back to article Ich nicht bin Charlie: Facebook must crack down on racists, says Germany's Merkel

German chancellor Angela Merkel has laid into Facebook for not doing more to tackle racism on the social network. Speaking to German newspaper Rheinische Post, Merkel focused on the big political topic of the moment: the sudden influx of Syrian refugees into Europe. Merkel has led the charge in welcoming refugees, saying that …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Liberal extremist wants censorship

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Merkel a liberal? Maybe in Kentucky but not in Europe.

      1. Michael Habel

        I think her needless pandering to Greeks, and Migrants tells the tale better on her conservative ideals. Now a heartles bastard like Cameron. With pledges to vet 20,000 Refugees in a five year window, with view to a possible entry into your County. This to me seems more along the lines of what I'd call far-right leadership.

        1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Michael Hater

          "....Now a heartles bastard like Cameron. With pledges to vet 20,000 Refugees in a five year window, with view to a possible entry into your County. This to me seems more along the lines of what I'd call far-right leadership." Ah, the autonomic shrieking of the Leftie, so quick to call anyone they disagree with of being a "Nazi". Maybe you should do a little reading as to the economic background of why Germany is more willing to take mroe migrants than the UK before you make such silly statements - http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34172729

          1. Michael Habel

            Re: Michael Hater

            Oh yes your funding the so-called Safe Zone Hell Holes that they guys are fleeing from to begin with so what was I thinking that Britain should actually take in more like 20,000 A YEAR, instead of only 20,000 with-in a five year window. Considering how safe those safe zones are. Its hardly to be wondered as to why they all want to leave.

            1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
              FAIL

              Re: Michael Hater Re: Michael Hater

              "....your funding the so-called Safe Zone Hell Holes...." And why do we even need to fund those Safe Zones? We are doing so because helping refugees in situ is actually the best idea, as shown by the immense mess the UN made of the "Palestinian" refugee issue.

              "....ritain should actually take in more like 20,000 A YEAR...." Again, why? We have no colonial ties, that was France's problem. Go read up on Sykes-Picot.

              "....Considering how safe those safe zones are. Its hardly to be wondered as to why they all want to leave." Maybe you should stop to think a lot more, starting with why are the refugees taking all the risks and hardship of traveling to Europe instead of going to neighbouring Arab states? Oh, that's because (just as with the "Palestinians"), the neighbouring Arab states are not letting them in (http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150905/1026631858/why-gulf-arabs-dont-accept-refugees.html).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Remember Germany doesn't have freedom of speech and its actually illegal there to say Nazi propaganda (which thanks to neonazis in East Germany can quickly become part of the whole immigrant debate). Different history and culture and dangers.

      1. GrumpenKraut

        > ...Germany doesn't have freedom of speech

        Erm, we do have free speech, it's in the law.

        Some forms of hate propaganda are forbidden (as in "Kill all the [something]s!"). Nazi propaganda (and symbolism) is explicitly verboten, I cannot say I'd regret that.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "Erm, we do have free speech, it's in the law.

          Some forms of hate propaganda are forbidden"

          Erm so you don't have free speech you have controlled speech.

          In the soviet union/china/North korea you could freely praise the party

          1. Named coward

            The UK doesn't have "free speech" either...there are laws that prohibit hate speech...In Germany, Nazi Propaganda == Hate speech.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              freedom of speech

              Yes most countries don't have freedom of speech as the basis on their whole constitution like the US (now if only the founding fathers had more explicit about personal privacy, sorry but the 4th amendment didn't get the job done). Even then we have exceptions (things like being charged if people get crushed when you yell fire in a theater being the classic example). Also of course freedom of speech only applies in regards to the government and with our culture of pure corporatism in most states your company can fire you in a heart beat for anything you might say even on personal social media outside work.

              1. John Hughes

                Re: freedom of speech

                Yes most countries don't have freedom of speech as the basis on their whole constitution like the US

                Free speech is obviously not "the basis of the whole [US] constitution" as it was added as an amendment after the fact.

