"The world is beginning to respect the United States again"

[left-of-center2012]

[DFW]

1. Which world might that be?

It's not the third one from our sun, and it can't even refer to any of the six inhabited continents on this one.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. You get around a lot in Europe. What are you hearing?

I have a pretty good idea...

[DFW]

6. I'm sure it's exactly what you imagned

Coming to you tonight from beautiful suburban Düsseldorf--FINALLY got to spend the whole day in ONE country today!!

From Scandinavia to Spain, from the Netherlands to Romania:

"HOW could you let this happen? You KNEW there would be election fraud, after all!"

"Why can't you get rid of him? Surely a majority of you know how awful he is!"

"You know that we [i.e. Europe] can't take you seriously as a nation as long as he is there"

"You can't just bring Obama back?"

"Does Miami have to sink beneath the ocean before he admits there is climate change? Would he even admit it then?"

"That maniac can launch a war if he wants to. What do you expect us to do in case he really wants to?"

And from my friends in Switzerland, where I was two days ago: "You know the EU is nearly as crazy as you [Americans] are. You speak three of our languages. Should I put in a good word with our immigration service for you?"

[wnylib]

22. 3 Swiss languages -- French, German, and Italian

besides Spanish. Any other ones?

[erronis]

23. Last I lived there, Romansch was also a official Swiss language

Of course, many Swiss only speak one or two of their own languages (with dialects, naturally.) But many also speak English and other languages, especially if they are in the highly important tourist and import-export businesses.

[wnylib]

26. I meant are there any other languages that

you speak, besides the 4 that I mentioned?

[DFW]

35. Sorry, I misunderstood your question

Yes, besides Spanish, German, Italian and French, I also speak Swedish*, Russian, Catalan and Dutch. I know smatterings of others, but not enough to hold an intelligent conversation for any length of time. As it is, Russians always ask me if I have been asleep for the last 100 years, since I never spent time in the Soviet Union, and know almost none of the slang that has developed in Russia over the last century. To them, my spoken Russian sounds like what spoken Victorian English would sound like to us, as 95% of my knowledge of the language comes from 19th century literature.

I know bits of Hungarian, Japanese, Tagalog, Mandarin, Basque, Polish and a few others, but just enough to surprise native speakers, nowhere nearly enough to carry any kind of intelligent conversation.

*I don't include Norwegian or Danish, as they are almost identical to Swedish, though Danish pronunciation is considered to be the linguistic version of a genetic mutation.

[wnylib]

37. Impressive. I feel so limited, with only English,

Spanish, a smattering of German, and understanding some Italian due to the similarity to Spanish. Can't speak any Italian, though.

Had a similar experience with German that you had with Russian. I picked up a little German from a great aunt who lived with us when I was a child. Studied it in school briefly. When speaking with a group of Germans many years later (who knew some English) they said I used some old words and expressions. I have since forgotten most of the limited German that I knew, due to disuse.

Sometimes I understand a little written Portuguese and French if I focus on the roots of the words, but not when they're spoken.

I don't know how you can juggle so many languages. without unintentionally interchanging words sometimes.

[DFW]

40. In my situation, it's second nature by now

Due to the nature of my work, being in a different country almost every day, and needing to be able to pick up the phone and speak just about any of the languages I know without thinking, it's just a question of routine. Dutch is a fairly recent (1990) addition, but except for that, since then, they are nothing more than tools of the trade I need to carry around with me at all times, like an architect needs a compass or a foreign exchange counter clerk needs a pocket calculator. Of course, since my wife is German, and we have been together for 45 years, German is more than just a work tool. I have also lived in Barcelona, so Spanish and Catalan are pretty much embedded as well, though I am in Madrid and Barcelona often enough to count them as work-related as well.

As for unintentionally interchanging words, I sometimes do, if I have to switch back and forth between similar languages with similar sounds. If I'm in Switzerland, with its gutteral version of German, "Schwyzerdüütsch," and have to suddenly switch to Dutch, I sometimes mix the two. However, if I'm speaking Catalan in Barcelona and suddenly get a phone call from Stockholm, I have no trouble switching back and forth, because there is little superficial similarity between the two.

[DFW]

34. There are four, actually, and only one of them is truly Swiss

Romansch is still spoken by about 100,000 people in the Scuol area. It is as close to Latin as anything still spoken today. Thoug not a major world language, the Swiss are still very proud and protective of their very own unique Swiss language. On their paper money, all legends are in Romansch as well as the three major languages.

When the ancient Romans were busy battling the "Helvetii," as they called the fierce mountain people of what is now Switzerland, pockets of them remained in villages throughout the area, and their language evolved from the spoken Latin for centuries with almost no outside influence. To this day, the country abbreviation for Switzerland remains "CH" for the Latin "Confederatio Helvetica," and if you want to create a Swiss-based website, you will find ".ch" at the end.

[mopinko]

2. well, i think impeachment is the first step back from the madness, so..

