Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

dw.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

461–470 of 799 posts

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#461

Post by jandrewrogers »

diath wrote: post #100

Why does it exclude women? War is not just physical strength, but also logistics, operating vehicles, operating drones, nursing, and so on. All tasks that women are well capable of.

Most roles in the military require ad hoc applications of brute strength to do the job competently even if it isn't per se part of the job description. This includes things like operating vehicles, desk jobs, etc.

In the military context, almost every job must be performed in the field or in the absence of (working) machinery. You still must be capable of carrying the equipment load-out for your role on your back. The inability of women as a class to do this effectively has been a longstanding issue. Everyone is at risk of being thrust into combat situations due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. The "rear echelon" can suddenly find themselves no longer in the rear.

All of which is separate from the question of the use of conscription generally.

In the US there is a separate gender-agnostic authority that allows the US to impress someone into non-military service for (IIRC) 6 months.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#462

Post by randomNumber7 »

cookiengineer wrote: post #95

Note that this law still exists because it requires a constitutional change to include women (well, or to be abandoned). A constitutional change of the Grundgesetzbuch requires a 2/3rd majority in the parliament. That almost never happens these days, especially with green/left/social party being not really united anymore in their votes and the conservatives allying themselves with the far right. The last time Germany…

> The last time Germany had that much of a majority, it was under Bundeskanzler Kohl and Schroeder if I remember correctly. So like ~25 years ago.

This is not true. After the last election the old parliament made a deal to change the grundgesetz with 2/3rd majority to allow the new parliament to take more debt.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#463

Post by pyuser583 »

dogemaster2026 wrote: post #454
voisin wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Annual budget $31.3 million (FY 2024) If it hasn’t been used in 50 years, is there some other use for the registry or the organization or why hasn’t this been cut yet?

Under U.S. federal law, men ages 18–25 must register with the Selective Service System to be eligible for most federal jobs. Federal agencies enforce this under hiring rules in 5 U.S.C. § 3328.

The wording is a bit strange - technically all men (18-25) must register. When I tried to register, I was told I couldn't because I was already registered.

The Selective Service auto-registers people from various data sources.

But this puts me in a weird spot: I've never actually registered. I am registered. But I did not register - which is the requirement.

There are Kafka-esque parts of the US government where this distinction could matter.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#464

Post by randomNumber7 »

SkiFire13 wrote: post #310
sunshine-o wrote: post #96

Those governments are totally inept. For decades they have alienated their own native population, especially men. And now they want to conscript them as their approval ratings are around 15℅. Think about it, Trump approval rating fell sharply but is still at about 40%. Merz is at 15% and most of those 15% are probably boomers in a nursing home. He is probably closer to 0% within the demographic he is trying to conscr…

> He is probably closer to 0% within the demographic he is trying to conscript. To be fair going against the demographic where you have a 0% approval rate does not lose you much.

At some point you need to be nice to your children or they'll not help you when you get old and senile.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#465

Post by vasac »

watwut wrote: post #441
lazide wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, invasive extra paperwork (enforced by criminal penalties, at least in theory) for something they say on the surface they won’t actually need. So very german (hah)

They dont need now. Germany is getting ready for being invaded by Russia, basically. They are also building mandatory military service.

Yes, the previous time they were getting ready it was because those pesky Poles being an inch away from invading the Third Reich.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#466

Post by randomNumber7 »

jltsiren wrote: post #361
ihsw wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why aren't refugees/immigrants conscripted over citizens?

Because citizenship is a commitment, not merely a set of privileges. If you obtain a citizenship (or have it imposed on you upon birth), it comes with a set of duties other residents and visitors do not have. The duty to defend your country is a traditional one. Some countries may conscript non-citizens or allow them to serve voluntarily. Often because they are more likely to use the military as an extension of forei…

Do I have the right to give my citizenship away if I don't want it anymore?

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#467

Post by beeforpork »

rustyhancock wrote: post #378
roshin wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ukraine has been violating that for young men since the start of its war.

Shockingly sexist policy. And as per usual because its harmful to men no one cares.

The constitution made it impossible to make a less sexist law, because it says that women cannot be forced to military service. It is an old document, and it is based on old role models. Modernizing the constitution would require 2/3 majority, and the government was already struggling with making a law at all.

This is an explanation, not a justification.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#468

Post by randomNumber7 »

piloto_ciego wrote: post #430

The older I get the more I can't stand "countries" as a concept. Especially this notion that somehow countries own their citizens. It's quite gross to me... Countries do not own their citizens, citizens own their countries. Countries are a technology - albeit an old and sometimes useful technology, but a technology. This is like an iPhone requiring your permission to leave it on the counter for a day. This idea that…

If you don't fight for your rights you lose them.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#469

Post by Longhanks »

chromacity wrote: post #412
bilsbie wrote: post #221

“ Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” - Universal Declaration of Human Rights https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/...

It's a meaningless, feel-good rule. Every country has countless carve-outs. To give you a trivial example: in the US, you can't get a passport if you owe more than $2,500 in child support.

Whilst I agree, to be fair, a passport is usually only needed when entering a country, not leaving one, right? Under the cited rule, the US needs to allow you to leave, not help you in entering some other country.

Re: German men 18-45 need military permit for extended stays abroad

#470

Post by everforward »

jmm5 wrote: post #457
rustyhancock wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shockingly sexist policy. And as per usual because its harmful to men no one cares.

In a scenario where you are losing a significant part of the population to war, it's better that it be men.

Only if you ignore free will. Feels unlikely that women will suddenly abandon monogamy and forced procreation à la the draft is probably very unpopular especially given that women would be a majority. Not that they’re wrong to disagree, but there are more conditions here than the biology of procreation.

The modern answer would be immigration, and that’s gender-agnostic.

Post reply on HN