Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
They want to undo the protestant reformation?
They are just a bit confused about which Martin Luther they hate.
East Germany balloon escape
191–200 of 324 posts
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#192Odd how nobody ever builds a balloon to fly towards the communist utopias.
If I were in the US I would certainly leave to a more socialist country. I could not live there. Even before Trump. However there is a spectrum between it. I don't think either extreme is great, neither American unrestricted capitalism nor full-on communism. A balance of both is needed. I was a lot happier in the 80s when Holland was a lot more socialist. Less things to worry about, a safety net, cheap housing and sc…
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Re: East Germany balloon escape
#193More interesting escapes from the DDR, this time by three brothers, who all fled separately: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethke_brothers
> The Berlin Wall fell six months after Egbert's escape.
Ironic. Still quite an adventure. Thanks for sharing!
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#194> East Germany immediately increased border security, closed all small airports close to the border, and ordered the planes kept farther inland.[6] Propane gas tanks became registered products, and large quantities of fabric suitable for balloon construction could no longer be purchased. Mail from East Germany to the two escaped families was prohibited.[12] > Erich Strelzyk learned of his brother's escape on the ZDF…
The greatest trick authoritarianism ever pulled [0] was convincing people it was competent, rational, or efficient. Putting young men into fresh uniforms to march in synchrony looks impressive, but in the background sycophancy rules while expertise is wasted, and people who could be improving harvests and preventing floods are slaving away in the "Office of Subversive Objects" trying to figure out the source of the g…
Meanwhile we put experts to work optimizing conversion and engagement metrics. A truly enlightened way of life we've built for ourselves.
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#195> East Germany immediately increased border security, closed all small airports close to the border, and ordered the planes kept farther inland.[6] Propane gas tanks became registered products, and large quantities of fabric suitable for balloon construction could no longer be purchased. Mail from East Germany to the two escaped families was prohibited.[12] > Erich Strelzyk learned of his brother's escape on the ZDF…
The GDR seems to be forgotten/misunderstood by many people. Which is a pity because it serves a warning about mass public surveillance plans that keep rearing their ugly head, even in Germany.
People go on about surveillance but it's not really the problem compared to murderous dictatorships.
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#196Re: East Germany balloon escape
#197- What capitalists did in 6 months that communists didn't manage in 50 years? - Make communism look good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_nostalgia
It was mainly the USSR's doing. China managed to switch to state capitalism. I guess we'll see how that works out for them.
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
One guy did use a plane to land in Red Square. Remember him?
Yes he was so cool. The plane is still in a museum. PS: He was dumb as hell too of course, and it was only due to incredible laxness of the air force that he was never shot down.
I'm not sure any countries really shoot down light aircraft unless it's an active war zone. They are not much of a threat and it's also hard to tell if they are there legally or not.
You're more likely to get hassled when you land like the Ethan Guo guy (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04rql923kdo)
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#199I first read about this in Reader's Digest back in the eighties.
I'm not the only one then! :-)
Re: East Germany balloon escape
#200> East Germany immediately increased border security, closed all small airports close to the border, and ordered the planes kept farther inland.[6] Propane gas tanks became registered products, and large quantities of fabric suitable for balloon construction could no longer be purchased. Mail from East Germany to the two escaped families was prohibited.[12] > Erich Strelzyk learned of his brother's escape on the ZDF…
Depends on the form of authoritarian. The two of the richest countries on a GDP PPP basis are Lichtenstein and Singapore, also some of the most free economically, yet they could probably be described as benevolent authoritarian systems. Dubai further behind, although some similar points. It seems authoritarians that know how to use their authority to force the populace to accept (some forms of) freedom can perform be…
As long as the country is very wealthy at least compared to its neighbors it might work.
Lichtenstein and Singapur found their niches, which do not scale to larger countries, Dubai was just lucky.
Happy slaves don’t dream of freedom.
I wonder what would happen to Lichtenstein if the EU would pull a Trump on them and block trade and airspace until the adjust their tax policies…
Not that this would ever happen.