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@KoolTurk
You really love to put yourself into the position of the poor victim. Is all that whining part of you culture?
You also obviously don't know what racism is. Nobody here (and only a tiny group of misguided idiots in Europe) hates Turks for their ethnicity.
What many here and elsewhere are doing is criticizing people like Erdogan or yourself for the positions you take. That's not racism, that's not discrimination, that's merely a discussion. But by putting yourself into the position of the victim and by painting those who argue against you as racist, you insulate yourself from any kind of argument and your further isolate yourself.
Since the beliefs one holds are held freely, criticizing them is not racist or even unfair. Unlike with your ethnicity, you're responsible for your beliefs and unlike your biological heritage, your beliefs actually inform your actions and can therefore have real consequences. Calling for making a discussion about YOUR values (not the others) off limits because it would constitute racism is hypocritical and immoral.
Also, you seem to be a big fan of multiculturalism. But what does that mean exactly? If multiculturalism means that I have Greek, Indian, Chinese, Italian, etc. Restaurants in my town, then I'm all for it. If it means that I should accept any and every value system as equal, then I'm sorry, but I won't do it. The West has been too tolerant in that regard, too accepting of ideologies that directly oppose it's way of life. When under the veil of multiculturalism women get oppressed, nationalism is fostered (I'm looking at you Erdogan), laws are circumvented, etc. then I won't accept it.
We in the West need to have the courage again to stand by our beliefs, to defend and propagate them. It's funny, often times those who cry for tolerance the loudest are themselves the most intolerant. We need to stop tolerating the intolerant.
@KoolTurk
"The more you write Tom_May, the more you reveal your neo-Nazi aspiration."
There you go again, victimizing yourself, attacking the others. There's nothing "Neo-Nazi" about demanding that immigrants integrate. In fact, it's a matter of course. It's sad that it even has to be said. Usually one would expect people who emigrate to actually want to integrate, to actually want to live in the society they move to.
And why is it that Russians, Polish, Italians, Greek, Vietnamese, Portuguese, etc. immigrants don't have a problem with that?
@Kool_Turk
"That is a clear sign of discrimination, why would anyone wanna be more German? "
See, this is exactly the problem. First of all, it's not discrimination. That claim is simply you victimizing the Turkish community once more. It's not discrimination to demand from people who permanently want to live in Germany to speak the German language, it's not discrimination to demand from them to respect and live by German values, it's not discrimination to expect them to become more German.
On the other hand, why would anyone want to live in Germany if he despises Germans and their culture. Quite frankly, if you don't want to become more German, you shouldn't be living there.
Erdogan had a lot of nerve making that speech. He's doing himself and the Turks in Germany a massive disservice.
If the German Turks want to be more accepted then they have to become more German. If 3rd generation Turks in Germany still hardly speak the German language, you know that something can't be right.
After the fall of Communism, Germany also had a large influx of people from the East, mostly Russia and Poland. The difference is that these people actually wanted to integrate, they wanted to achieve something. And while there are also problems with Russian communities in Germany, after two generations you can't distinguish them anymore. They speak the language perfectly, they accept Western values and they consider themselves German.
Similarly with Vietnamese immigrants who are a remnant of communist ties between East Germany and Vietnam. They wanted to adapt, they speak the language, they live a western life.
The Turks (and other muslim immigrants) on the other hand never wanted to integrate, they rather want to live just like they did back home. They fly in wives from the Anatolian hinterland to marry their sons in Germany who then get locked away and who never learn the German language or have any contacts outside the Turkish community. They grow up with a sense of entitlement but never actually want to earn any respect. This just doesn't jive well with the indigenous population and that shouldn't come as a surprise.
Of course I'm painting this with a very broad brush here. There are of course exceptions and especially among muslim nations of origin, Turkey does have a secular history which also means that among Turkish immigrants there are many who in fact share the values of the Enlightenment. Unfortunately, they're a small minority and ever since Erdogan's islamic party took control, Turkey has taken a turn for the worse. The country gets ever more islamic, ever more hostile to freedom and speeches like this are meant to intensify that shift. I don't believe for a second that Erdogan wants to join the EU after a this speech or the one last year. These speeches are meant to drive a wedge between Turks and the West and thereby to create a feeling of unity. It's classical in-group vs. out-group rhetoric. By victimizing themselves and projecting all their problems on the "Christian" out-group, they further move away from successful integration.
