves as far more cohesive, proud and politically consistent.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by S_Parc »

publicduende wrote:
Jester wrote:Public, your post about Italian history is astounding. ***NO*** English-language history text covers this. We learn that the Bourbon kingdom in the south of Italy was "sleepy", and that Garibaldi's 1000 "red shirts"simply marched south unimpeded. And that he then turned it all over to the Piedmont-Sardinese monarch, on a silver platter.

There has never been any mention of a bloody civil war there at that time, in any English-language history textbook.

Now that we have the internet, I will google it sometime, and see what I can learn.
Well, what's astounding is that you even know Garibaldi and his "expedition of the thousand". :) As they say, winners get to write history, and will afford the Truth the same kind of war treatment: freedom to torture, rape, kill, and bury in the depths of silence. The birth of modern Italy has been one of the most cruel, unglorious and humiliating political processes any European country ever had to go through. The British crown and the freemasons (mostly Jewish new-rich in London) financed the whole thing, as they saw the golden chance to get rid of the Pope (a record left unsettled since the times of Elizabeth I) and the French-Spanish Bourbon dynasty, no longer powerful yet still a symbolic arch-enemy. Summed up by yet another mythical cry of war from Garibaldi: "we will hang the last Pope with the guts of the last King".

What I forgot to write in the earlier post is that, just like a child who has to endure years of abuse and violence - perhaps at the hand of several men - nothing good can come from societies that lived the trauma of centuries of dominance, servitude, abuse from a host of powers. Countries that never experienced bouncing from one foreign master to another, one state at a time - so France, Germany, Britain and the Scandinavian countries but also Greece and Turkey - may well have had their ups and down in history, but have societies that present themselves as far more cohesive, proud and politically consistent.
Granted, it was years ago but when I'd taken European history, Garibaldi was considered to be one of those larger than life characters, kinda like a Daniel Boone & Davy Crockett combination figure of modern Italy. One of Boone's complaints, during his latter years, was that writers were always making stuff up about him. I imagine that a lot of lore was built around Garibaldi's travels & adventures, since he seemed to be just about everywhere.

BTW, here's Garibaldi's museum in NYC, Staten Island borough http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garibaldi-Meucci_Museum
Many years ago, the Best Picture of 1999, "American Beauty", telegraphed the message of Happier Abroad to the world.

Beware of long term engagements with AWs, you may find yourself in a coffin.

AB discussion thread

BTW, despite settling down with an AW, myself, the warning is still in effect.
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by Wolfeye »

eurobrat: I thought Britain has large immigrant populations from Pakistan & such? I guess it doesn't have to be a majority. I really don't want to come off as a racist, but in all reality someone can be non-racist & still be racially or culturally oppressed by a minority population- especially if they don't do anything back for fear of being labeled unfair. It's not really an injustice to counteract someone that calls "Not it!" in the blame department. What's the idea? That someone has to feel guilt & facilitate a countermeasure against whatever they're directing against for that person countering things to be right? f**k that! You don't necessarily NEED to use somoene's momentum against them, in the sense of physical combat or in broader terms. No, you're not "just like them" to fight back against their consent- if nothing else, their situation is starting from neutral & yours is going after someone that has started with you from neutral.

As far as things go, I really don't care about their traditions & beliefs. They feel entitled to push Europe around because they rule it a transgression for anyone to resist them? Or they feel that if they ever conquer a place, it's theirs forever? You know a lot of land was taken by Crusaders at one point- I guess anyone descended from them or from people that were from the same general area own those areas & anyone in them. Maybe the same with anyone that's passed through there or is from an area near those places? Maybe anyone from areas near those places, too? Conductive annexation & a rule that says someone else isn't allowed to argue- then maybe calling it a culture or a religion or a racial tendancy & declaring it persecution on any or all of these levels to counteract any of this?
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Re: How Are Things In Europe?

Post by eurobrat »

Wolfeye wrote:eurobrat: I thought Britain has large immigrant populations from Pakistan & such? I guess it doesn't have to be a majority. I really don't want to come off as a racist, but in all reality someone can be non-racist & still be racially or culturally oppressed by a minority population- especially if they don't do anything back for fear of being labeled unfair. It's not really an injustice to counteract someone that calls "Not it!" in the blame department. What's the idea? That someone has to feel guilt & facilitate a countermeasure against whatever they're directing against for that person countering things to be right? f**k that! You don't necessarily NEED to use somoene's momentum against them, in the sense of physical combat or in broader terms. No, you're not "just like them" to fight back against their consent- if nothing else, their situation is starting from neutral & yours is going after someone that has started with you from neutral.

As far as things go, I really don't care about their traditions & beliefs. They feel entitled to push Europe around because they rule it a transgression for anyone to resist them? Or they feel that if they ever conquer a place, it's theirs forever? You know a lot of land was taken by Crusaders at one point- I guess anyone descended from them or from people that were from the same general area own those areas & anyone in them. Maybe the same with anyone that's passed through there or is from an area near those places? Maybe anyone from areas near those places, too? Conductive annexation & a rule that says someone else isn't allowed to argue- then maybe calling it a culture or a religion or a racial tendancy & declaring it persecution on any or all of these levels to counteract any of this?
I haven't been to the UK since 2009 but I will go this year and see how much changed from my memories.

It's a little bit like the mexicans and their Reconquista http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista_(Mexico).
This is one reason I left California as it's lost it's identity, at least the one I knew and grew up with.

But no it's not that bad here, the immigration here in Berlin is probably one of the worst here in Europe but I barely notice it.
Most of the Muslims I see here mind their own business more so than Mexicans.

The other day I sat next to a beautiful turkish girl on the bus albeit too young for me.
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