more books, Legal ages

[b.jebenstreit at biologie.uni-bielefeld.de]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Tabouli" <tabouli at u...> wrote:
> Yes, Momo is wonderful, Barbara, better than the Neverending Story,
IMO.  They did a film of Momo too, didn't they?  The idea makes me
nervous, especially after the job Hollywood did on the NS.  I will
never forgive them for the way they portrayed Falkor (he's a slender,
pearly white dragon, not a lion-faced muppet!), and chopping my
favorite scene from the book, which is the Perilin the Night
Forest/Many Coloured Death cycle.  Do you have the NS in the original
red and green printing, Barbara?  I managed to get one...



Hi Tabouli! First - I am sorry for signing with my real life name
Barbara. Of course I will react to it :-), but since there already is
a Barb and a Barbara on the parent list I should stick to my nick
Ethanol to avoid confusion.

To answer your question - yes, there is a Momo movie. And it is much
better than the Neverending story movie (I refuse to count the others
- may whatever powers that are prevent that this should happen to HP).
They had a very fitting and talented actress and they stuck to the
story without getting lost in Special effects. The book *is* better -
but if you can get a rental it is worth a try.

And yes, I had one of the green/red printings. Actually it was the
first book I ever read that was not printed in beginners
handwriting... oh, nostalgia. I watched the movie before I read the
book - which helped a six year old reading beginner to finish the
largest book she had read so far... so there is some redeeming quality
to the first movie... :-))

By the way - I remember reading a thread about legal ages in the US
and Non-Us. I think you mentioned that the age of consent is 14 in (my
native) Germany.
Well, that is not really true - though it is not all wrong. Maybe you
are interested if I elaborate?
It is a bit complicated, because Germany has (in opposition) a law
that is not based on precedence cases (like in the US) but on
paragraphes. It´s like a catalogue in which the punishment for every
misdeed is listed - ranging from a minimal to a maximal punishment.
There is no jury - only with capital crimes there are two "normal
people"=*Schoeffen* that judge together with the judge.
Children below 14 are considered to be to young to be hold responsible
before a court - though in case of a major offense they could be taken
from their parents or be required to take psychological counseling.
Children between 14 and 18 are judged according to "youth law". It is
based on the "adult law" but with less rigid punishments because
youngsters are bound to make unwise decisions and lack maturity to
reflect their actions. Are you still with me or do I bore you to tears?
18 is the year you become an adult - with all rights including
marrying, driving cars and drinking "hard alcoholics" (beer and wine
are legal to drink with 16). However some 18 year olds are not as
mature as other 16 years olds. You might have encountered such
specimens ;-). So an offender between 18 and 21 will be interrogated
by a psychologist before court who will recommend wether "youth" or
"adult" law should be applied.
So, what does that mean for the age of consense? Sexual contact is
legal if both are over 18. If one is between 16 and 18 it is legal as
long as the parents do not object. I would guess that between many and
most of the parents is "realistic" in this regard and would prefer to
insist youngster will protect themselves instead of believing that
their protest will help without court intervention. Of course there
*are* parents who try to forbid relationships - especionally for
religious reasons - but how succesfull they are... ?
If one is younger than 14 it is child molesting and punishable not
matter if there was consent or not. But if both are younger than 14 -
they can´t be hold accountable (not before the law at least - the
parents are bound to have a say!).
Now between 14 and 16 there it gets complicated... For and adult above
21 it is illegal. A teacher or social worker or such will be fried.
But if the other one is a teen and falls under youth law? The
punishment is rather mild in that instance - for example working
several hours for a social cause like a hospital. (Always assuming
that it *was* consent, of course.) But we have a saying: where nobody
blaims there is noone blaimed. With a 15 and a 17 year old the state
attorney will probably only pursue the case if the parents of the 15
year old go to the police.
Well, I hope you found that informative. In any case,
take care all of you
Ethanol (a.k.a Barbara)