@schlagmich:
There's no realistic scenario under which Gabriel could become chancellor. SPD and Greens are very (!) unlikely to get a majority on their own, so he'd have to partner up with the Left Party, a move which the SPD is not ready to make yet and the public certainly wouldn't want it.
Yes, Merkel would come under pressure should the CDU lose Baden-Württemberg (BW). But despite the current polls which see CDU/FDP leveled with Greens/SPD, I don't expect the CDU to lose. In fact I predict a rather easy win. The south-west of Germany won't give up its successful government, certainly not over a train station. BW ranks among the top states in Germany everywhere where the local government actually has some influence, be it economy, education, security, integration of foreigners, etc. Also, don't forget that BW has a one-vote voting system (unlike the two-vote system in most of Germany) which will benefit the CDU greatly, as it'll carry almost all districts. So even with a close result, the CDU will have a comfortable majority in parliament.
But assuming it will still happen and BW will get a prime minister from the Green party (the SPD is far off in third place in polls in BW), then Gabriel is still in no position to become chancellor. If anything Merkel will be replaced by another CDU/CSU politician, but since she has successfully got rid of all potential rivals, even that is unlikely. Only zu Guttenberg could become dangerous, but while he would have the support of the general populace, he doesn't have the support of the party elite (and being in the CSU doesn't help either). An early election is absolutely unrealistic.
But again, assuming there will be an early election, (Gabriel would first need to be elected as candidate by the party, but let's grant him that) then a SPD/Green majority is just as unlikely as a CDU/CSU/FDP majority, probably more so, because as soon as the election campaigns get rolling, the current government has the economy on its side which always benefits the incumbent.
So Gabriel's only chance at chancellorship would be:
1) CDU/FDP to lose BW (unlikely)
2) Early elections (even more unlikely)
3) Either winning the a majority with the Greens (more unlikely still) or forming a government with the Greens and the Left (completely unrealistic)
The next German government (whether elected in 2013 or before) will most likely be either a continuation of the CDU/CSU/FDP coalition or another CDU/CSU/SPD coalition. The current fights between CDU/CSU and Greens made a partnership between those two quite unrealistic, while the vast majority as well as large parts of the SPD itself won't support a SPD/Left cooperation.
So unless Merkel is toppled from within her party, she'll stay.
The problem with “comprehensive solutions” is that they HAVE TO work. If they don't, we're all doomed. Just look at Ireland and their comprehensive solution regarding their banking sector. Sure, people back then believed that they would never have to actually shell out money, that it's merely a liquidity crisis and a comprehensive solution therefore much better than just muddling through on a case by case basis.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. And now the Irish taxpayer (and by extension the German, French, etc.) is fcuked.
Back to the Euro: What would a comprehensive solution like Euro-Bonds actually accomplish? Like in the Irish example, it's based on the belief that this is merely a liquidity crisis. If Portugal, Spain, Italy, etc. only get cheap money, they'll be able to work their way out of the mess they're in. But why would anybody think that? Cheap credit is the reason these countries are in this mess, it's clearly not the way out.
As for a way out: The crises in Europe are generally not directly connected to the Euro. The Euro helped create those crises by lowering interest rates on the countries in trouble, but it's generally still a budget crisis, not a currency crisis. The UK and the USA are having the same problems without having the Euro. What usually happens in a country that has a budget crisis is that it devaluates its currency. Assuming that we shouldn't get rid of the Euro just yet, how could we emulate a currency devaluation without having an independent currency? Well, first of all, the country in question has to devalue internally via lowering wages and prices. However, this creates a problem: By the process of internal devaluation, the debt increases relative to the GDP, while it decreases when a country devalues its currency. So the only way to emulate a currency devaluation is to impose haircuts on the creditors, proportional to what they would have lost via currency devaluation.
The alternative would be to make Germany pay the debt, but that only delays (and thereby amplifies) the crash. Eventually Germany won't be able to pay anymore either and then the clusterfcuk would be inevitable.