h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Zivildienst is one of the reasons Germany hasn't switched over to a professional military - they'd be missing the 'volunteers' who run their hospitals and things! Though to be honest, it's easy to get yourself exempt.

I believe that they should make it a fair system. Professional military, and a required year of (social) service for *both* sexes. Right now, women can join any branch of the military (formerly, it was just the medical and musical corps) and can do a "Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr", a voluntary year of social service, but it's not required. It does help people find careers they'd never thought of, though, and since we're switching to 12 years instead of 13 of school, wouldn't really delay their careers.


(As for my blood, I've had a Mystery Illness for the past two years, which affects my immune system, too - so I have a chronic toxoplasmosis infection. Which could be dangerous for pregnant women. So I can't donate.)

The American understanding of the word 'cheese'.

It sounds interesting. What happens if you don't want to do it do you just come up with a lame excuse and they cross your name off?

Maybe you should do a entry on it?

Well, the third son never has to go. If you don't want to join the military, you can plead moral/religious/ethical reasons, but then they make you do the social service anyway... The only way to get out of it is for medical reasons, but that's relatively easy these days, apparently.

My soon-to-be brother-in-law thought he'd just not go to the physical when he got the letter, and was dragged there by the police! They burst into his mother's apartment at seven in the morning a few days after his appointment, and dragged him off to the military doctor (He's exempt anyway, having two older stepbrothers.)

I was once interviewed by Phlips of Eindhoven. On their application form, under 'National Service', I put 'not applicable'. The HR interviewer asked,
'What? Do you mean you were ill?'
I said,
'No. We don't have it.'
And he said,
'What? Lucky bastards!'

Oh the Dutch army... we used to take part in NATO exercises with them. My detatchment, back then, consisted of around 10 people (2 trucks, a generator and a landrover) We used to have to do the whole British thing - sneaking around in the woods, cam nets up, no white light etc etc.

At weekends we weren't allowed to move trucks around Germany, so we'd all have to sneak into a wooded location, set up our equipment, make sure we were pretty well hidden and carry on the exercise but without the moving around (gards, passwords, the lot). Which worked well until 18:00 hrs (that's 6pm to you lot ) when the Dutch would announce "weekend!" put on their lights, music and coffee machines. We'd be sneaking around dressed like treas while they were just having a weekend camping.

Sure. But they get into a lot less trouble than our lot.

That sounds like the Dutch...

Of course, they live in small narrow houses, and their national pastime is spending their weekends in even smaller and narrower caravans

Ooooh, Sho has just reminded me of another cultural difference.

In Germany, when it's your birthday, *you* bring the cake to work and *you* pay the drinks. That's why all these nice people are always so anxious to know when it's your birthday...

Tell me about it... I now have to bring in cake because I got good news at work. And when you finish your trial period, when you've been there for 5/10 years, when you leave, when your wife has a baby...

At least the cakes are less sugary than the American kind.

I hope to never eat "frosting" again in my life!

mmmmmmmmmmm frosting!

Ah, two subjects on this page (I skipped all the other pages of the thread, sorry ) I can contribute to: military service and frosting!

* Israel, as you might know, has mandatory military service. Three years for boys, a year and 9 months for girls (at one point they made it two years for girls, but then they changed it back). It's easier for girls to get out of it than for boys - you can declare yourself religious, and that's pretty much enough (Ultra-Orthodox boys don't go either, due to some rather infuriating agreement that they can study in a yeshiva and not go to the military - funded by the state, to boot - and most Arab Israelis don't go either, due to other agreements and the delicate political situation, although many Druze and Bedouin boys decide to go into service anyway). You can also find an understanding doctor that will declare you 'mentally unfit' or some such thing. Social service is a possibility, mainly for girls (mainly for religious girls, but not just), and is becoming slightly more common. Nowadays, it has become less of a social stigma to have avoided service, so you see more people who have done it, usually the ones with more money. But it's still kinda looked down on, in many places, and is still a deviation from the normative path.
And before you ask: Yes. Being a pretty normative person in that aspect, I have done military service. It was nothing remarkable, basically a desk job, but I made some good friends, and had a good time. And while I can understand the ones who decide not to serve out of ideological reasons, I am a bit less tolerant towards those who avoided it for more egotistical reasons... I mean, obviously there are many better things to do with your life than be stuck in the army for a few years, but to me, as long as it's still mandatory here, military service is just a thing you do, as a citizen - like paying taxes. You might not enjoy it (even though I did), but you are required to do it, and sneaking out feels kinda unfair. But it is a complicated matter, and I'm definitely not black-and-white about it.

* I do not like frosting. Not at all. The mere thought of eating something made solely of butter and sugar disgusts me - I'd much rather have my cake 'naked', or use some other thing to cover it (like whipped cream... or better, ganache). Coloured frosting is even worse. It hardly look edible, to me.
And the one thing worse than coloured frosting is fondant. Yes, you can make pretty things with it. You can also make pretty things with plastic, and it looks about the same. And while technically edible, it is mostly sugar and colouring, so again, .


Let the arguments begin!

No arguments from me!

I wouldn't want to serve in the military - especially since we no longer have a cavalry . But if it's obligatory, it should be obligatory for *everyone*.

The Dutch soldiers are actually forming unions to prevent the military from closing some bases and firing them. I wish every country would have that luxury...

As for frosting: Total sugar overload!

In my family, birthday cakes usually involve whipped cream with chocolate melted into it before whipping, or cream and berries. Plain old everyday cakes have no topping, except streusel on the ones requiring them

We're hardly going to argue with someone who knows how to use an Uzi!

Pffffft

If by 'know how to use an Uzi' you mean 'carried one around for the three extremely pointless weeks of basic training, and hated the damn thing', then sure. Otherwise... eh, I'd say you're safe.

I guess that, in a pinch, I could still remember how to strip down and re-assemble a Lee Enfield .303. It's good that my school prepared me for the revolution...although whether I'd be on the side they intended is another matter.


Thought you were smart when you took them on/
But you didn't take a peep in their artillery room

Pfft! you argue with me (ok, it's about ) and I can not only use an Uzi, but other similar things too.

I know how to use a (blunt) sword. I think I will back away slowly now.

Oh look!

*points in the other direction and makes a run for it*

Well I used to practice Tai Ch'i, so I can defend myself against very slow attackers.