                In the German constitution human rights are defined by the first articles of the constitution -- they are the basis of the whole constitution. Freedom of expression is article 5.

        2. tom dial Silver badge

          What GrumpenKraut describes falls a good deal short of freedom of speech in the US, where such laws would fail quickly and decisively, and I suspect that is mostly true also in the other "Five Eyes" countries.

        3. Richard Altmann

          free speech in Germany

          @ Grumpenkraut. Go in a bookshop and ask for Hitler´s "Mein Kampf". There goes your freedom of speech. In Kampala you can buy it in german, english, french, russian and even swuaheli. Publications of Ulrike Meinhoff. Then there is this british Holocaust denier, forgot his name. I despise this people and their eruptions but they are there and one can not just close ones eyes and wish they go away. Same goes for my (in the eighties) publication of sucessfully getting out of mandantory military service.

          Once you get out of Mummy´s basement and lift your voice, the Powers That Are will cut your tongue out. Same goes for reports on the caesium contamination of mushrooms 30 years after Chernobyl. Geiger counters are rated military gear since Chernobyl so it is illegal to own one and publish measurements. Leucemia cases in the areas around the nuclear power plants of Brunsbüttel and Brokdorf. Try to publish this.

          Wake up, my blue eyed fellow Kraut.

          1. GrumpenKraut

            Re: free speech in Germany

            > Once you get out of Mummy´s basement...

            Assumptions much?

            > Geiger counters are rated military gear since Chernobyl so it is illegal to own one

            What? Do I have to surrender mine then?

            > ... and publish measurements.

            WTF? Where did you read that?

            1. Richard Altmann

              Re: free speech in Germany

              Take your Geiger Counter, check on the mushrooms in your neighbourhood, find that they are 3000 fold overcontaminated and try to publish it. Then come back to me.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Liberal extremist wants censorship

      and your vote has been counted

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I am curious if the word "sedition" was an accurate translation.

      Any pol talking sedition is anti-democratic. But then the Germans have only ever had a tenuous grasp on free speech.

      Heck the job of a "loyal opposition" is sedition....

    5. tom dial Silver badge

      Correction to first post

      Government wants censorship of speech contrary to government policy.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The 90's

    What she's really saying is that now the problem is more visible, not like Germany (and other countries to be fair) don't have a long history of xenophobia to reference no t just the 90's

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: The 90's

      Like it or not it, these are the statements of the fact:

      1. Germany is the least racist and xenophobic country in Europe. I would not wish any other country to get to be as tolerant as them as it is a result of what they went through in 20th century. It did not come easy, but it is a fact. It is significantly less xenophobic than the UK, it is by orders of magnitude less xenophobic than France and way less racist than Eastern Europe.

      2. Germany is picking up the slack for all of us including the 3 countries which sponsored initially, actively participated in the development and continue to inflame the whole North Africa and MIddle East mess (USA, UK & France). Frankly we need a new Geneva convention - one which says that you are responsible for 50 years for any refugees from a country whose "societal order" you have decided to "correct".

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The 90's

        Germany is the least racist and xenophobic country in Europe.

        I'd suggest that not you, nor anyone else, can make that claim absolutely about Germany. The only judgement one could make is about *publicly visible* xenophobia. And in a country where xenophobic speech is censored and espousers prosecuted, it would be logical to assume that the majority of held xenophobic beliefs go unespoused.

        I'd argue that not being recognised or acknowledged by society is one of the big drivers of escalating extremist views. You just don't tend to see their presence until it manifests in violent action.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The 90's

          >Germany is the least racist and xenophobic country in Europe.

          Oh look someone who has never gotten to know the fine people of Dresden (in fairness many are).

      2. big_D Silver badge

        Re: The 90's

        With 10,000 turning up last week in Munich and just the state of Baden Württemburg taking in more refugees in a month than the UK is considering taking in this year... That is registered, compared to "being considered".

