That's certainly not true in all European countries. In Switzerland, for example, you get 70% (80 for very low salaries) of your old salary for 1.5 years (2 years if you're over 50). After that, if you still don't have a job, you're on your own (if you're broke, you can apply for social welfare).

That! Monkey Island was all about the atmosphere. It brought the caribbean to my living room.

"By the standards of Mathematica or Wolfram|Alpha, the 1961 integration program was very primitive"

That is indeed quite distasteful.

Distasteful? He is saying that the Minsky's work is a direct ancestor to his own. If you read the rest of that paragraph he is praising and thanking Minsky for the foundation he laid.

Yeah, he says that – between the lines. He also never misses an opportunity to mention how brilliant he is and how his Wolfram products are the greatest tools in the world.