Article

2018-06-12 Europe

WTF of the day from the New Yorker: Germany considers itself in a father-son relationship with America?

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Posted by Herb McCoy 2018-06-12 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ] Top

#1 From people I have talked to and what I have read: the Bavarians like us, the Prussians think we are a menace, and the Easterners are mad that the Cold War is over and the US is to blame for everything bad... Also, the Old Order aristocrats are still mightily pissed off that the Age of Colonialism is over and they suspect that the US had a large part in that, too.
We are their Father Figure...? How, bizarre!

Posted by magpie 2018-06-12 01:14|| 2018-06-12 01:14|| Front Page Top

#2 Muscular square-headed blond big ended women in girdles. Wieners and kraut for breakfast...oh..and don't forget the wonderful Tuba music.

Posted by Phort Hupererong9548 2018-06-12 03:42|| 2018-06-12 03:42|| Front Page Top

#3 More like the uncle no one ever talks about.....

Posted by Clydelo Fromoethelydo 2018-06-12 07:52|| 2018-06-12 07:52|| Front Page Top

#4 Reading the headline, I expected the Germans to consider themselves the father figure.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2018-06-12 08:07|| 2018-06-12 08:07|| Front Page Top

#5 Father son relationship and the son wants their allowance NOW! Waaaahhhhh!

Posted by Rjschwarz 2018-06-12 08:08|| 2018-06-12 08:08|| Front Page Top

#6 Germany is the George Constanze of geopolitics. They should let others make the decisions.

Posted by Rjschwarz 2018-06-12 08:09|| 2018-06-12 08:09|| Front Page Top

#7 More like the uncle no one ever talks about...

The funny drunken Uncle?

Posted by Skidmark 2018-06-12 08:23|| 2018-06-12 08:23|| Front Page Top

#8 The funny drunken Uncle?

No, the one that gropes you then steals your spoons and jewelry.

Posted by Mullah Richard 2018-06-12 09:15|| 2018-06-12 09:15|| Front Page Top

#9 I guess when you live in liberal fantasy land, anything is possible.

Posted by DarthVader 2018-06-12 09:16|| 2018-06-12 09:16|| Front Page Top

#10 If USA are the father, you've been sparing the rod too long.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2018-06-12 09:21|| 2018-06-12 09:21|| Front Page Top

#11 We already used it twice!

Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839 2018-06-12 10:28|| 2018-06-12 10:28|| Front Page Top

#12 Can someone please tell me how Germany is ripping off the U.S. in trade?

By building German cars in the U.S.? I'm getting really tired of this BS.

Posted by European Conservative 2018-06-12 15:06|| 2018-06-12 15:06|| Front Page Top

#13 That scene, right after the big light saber fight, where Darth Trump raises his mask and says, "Hans, I'm not your real Dad."

Posted by SteveS 2018-06-12 17:29|| 2018-06-12 17:29|| Front Page Top

#14 Building cars in the US was started by the Japanese after the big oil embargo in the 70s introduced Americans to quality construction, low gas mileage, one price (not a multi-window display of extra charges) cars. The threat of auto states and unions for tariffs and quotas was headed off by the Japanese agreeing to quotas (for which the cut out the cheapest cars and moved up in class cause the public were buying them anyway). They then started up plants across the country, just in case in the future the issue resurfaced. File under - smart business.

Posted by Procopius2k 2018-06-12 18:02|| 2018-06-12 18:02|| Front Page Top

#15 Every second German car on U.S. highways is actually built in the U.S. and the percentage is rising.

About 70% of German cars built in the U.S. are exported. So where's the rip off?

EU tariffs on passenger cars are higher (10% vs 2.5%), but proposals to lower them have been ignored by the U.S. The U.S. charges 25% on imported trucks (EU 10 %).

TTIP would have abolished those tariffs completely. The U.S. walked away.

All that whining about being "ripped off" is ludicrous. Think Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft. No U.S. complaints about their dominating positions worldwide.

Germany will have to pay more for defense and is already on its way to do so. But this is not a trade issue.

These days the most brutal dictator in the world gets a warmer reception than America's closest allies.

Well it seems you can do without allies. Good luck. China is smiling.

Posted by European Conservative 2018-06-12 18:30|| 2018-06-12 18:30|| Front Page Top

#16 We had to pull this "Father Figure" off of Europe twice.

The Hunn....

Posted by newc 2018-06-12 18:45|| 2018-06-12 18:45|| Front Page Top

#17 Germany will have to pay more for defense and is already on its way to do so. But this is not a trade issue.

In your opinion. From over here it isn't. In the end someone has to pay the price. It's just playing games with accounting books.

Posted by Procopius2k 2018-06-12 18:58|| 2018-06-12 18:58|| Front Page Top

#18 All that whining about being "ripped off" is ludicrous. Think Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft. No U.S. complaints about their dominating positions worldwide.

But the EU sure loves to tax them.

Posted by ClemKadiddlehopper9000 2018-06-12 20:07|| 2018-06-12 20:07|| Front Page Top

#19 They are making billions of euros in European countries. Why shouldn't they be taxed fairly liked everybody else?

Amazon currently pays a lower percentage of taxes than a small local bookstore.

Posted by European Conservative 2018-06-12 20:24|| 2018-06-12 20:24|| Front Page Top

#20 It always comes down to the definition of fairly.

Posted by Clem Kadiddlehopper9000 2018-06-12 22:55|| 2018-06-12 22:55|| Front Page Top

23:08 trailing wife
22:55 Clem Kadiddlehopper9000
21:53 rjschwarz
21:29 Anomalous Sources
20:29 SteveS
20:24 European Conservative
20:17 ClemKadiddlehopper9000
20:07 ClemKadiddlehopper9000
20:03 Jeting Angealet4688
19:13 magpie
19:12 Deacon Blues
19:09 Deacon Blues
18:58 Procopius2k
18:53 Frank G
18:45 newc
18:35 charger
18:33 Eohippus Flaimp3933
18:30 European Conservative
18:29 Eohippus Flaimp3933
18:16 Procopius2k
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18:01 Chusong Wittlesbach7306
17:49 BrerRabbit
17:46 BrerRabbit