        At the moment "light Germany" is being very proactive about the refugee situation, but "dark Germany" is trying to make trouble. (light Germany = enlightened, dark Germany = xenophes and racists)

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The 90's

          I do have a fear that the high influx of Syrians will change the feeling of Germany...

          I hope the refugees are being given a good introduction to German culture, its very laudable to take in the refugees, but not at the cost of your own people and culture.. (I really doubt the Syrians will frequent Badens lovely spa's)

          1. John Hughes

            Re: The 90's

            I do have a fear that the high influx of Syrians will change the feeling of Germany...

            A high influx of people who have risked their lives to reject authoritarian dictatorship and obscurantist murdering slave takers could indeed change the feeling of any country -- for the better.

      3. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        FAIL

        Re: Volan's right twit Re: The 90's

        "....Germany is the least racist and xenophobic country in Europe....." And your evidence to support this is... oh, you don't have any. This is my surprised face, honest! Germany is actually much less multicultural than the UK.

        "....Germany is picking up the slack for all of us...." Germany is looking after Germany, nothing more. Due to the aging population, Germany needs more young immigrants every year to pay taxes to fund their social policies - http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34172729

        "...Frankly we need a new Geneva convention - one which says that you are responsible for 50 years for any refugees from a country whose "societal order" you have decided to "correct"." So then I suppose you will support the idea that Merkel can dump the agreement that let Germany off the hook when they unified East and West Germany, and she can pay some real reparations to Greece for what Germany did during WW2? Oh, and a good view trillion Euros to Poland, France, Belgium, Holland, Britain and other nations that Germany attacked during WW2? Because the Germans fell well short of paying reparations between 1945 and 1995. Oh, not so keen suddenly?

        1. big_D Silver badge

          Re: Volan's right twit The 90's

          @Matt, but there again, 50 years... Statute of limitations has already kicked in there. ;-)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

    I had a friend at school (in the U.K 1988.) who hated Germany, his family was Turkish/German and they moved here because of racial hatred.

    Has much changed?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Economy. Jobs. And if you're coming from Syria, you'll probably appreciate a bit of organisation.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      not much

      Not much unless it was in the last five years. I never felt that welcome there working as a Yank expat especially in East Germany. In general if 3rd generation immigrants can't speak your language then you have a assimilation problem which was very common with the Turkish ghettos there. In Germany's defense though I think this is true in most of mainland Europe.

    3. uncle sjohie

      Because in general, it's a nice country to live in. They have a functional and sound economy, to pay for decent social security, public transportation. healthcare and affordable housing in the suburbs and beyond. And if your introduction to the EU is Greece, who have way to many public servants, but only 2 for immigration on the whole island of Kos to process 500+ refugees a day, and a mayor who even refuges to place portable toilets for immigrants for fear of "inviting" them (it's not like a vicious civil war is pushing them in those boats), then Germany may well feel like paradise, especially if you are welcomed at the train station by little children giving candy and just saying welcome, after having just enjoyed the Macedonian and Hungarian "hospitality".

      The racial hatred is historically most common in the old DDR and the south, but remember, in 1988 the unification hadn't really happened yet, and during the unification and integration of east Germany, there was a lot of racial hatred, not just from east Germans towards immigrants, but also between west- and east Germans themselves. That hatred has been diminishing the last two decades, because of the massive investments in the east, but haters will hate, first it was the Turks and Greeks (a lot of Greek babyboomers worked in Germany in their youth), second the east Germans vs the west Germans, now it's the Syrians.

    4. big_D Silver badge

      As an expat Brit living in Germany, I find it a great country to live in. But there again, I took time to learn the language.

      A lot of immigrants can't speak German and they find it hard to integrate or be accepted. At the language school there was a Turkish woman who had been in Germany for more than a decade, but couldn't speak German. She was finding it harder and harder to get by, because she had to talk to teachers at the school about her children and shopping and dealing with the authorities (Kindergeld) was difficult, she finally managed to talk her husband into letting her attend the language school. She found the people much more accepting, once she could speak German.

