Despite the quirky detail of the Syrian couple calling their daughter Angela and the heartwarming support they have received from their German helpers, this story is enraging. The system is broken.

This is such a pointless performance. Only a few hundred people got their citizenship via this rule. In Cologne applicants are currently waiting over a year for a first appointment.

Every year I love the stories of people being surprised by their Nobels. Doris Lessing was told by reporters on her way back from the supermarket and responded "oh christ"

I'd say go for it as the original Mensch did intend to cover all people and for me, at least, seeing "man" like that now distracts me, it really stands out and breaks up my reading

🙄

Oh no, this is a thing?!

This Oct, as a breast cancer survivor in treatment since 2021, I'm doing a thread on stuff I wish I'd been told.

I'll update as I go, but the first thing I'll share is every person's body & treatment is different. Some fear symptoms or side effects they might never get. Don't be afraid to fight 1/3

I've had breast cancer twice. The first time I was 29 and allowed myself to be sent away for 6 months as too young, etc. I'd never needed to mistrust a dr or be pushy in a medical setting. So my advice would be to insist on thorough investigation esp if not a "typical" patient.

Currently listening to Cards on the Table. It's good, but I'm sure I'd get more out of it if I understood the rules of bridge

Oh I've ordered the Enriquez, I hope it arrives soon!

Deutliche Zentrum-Peripherie-Unterschiede bei der OB-Wahl in Köln: In der Innenstadt gewinnt die Kandidatin der Grünen, in äußeren Stadtteilen der Kandidat der SPD. Je größer die räumliche Distanz eines Stimmbezirks zum Kölner Dom, desto stärker die SPD – je geringer, desto stärker die Grünen. 1/2

The list of things doctors never thought they'd have to say gets longer by the day

When I'm in England, I visit Collected 😉
Last time I had literally two minutes, dashed in and said, Have you got the winner of the Booker International?! Paid and dashed out again. But browsing is better!

Kommt tatsächlich auf dem Sachbearbeiter und seine Laune an dem Tag. Die meisten Bekannten, die gut deutsch konnten, mussten es nicht. (Einbürgerungstest hingegen muss jeder).

Wie viele Belege, dass die AfD verfassungsfeindlich ist, brauchen wir eigentlich noch? www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/afd-s...

Ich habe Deutsch studiert und arbeite als Übersetzerin. Nichtsdestotrotz musste ich für die Einbürgerung eine B2 Prüfung machen... was ich nun erwarte, ist von den demokratischen Parteien eine Bestätigung, dass ich keine Bürgerin zweiter Klasse bin. Bestimmt vergeblich.

"The UK isn't a 'papers please' society!"
Yes we are, but because we think we aren't, we have this absolutely crackpot system where you need to know someone in a middle-class profession to get a passport, and our voter ID list looks like this.
www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/...

Thank you!

Wow, what is that last one?

This is the language we need: unacceptable.

Not "impossible" or "unworkable" and definitely not "unlikely".

Unacceptable.

this exists it is called thinking

I have a soft spot for Martin Suter as Ein perfekter Freund was the first book I read in German purely for pleasure, not assigned for a class or anything, and I've since enjoyed several others of his. But I absolutely draw the line at his book about Bastian Schweinsteiger...