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. A Norwegian newspaper has just published an editorial that says

"The Republican Party has become a threat to democracy. The problem is not first and foremost Donald Trump's modus operandi, but that the Republican Party lets him get away with the madness." https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/i/6jv3jr/det-republikanske-partiet-er-blitt-en-trussel-mot-demokratiet-eirik-loekke They're right, but they should be glad they don't have to live here.

[crickets]

11. At least somebody's newspaper is bothering to publish the truth about the Republican party. nt

[Turbineguy]

3. Well, I imagine

impeaching trump helps.

[DFW]

7. To Europe, so far

All that indicates is that we as a nation have recognized there is a problem.

We have yet to do something about it that resembles a remedy--especially a remedy that implies that we will not let it happen again.

[wnylib]

24. Do they have any idea how difficult that is within

our legal and governing system? I suppose they wonder how the Republican party got so entrenched in the first place. So do I, actually, even though I know some of the tactics used and the money behind them.

Even with power snd monet, they only have as much power as we allow them. Too many people here who are complicit with Trump et.al. But according to the populsr vote, his opponents are still in the majority.

[DFW]

36. To most of Europe, with their parliamentry systems

It is difficult to explain to them how difficult it is to remove a sitting president in our system. The French understand, as they have a president instead of a Prime Minister or a chancellor.

The media issue is also not to be underestimated. While no one can force a population segment to watch Fox exclusively, large amounts of money can manipulate accessibility (or lack of it) to certain stations to some degree. The one area of the former East Germany that remained mostly loyal to the socialist regime was one remote corner near the Czech border were western TV and radio was not available. Only East German state media was available, and so the number of people who had access to an alternative was seriously decreased compared to the rest of East Germany. The western print press was strictly forbidden, and copies of any western newspapers or magazines were confiscated at the border without exception.

While it is encouraging that a significant majority voted for Hillary, the fact that she won the country's vote but not the presidency is still both puzzling and troubling to most of Europe. The Electoral college, and how and why it originated, is explained here, but the reason for maintaining it is not convincing.

[wnylib]

38. Well the reason for maintaining the electoral

college is not convincing to me, either. But there again.is an example of the difficulty of making changes in our system. Since the EC is written into the constitution it would take an amendment to change it, and a controversial amendment is so difficult to pass through 2/3 of the states..

Interesting example of media isolation in SE Germany. My mother's grandparents were from NE Germany, near the Danish border in Mecklenburg. Her other grandparents were from the former West Prussia, near Thorn/Torun.

[DFW]

41. I think your mean Ostpreussen

That is East Prussia, the part that is now Poland. Willy Brandt was from there.

The EC was part of the deal back in the days of the Continental Congress. The small colonies were threatening to not join the confederation for fear of being swamped by the bigger colonies. The EC was part of the concession the bigger colonies offered them to show them that they wouldn't be steamrolled. Writing the arrangement into the Constitution was unfortunate, as the rules for changing the Constitution were deliberately cumbersome, but had the unintended effect that adding a few dozen states with tiny populations gave them ALL the same disproportional representation that was originally only meant to mollify places like Delaware and Rhode Island. In 1787, no one could have imagined states with huge area but tiny populations like Wyoming, North Dakota or Idaho.

[wnylib]

42. Not Ostpreussen. It was definitely West Prussia,

which for a while was absorbed into East Prussia, but in 1878 it was again established as the province of West Prussia in the German Empire. My family left there 10 years later, 1888.

During the time my great-grandparents lived there, their villages were on the Prussian side of the north/south border with Poland, in Kreis Rosen. Not Posen or Rosenberg, but Rosen. A German-born librarian helped me find their villages on a historical map. Susannenthal, which is.Wiewiorka today, and Seegenau, which is now Segovna. There was another Susannenthal, in southwest Russia, but my family's.village was the one in West Prussia.

On the electoral college, we learned the history of it in school. But there is no need for it Ioday, IMO. I think that abolishing it would make it necessary for candidates to address all the people instead if focussing on regions. No more red and blue states, a situation that is divisive. Everyone's vote would count. Right now, conservative votes are nullified in liberal states and vice versa. Regional interests are covered by Congress and by each state's own government. No need to compartmentalize votes in presidential elections.

[DFW]

43. You are quite correct

Although I know guys from Thorn, I never checked out its geography, other than knowing it was formerly German. I had only heard of famous people from East Prussia.

[wnylib]

45. Ah, yes. People like Kant, from Koenigsberg.

My family was not famous, but great-grandpa Johann was infamous in his region and in the eyes of Kaiser Bill Ii.

Great-grandpa was an army officer who supported the parliamentarian reform plans of Kaiser Bill's father, Kaiser Fritz. Fritz died of cancer after only a few months as Kaiser and his son strongly opposed the reforms. Kaiser Bill ordered the arrest of his father's supporters on.charges of treason. Great-grandpa's friends warned him that he was on the arrest list and helped him flee the country.