      I meet people where I live who compliment me on my German (my German wife ridicules me constantly for the mistakes I make), but they are comparing me to other expats who have been here over 20 years and still can't say much more than please and thank you in German...

      1. druck Silver badge

        big_D wrote:

        As an expat Brit living in Germany, I find it a great country to live in. But there again, I took time to learn the language. A lot of immigrants can't speak German and they find it hard to integrate or be accepted.

        I did find it a bit strange when the media were interviewing migrants travelling through Europe and asking where they wanted to go, they all shouted "Germany, Germany" - why wasn't it "Deutschland, Deutschland"?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          > As an expat Brit living in Germany, I find it a great country to live in. But there again, I took time to learn the language. A lot of immigrants can't speak German and they find it hard to integrate or be accepted.

          Some parts are better than others and yes as a country its top notch and better than lot of the US. Knowing the language is important and yes people compliment you if speak German. However considering they can often tell what city someone grew up in just by their Deutsch you will always be an outsider as a foreigner which in my experience expats put up just fine with if they get themselves a good German woman. Germany is one of those countries you really have to be born in to ever truly belong even if you are fluent. Its just kind of a part of their culture. And again in mainland Europe they hardly unique in this regard. Some countries are more a nation of immigrants and some aren't. The US for example naturally assimilates people without even trying due to our culture. I have seen it time and time again with people from all over the world coming to college in the US they think for just a few years and winding up staying here for the rest of their life. Not to say the US is better (and in fact we do pretty lousy on many quality of life measurement compared to Germany) just different.

          1. big_D Silver badge

            >Some parts are better than others and yes as a country its top notch and better than lot of the US. Knowing the language is important and yes people compliment you if speak German. However considering they can often tell what city someone grew up in just by their Deutsch you will always be an outsider as a foreigner which in my experience expats put up just fine with if they get themselves a good German woman.

            I lived in Bavaria for a few years, in a little village outside of Munich. I was there alone and didn't have any friends in the village, until I learnt the language. My neighbours accepted me with open arms and I used to chat with the woman in the local bakers, turned out she lived a street further on from mine and I was invited to afternoon coffee, I became very good friends with her and her husband; even to the extent that when I met my wife and got a new job in northern Germany and had to move quickly, they took care of disposing of the rubbish and painting the walls of the flat for me.

            The same in the north where I am now, I have always felt accepted. Everybody is friendly and I really am accepted by my wife's family as a member of that family, even if her mother used to call me Detlef all the time. :-D

            At work I fit in very well and we get on great. I feel no barriers. The same goes for the German Turkish head of IT, he fits in well and is just accepted as another member of the team. We both get invited to social events by colleagues. Maybe that is because we live in a more provincial area and not a major city.

            Additionally, there is a large refugee camp just down the road from where I live. It is a common site to see them streaming out of the camp in the mornings and going to the local supermarket and them coming back. It is all very peaceful and they are accepted, I've never seen anyone confront them, they just complain that they don't have any road sense as they tend to run across the by-pass to take a shortcut to the supermarket, as opposed to taking the road under the bypass, which adds about a kilometre to the journey.

            They was unrest in the camp last weekend, because a lorry turned up with clothing, but it was nearly empty and they thought that was all the clothing they were going to get, so fighting broke out. Luckily the police were quickly on the scene to quiet them down and it was pointed out that there were two more lorries waiting to unload clothes as well.

      2. tom dial Silver badge

        Language

        A common language is a significant part of nationhood, as it provides the shared means to understand and discuss nearly everything. I have not done research on the question, but offer the hypothesis that national states having more than one primary language tend to be fragile and liable to experience strong separatist movements. Spain comes to mind, as does Canada, although Belgium (and Canada) seem to have managed the issue successfully, although sometimes with difficulty. Guest workers also may be problematic, as without citizenship rights and often without a right to switch from guest worker to citizen, those with secondary status may be less committed to maintenance of good order.

