Wednesday, February 2, 2011

3355...You Are An Asshole

And I don't even know you. Imagine what the people who know you say about you.

Good thing I am in Canada and not in that bastion of human rights, Germany.

In an extreme version of the swear jar, Der Spiegel reports that a regional German politician has been slapped with a fine of $2,060 or 50 days behind bars for allegedly calling an anti-immigrant author an "ass." Lefty politico Helmut Manz, 43, is said to have uttered the oath during a protest against author and former Bundesbank official Thilo Sarrazin, who has just published an incendiary book railing against Muslim immigrants.

Mr. Sarrazin heard about Mr. Manz' slander, and filed a legal complaint. Mr. Manz has appealed the decision and remains defiant. "I'm not aware of having said that. It wasn't in my notes...All racists, which therefore includes Mr. Sarrazin, are assholes." Soooooo, he didn't say it but he meant it.

Mr. Sarrazin's suit may seem frivolous, but Germans take their slander seriously. Germans actually take everything seriously, note, World War I, World War II, the Holocaust. Cursing is a prosecutable crime in the country. Even giving another driver the one-finger salute can result in fines of up to $5,500.

Plus it has been impossible to find a decent brisket there for decades.

WFDS

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