Great-grandma was pregnant when they left the German Empire with their 3 children, ages 5, 3, and 1. My grandfather was born 2 weeks after they reached America. So they were political refugees.

[marble falls]

8. In some ways he may be right. We have impeached the 6' weenie.

[Takket]

9. the leaders of Canada, UK and France were literally caught on camera making fun of him

and those are our ALLIES. imagine what our enemies think of this idiot!

[Fritz Walter]

13. We don't have to imagine. We have already seen.

From Putin to Kim.
From Erdogan to Mohammed Bone Saw.
And others whose names don’t immediately come to mind.

They have shown us repeatedly how easy it is for them to manipulate #IMPOTUS.

[Kid Berwyn]

10. Like the time everyone in NATO was laughing at Unstable Moron?

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I don't think we'll regain any respect until we replace Trump with

someone who shows respect for the rest of the world.

[erronis]

25. No. We need to replace the blighted (r)epuglicon party and the Citizens United, etc.

laws that let this pustule keep on infecting our democracy.

But, I agree with deep-sixing dump and his cohorts also.

[keithbvadu2]

14. Impeachment should give the world respect for America.

Impeachment should give the world respect for America.

[Hekate]

46. A ray of hope, maybe. But the orange psycho is still in office, damaging us every day. nt

[liberalla]

15. I like the pacifier on the lapel.

[captain queeg]

16. I was wondering about some of the other imagery

Is he holding a rat? Is this a reference to rat f*cker that I see here all the time? I take the term a a general insult, is there a more specific meaning?

[Mickju]

18. I thought it was a polar bear.

But what do I know?

[Dem2theMax]

31. It is a polar bear.

I would imagine to represent climate change. Cannot tell what is in the other hand

But I could swear that those are Giuliani's teeth!

[Olafjoy]

17. Europe in October

Multiple Europeans would come over in restaurants and sit right down at our table and ask “what the foo# is wrong with Ay-mare-ee-ka?”. Honestly, it got exhausting. We are going to limit our travels until he is gone. We are not respected. People are horrified.

[rpannier]

19. Exasperated is a better word

I guess that is how il douche defines respected

[kimbutgar]

20. I was in Spain in September and all I saw were caricatures that were not respectable of MF45

They had one with a horse with MF45’s face on its rear that was hilarious. A tour guide upon learning we were from America asked what happened to our country to elect such a pendajo. We immediately told him we were embarrassed and ashamed he got elected. In the Canary islands I saw numerous clown faces with his face on it. So if this is his idea of respect he is sorely mistaken. My sister in law is a flight attendant who flies a lot of international flights and she tells people she is from Canada because they have gotten in her face and put her down for having mf 45 as a president. No where she goes is he respected, liked but only vilified.

[Hulk]

21. Delusional

I'll be so glad when we can finally return to reality...when will finally be surprised and outraged at being told a lie...when we won't have to fear that the end of all our accomplishments won't be for nothing.

This has been the worst fucking nightmare...WITHOUT having a war as our greatest threat. How fucking sad!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. They sure do love him.

?w=720

[moondust]

28. By "respect" he means

Putin is pleased with his puppet doing all he can to block/remove sanctions, break up NATO, alienate allies, betray the Kurds, blame Ukraine, screw Ukraine, and much, much more!

[Cartoonist]

29. He's not even respected in the United States

More than half of us want him removed.

[wnylib]

30. The caricatures of Trump abroad are like

the ones of Adolf in various countries, including the US in the 1930's. A popular image of him was as "the little tramp" after the Charlie Chaplin character. Before he gained absolute power, many Germans referred to him as a thug, criminal, and uncouth low life. But there were people with money and social standing who found him useful and backed him. Not all of them were German.

Likewise, Trump is only the tip of the iceberg. Pull out from under him the backers who prop him up and he will collapse. Or, get rid of him and it will be hard for them to find a replacement who can pull off for them what he does. Then get the effin folks who use him as their frontman, including Putin et. al. Once Trump is gone, Putin is long overdue for facing some retaliation.

[MyOwnPeace]

32. Which would only pi$$ him off even more.........

Remember when "Candidate Obama" went on a European tour and had some record crowds meet and greet him, especially in Berlin?
Europe had already had enough of the 8 years of "W" and was looking forward to the return of a sane, brilliant, wise person to the White House.
And then they got spoiled.
So, look what we did to them........................... (and yes, to us!).

Yet another great memory of America's last great President........

[Gothmog]

33. Great cartoon

[BuffaloJackalope]

39. By "the world", he means Putin & Russia. And by "United States" he means him.

Though he has no clue that Putin has no respect for him.

[not_the_one]

44. A different, and better, take on this statement would be...

THE WORLD IS STARTING TO RESPECT THE UNITED STATES AGAIN...

Thanks to Nancy Pelosi!!!