        Although nothing much argues against immigrant groups continuing use of their native language for within-group communication, there may be a good case for requiring them to learn a single "official" language.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

      No, not funny just ignorant. Despite what the UK press says these people aren't economic migrants, they're refugees fleeing violence and war. Germany doesn't currently have armed militias gang raping communities so of course it's a more attractive option. The fact the government is actually happy to accept and help people is another big bonus.

      And the Germans (for once) didn't start this shit.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

        I understand that they are running away from trouble..

        But if they all run, ISIS win.

        Once they are in the EU, they should be given a chance to fight back!

        Train them, integrate them into EU units and then lead them into battle against ISIS.

        I guess the good thing about them fleeing, is less civilians in the way when finally NATO gets its arse into gear and attacks with ground troops

        1. asdf

          Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

          >Train them, integrate them into EU units and then lead them into battle against ISIS.

          >I guess the good thing about them fleeing, is less civilians in the way when finally NATO gets its arse into gear and attacks with ground troops

          Wow are you 17 or something and too young to remember how swimmingly Iraq (and well before it Vietnam) went? Or do you honestly think if we just try again but this time with even more powers pulling strings on various sides it will turn out so much better? Militaries are unable to politically stabilize territory unless the people want it and are capable of it or unless you go the occupation route. As recent history is showing Assad and Sadam were basically occupying powers of fake nation states setup by colonial powers.

        2. Michael Habel

          Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

          And, here I thought I was the only One to actually think that way. Old Women, and Children... OK Everyone else that can hold a Rifle should be trained to eventually take their country back! As someone that has never been to that Hellhole a.k.a The Middle East, I have no interests in its defence. Of course these "Migrants" know that they can have a cushier time of it here in Germany when Mutti Angie gifts the rest of our money that didn't already go to Greece to those People. Fine they are escaping a Civil War. But these are the People that need to eventually pick up the slack.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

            It is kind of funny how a large portion of the failed states in the world are in majority muslim areas huh? Complete coincidence.

        3. uncle sjohie

          Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

          It's not so simple. Besides the Assad regime, there are 100 to 300 armed gangs in Syria who change allegiance on a daily basis, merge or just stop, IS is also fighting Al-Qaida, the "free Syrians" operating from inside Turkey fight all the above, and last but not least, there are the Kurds who are just fighting to survive. From an EU perspective there is not one group to give any serious support. Arming IS or Al-Qaida is a bad idea, like arming the mudjaheddin in Afghanistan turned out to be, ditto the Kurds (the PKK are genuine terrorists in their own right), and the the free Syrians have some ties to hamas/hezbolla in Lebanon.

          Basically there is no group or faction that the west can back, to the the point of real soldiers fighting beside them against the regime, the gangs, Al-Qaida and the radicalized western youths that make up IS. I'm afraid the whole country will be a bloody mess the next decade. It's like the gangs of Mogadishu, the Balkan war, and the Palestine-Israeli conflict but with 5 instead of 2 parties, all rolled into one terrible mess.

          The 2 Syrians I spoke to in Kos 2½ week ago, said they would probably have voted for Assad the next election, he was far from perfect, but under his regime there was no all-out guerrilla war like now.

          1. Matt Bryant Silver badge

            Re: re: Not being funny but why on earth would immigrants want to go to Germany?

            "....ditto the Kurds (the PKK are genuine terrorists in their own right)...." Whilst I upvoted you for the overall comment, please do not slur the Kurds by assuming all are PKK supporters. The Iraqi Kurds were also valuable and reliable allies in the fight against Saddam.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      the streets are too clean in Germany, that's why they move on to UK.

  4. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Farcebook will take the issue seriously if you just 'like' their policies on everything else (internet humour there)

  5. Craigness

    I'll get the tippex...

    German chancellor Angela Merkel has laid into Facebook for not doing more to censor citizens critical of her plan to turn Germany into Syria.

  6. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Mushroom

    DID GERMANY PARTICIPATE IN THE DESTRUCTION OF LYBIA WITH NATO AND THE VARIOUS LIBERVENTIONIST SICKOS AND GAYLORDS (among which frankly sinister types like Obama, Rice, Howard, Berlusconi, Sarkozy and Hillary) THAT LOUDLY TOOK TO THE MIKE AND BLOVIATED ABOUT "RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT"?

    NO.

    NOT A TRAITOR.

    DOES GERMANY PARTICIPATE IN THE DESTRUCTION OF SYRIA WITH CIA UNDERCOVER OPS AND ISIS EMPOWERMENT WHERE LIBERVENTIONIST SICKOS AND GAYLORDS (among which frankly sinister types like Obama, Hillary, Erdogan, Bibi the player) ARE LOUDLY TALKING ABOUT "RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT"?

    NO.

    NOT A TRAITOR.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Wow next week are you going to sober up and claim your account was hacked by the Free Syrian Army? Guess you should have changed your password after the Ashley Madison hack. Still this is some seriously good kinja.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Like yours was hacked to click the post anonymous button? Man up and post under a name or shut the fuck up.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Like yours was hacked to click the post anonymous button? Man up and post under a name or shut the fuck up.

          says another Anonymous Coward, lol.

  7. Thomas Wolf

    That's "Ich bin nicht Charlie" - Google Translate is your friend.

    1. ElReg!comments!Pierre
      FAIL

      That's "Ich bin kein Charlie"

      Education is your friend

      1. Schnoerkelman
        FAIL

        Re: That's "Ich bin kein Charlie"

        Sorry, I think you've got the wrong war there...

      2. Named coward

        Re: That's "Ich bin kein Charlie"

        If Charlie is a proper noun (a specific person) then "nicht" (I'm not Charlie), if you consider Charlie as a generic noun then "kein" (I'm not a Charlie)

        1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

          Re: That's "Ich bin kein Charlie"

          If Charlie is a proper noun (a specific person) then "nicht" (I'm not Charlie), if you consider Charlie as a generic noun then "kein" (I'm not a Charlie)

          Fair enough, although "kein" is still the valid form for a collective noun. I was working under the assumption that "Charlie" here stands for "Charlie Hebdo", a defined collective entity. The whole "I am Charlie" thing was a copycat of the famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" soundbite AFAICT, the opposite of which would still imply "kein" and not "nicht", as I think you'll acknowledge ("Ich bin nicht Berliner"? Seriously?).

          I stand by my kein ;-)

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm doing my bit!

    I've never used Facebook.

    1. David Pollard

      Re: I'm doing my bit!

      Perhaps you should get out less.

  9. Cincinnataroo
    Flame

    The slippery slope

    Unfortunately this is an infringement on freedom. It's the sort of thing that led to the STASI.

    If you're never going to make such comments this attitude sets up a bunch of watchers. The presence of those watchers changes behaviour. The watchers can become jailers and worse.

    One answer is to set up your own closed groups. Facebook used to look somewhat like that...

  10. msknight

    "Facebook must crack down on racists, says Germany's Merkel" ... or she'll do what, exactly? Come on Merkel,spit it out.

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Germany anti-racism and anit-hatred laws have a bite

      Compared to UK, Germany anti-racial hatred and anti-racism laws have a bite. A vicious one too. This is a result of dealing (quite successfully) with the WW2 heritage and the heritage of the racial hatred and division after the unification.

      To put it this way - I would not want to be a "Web 2.0" internet business on the receiving end of a spat with a German public prosecutor.

      1. big_D Silver badge

        Re: Germany anti-racism and anit-hatred laws have a bite

        And under German law the site owner is responsible for what is said on it, even if it is comments from the sites users.

        It is one of the reasons why running a forum in Germany is a risky business.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      or she'll write a very, very angry letter to them. Like she did when their bestest friend, the good old US, hacked her mobile (and "a little more" than just that). The only difference is, she can make her officials harass facebook a bit, while the US gov don't give a flying about her angry letters (not that I applaud).

  11. naive

    She is lucky there are no elections

    Europe is there where Russia was in the 70's/80's. It seems there is only one source of news (Pravda). Everyone deviating from what Pravda, a.k.a. mainstream media, says is a fascist and should be silenced, in a later stadium the person probably enjoys a single train ticket to Siberia. Same story when Greece had to be propped up or with the banking crisis, all the "free" media Europe is carefully orchestrated, so now she wants to "orchestrate" internet media because it is "bad" people can communicate freely, thereby saying things her grace Empress Merkel does not like.

    So that is how it works, Merkel will not run again since she would not get the votes. In several Bundesländer, polls suggest the Right Party (Die Rechte) would get up to 40% of the votes. Until then Merkel can do as she wants, and pray people have forgotten when there are major elections, since the hard working middle class in German had it with being taxed into oblivion to pay for all the wet dreams of incompetent politicians, be it French banks, lazy Greeks and in the process become victim of countless petty crimes as a result from the influx of foreigners who hate our western society.

    1. Michael Habel

      Re: She is lucky there are no elections

      Its time to call time and, demand a confidence vote against her term as Chancellor. I don't think Germany can afford to wait till the next electoral cycle. She needs to go now!

  12. Richard Wharram

    Inappropriate response

    The appropriate response to racists on Facebook is to take the piss. Censorship just validates their grievances.

    1. GrumpenKraut

      Re: Inappropriate response

      It's not just hate speech, photos and addresses of people they want to see attacked are also posted.

      Police have turned a blind eye(*) on nazi types in the last 25 years. I do hope this will change. Had it not been for police officers killed by them they'd just gone ahead, I am afraid.

      (*) As in completely refusing to accept reports of nazi violence, even in most severe cases. In cases of killings by them (we have had more than 150 since 1990, quite possibly much more) they'd conveniently leave the "extreme right did this" box unchecked., hence badly skewed stats.

    2. Ken 16 Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      Re: Inappropriate response

      They're just a few extremists, they'll never get into power, most people don't think that way...

      Germany has experience that sometimes the extremists get into power and most people stay quiet about their policies. So, for that matter, does Syria. Even the US definition of Free Speech says you don't have the right to shout 'fire' in a crowded cinema and shouting racism when there are tens of thousands of people who look visibly foreign meets that definition.

      1. Dan Paul

        Re: Inappropriate response

        If you don't understand the 1st amendment then please just stop trying to offer your "Legal interpretation" of it.

        Racism and Nazism and a whole pantheon of "ism's" are protected by the 1st amendment here. The Klan can parade down main street and the police have to provide protective services for them. The Nazi's regularly have public demonstrations complete with all their rhetoric.

        You are correct in saying it does not protect "crying fire" in a movie theater but that is already covered under completely different legal circumstances like inciting a riot.

        The more concerning issue to me is that lily livered leftists are trying to make this country as ineffectual and effeminate as the EU already is and tie it up with the same kind of "nannying" legislation that made our founding fathers leave Europe to begin with.

  13. codejunky Silver badge

    Hmm

    This is a tough topic due to the extremists on both sides. The propaganda on both sides is amusing but unhelpful. We cannot let them all in to flood a country for a number of reasons including economy, society and security. But of course people fleeing war need help and support.

    Germany did something really stupid by stating anyone from Syria is welcome and is now regretting it. First they are not a border country, instead all these people legit or not are forcing their way through border countries and causing them great problems leading to strained relationships within the EU. Also forced mass-multiculturalism is a bad idea as we found in the UK under labour and Germany is finding out as the excessively one sided reporting is blatantly propaganda (hence the need for FB to crack down on 'racism'). And finally the strain it puts on the countries finances and infrastructure will be a problem.

    The interesting problem with this debate in relation to the UK is we already have mass immigration and we dont have the same need as Germany to replace our lost young population (labour did that already). Germany on the other hand needs immigration.

    Amusingly I hear a few of the countries are realising their now lack of sovereignty as they surrendered to the EU. Now there is a demand for the endless tide to be split across all of the members, those who wouldnt are going to have a hard argument with an uncompromising dictator.

  14. ProgrammerForHire

    freedom of speech

    If you think that 's freedom of speech, then you don't understand freedom of speech

  15. TheJokker

    The problem is misdiagnosing the problem. Many of us here are techs. Changing a hard drive will not correct a problem if the real issue is a bad stick of memory.

    The problem for Germany is not racism but rather allowing the immigration of a large population of young, military aged males with radical Islamist tendencies who are going to resist assimilating. Funny how the Saudi's don't want them. The Chinese don't want them. Who wants an ugly violent time bomb ticking away in their country?

    1. Dan Paul

      If I could upvote you a thousand times....

      I certainly would. As it is all I have is one vote. The truth is not always pretty but it is the truth nonetheless.

    2. John Hughes

      So people who have risked their lives to escape ISIS have "radical islamist tendancies"?

      Clown.

      I suspect your disk is broken.

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        FAIL

        Re: John Hughes

        "So people who have risked their lives to escape ISIS have "radical islamist tendancies"?...." Sorry to break it to you, but there is mroe than one kind of Islamic extremism and they don't all get on. And that's not just Sunni-vs-Shia, there are even Sunni-vs-Sunni groups with extreme views hacking away at each other (http://abcnews.go.com/International/al-qaeda-leader-al-zawahiri-declares-war-isis/story?id=33656684).

    3. Fluffy Cactus

      Right, misdiagnosing the problem. In my opinion, the fugitives from the war in Syria are just that: People

      who lost their home, their families, their jobs, their possessions. If there are some radical islamists within

      that group, then don't you think that Germany will "have methods" to deal with that problem? Why are you even worried about that, when you are sitting somewhere in the UK?

  16. perlcat

    Says it all:

    "When people stir up sedition under their real name on social networks..."

    Well, just don't do that.

  17. phil dude
    Joke

    Yes minister quote....

    The Devil you know

    James Hacker: Europe is a community of nations, dedicated towards one goal.

    Sir Humphrey Appleby: [laughs]

    JH: May we share the joke, Humphrey?

    SHA: Minister, may I sit? Let's look at this objectively. It is a game played for national interests and always was. Why do you suppose we went into it?

    JH: To strengthen the brotherhood of free Western nations.

    SHA: Oh, really. We went in to screw the French by splitting them off from the Germans.

    JH: Well, why did the French go into it, then?

    SHA: Well, to protect their inefficient farmers from commercial competition.

    JH: That certainly doesn't apply to the Germans!

    SHA: No, no. They went in to cleanse themselves of genocide and apply for readmission to the human race.

    P.

  18. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. GrumpenKraut

      Re: Hitler died in 1945 - 100 years on, Germany can apply for parole. Until then they can STFU.

      So I (grandchild of war generation) can hope that you are willing to forgive my grandchildren for what Germany did back then? How very generous of you.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Erm

    didn't I see something about Germany complaining that facebook was enforcing users to use their real names and some German political dept was saying that they had no right to force people to use their real names and were lobbying FB to drop the policy.

    Ok, Angle, you cant have your cake and eat it....

  20. Fluffy Cactus

    Ok, in response to everyone here:

    A) It's complicated. You can't do anything constructive without someone else calling you a traitor, a lier,

    a freak, a nutcase.

    B) Freely quoting Monty Phython: "Now lets stop bickering over who killed who and get on with it."

    Next, to defend both the US, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, and what have you: "Every country has its fair or unfair share of racists and xenophobes." These are very difficult people to deal with. Just 5% or 10% of the population is in such a permanent state of hatred of other races, other religions, other political beliefs, etc, such that, if they got into power, really bad things would happen, here, there, everywhere.

    In other words, if you are a kind and nice person, your race, religion, national origin, gender, beliefs, or whatever attributes you can think of, will not matter. And, if you are a mean @ss4ole, no amount of

    religion, race, gender, belief, national origin will make you any nicer.

    So, you can't just judge by all these labels, judge by personal experience with people. Whether you like

    it or not, you already are judging, because that's part of the human condition.

    There I was, trying to make the world a better place, when suddenly ....

    Does this even make sense?

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