Europe must stand together....

Again my good american friends Dea and Masca have sent me an article from the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/opinion/13sat2.html?th&emc=th

And this my answer:

Yes absolutely true. But European unity is more likely then American authority. (Yes of course it had to rime)
I think this is a bit of short term thinking. Russians do have the power right now because of their resources, but in the long term this is another gain for the alternative energy block. Just as in the 70's when the oil producing countries kept putting prices up, the Europeans will put even more resources into becoming even more independent from Oil. This is some of the explanation that we are not as much in the shit right now as the US.

I love it when American media writes about how Europe must stand together. For the last 8 years yes Europe has shown weaknesses in the union, but they have also shown that they unlike the Bush administration try to play by the rule book.
I think it is fair to say that the state of democracy is in far better shape on the east side of the Atlantic, then in its modern day birth-place. Democracy is not easy as good old Churchill all made us aware of, and it does allow for criticism and divergent opinions.
My answer to this article, yes Europe has to stand together and find a way to negotiate with Russia (instead of heading over the Bering straight and going to war with them (right Mrs. Palin?)). In the meanwhile if America could sweep up the pieces of glass and fix the window that they smashed when they through out the rulebook on sovereign states and your right to invade them, us Europeans will take care of our business.

Please leave a comment - But mostly about Al Gore

So is this going to be Jan's contribution to a discussion on global warming...
Well I will have to disappoint and say no, not today, I haven't even seen an inconvenient truth (my mistake I know).
No what I want to launch on this page is the speculations on who Obama is going to choose as his potential Vice-president. Why do you ask? Well the other day I was watching Al Gore do a speech on the environment. Except it didn't sound like his usual ranting about the environment (admirable as it may be), this time he was launching a vision on how he thought the United States could pull itself out of the energy crisis. It involved a whole host of renewable solutions that especially my friends at Vestas will enjoy.
While watching this it hit me...Al Gore as Vice President? Before you say that this is ludicrous, let me present my points why...and then I'll shoot myself down afterwards...
Gore has the experience that Obama doesn’t.
Gore was the guy who actually won the presidency, but lost in court. A lot of Americans that I talk to find this incredibly shameful and may give Al some additional votes. (I can pretty much guarantee you that the districts that got cheated in Florida will turn up…)
Gore is from the south. Yes he did lose his own state in the elections, but I don’t see that many other Southern candidates. ( I think Edwards is too young and I think Richardson is too Mexican).
A lot of American’s miss Bill and when they can’t have his wife, maybe his VP will suffice…

So what is countering my arguments? I talked it over with my friends Caroline and Gene who are what I would call my Washington insiders (don’t know if they would agree).
They argued that being VP is too restrictive for Al and that he will rather be an envoy instead of be the head of a global organisation. Gene and Caroline have met Al, so they know him a lot better than I do, but what if Obama actually did the same as Bush did (oh my good please no…I can hear you thinking, but bear with me)?
So what the ape boy do that we can use. Well he has (or was forced to, I think more likely) let the Vice president have an influential role in his administration.
No one can deny that Dick has been among the most powerful VP’s in the history of the presidency.
Could Obama do the same? I mean the mess that the future American president face is daunting and extra experienced hands may be a good thing to have.

So what do you think Al as Obama’s pal…

P.S. Elke’s friend Reinhard told me that people who I know were actually reading my blog. I had no idea. Actually I have no idea who visits my site. So if you enjoy it and come by often or just once, please leave a little note as it motivates me a lot…

Deteriation of the European Middle Class?

I recently read an article that I got from a friend in the US (thank you Masca).

This is my response to it:

Well I guess that the simplistic answer would be thank you America…

So what do I think?

Well I think we are dealing with several factors.

1. All of the countries described in the article are countries that have failed to create a flexible and a higher educated workforce. If you look at what happened in the grandparents generation, most of that generation gained access to education and new work possibilities. And then the governments thought they had solved the problem, until former third world countries (read southeast asia) caught up with the level of education. On top of that those countries aren’t bogged down by rules such as the 35 hour work week and the impossibility of firing people (France and Germany). These factors have created none flexible workforces who are forced to stay in jobs that are disappearing or that they are not productive in (read they are bored…) My personal opinion is that Germany would have dealt with it had they not had to integrate Eastern Germany and carry the burden of the European union on their shoulders. In Frances case, it’s a blend of belief that they have the right system (some would call it arrogance) and that the top of the country really don’t give a shit. The Italian leaders? They really think that Italy can survive on selling the Italian way of life. And of they don’t give a katso either . I don’t know about Spain, but I think they are suffering because ironically their economy has now gotten so strong that the wages in Spain have gone up so they are losing their status of being the low cost production site of Europe. In short all of these countries need to relax labor laws, while at the same time providing social security and free education (yes the bill is steep). Or just wait it out till Chinese wages catch up with European one (which will take much shorter time then you think).

2. People have gotten used to other standards, the middle class now has 2 cars? (see article) What happened to people pilling on the bus, or driving your spouse to work and so on. Beyond this there is all the other stuff a normal family should have, television in every room, each child there own room and so fourth. Yes cost of fuel has gone up, but that’s because demand has gone up. Cost of food, is now, thanks to bio diesel, linked to fuel cost, which leads us back to the two cars. Second generation bio diesel is still far away, so I guess we will have to do it the Brazilian way and rely on the sugar (which is making all of us fat any way (which again raises fuel costs), so lets BURN it.

3. Thankfully people are generally eating better, more diverse and they want to eat things out of season, strawberries in January? This also increases the costs.

But yes going into Iraq has basicly hit the whole western world, so thank you George and please do sprint to the finish. I’ll give you a prize if you quit before July….

Where are the issues?

One of my rituals when I take a plane is going to the news stand and pick up Newsweek and if I'm in for a long flight the Economist. On my latest flight I dug into a Newsweek report on the Obama - Hillary battle that included a ten page collection of articles written by women on who they supported and why. It was interesting reading, some of the accounts being very personal tales of overcoming the same obstacles that both candidates have faced on their way to the forefront of the democrat party elections. When I finished reading I sat back and realised that not one of the articles had mentioned what the political programs of either of the candidates were. It was all about race, sex and experience. I started looking at other reports from the campaign and the trend was the same.
So why does this trouble me?
I understand that this election represents a breakthrough in womens possibilities as states"men" and that a minority candidate generates hope for the many in the minority communities. But I think that this categorisation of people and being for an against them because of their sex or race is at the heart of the problem.
The fixation on who the people are, instead of what their policies will be, reduces the electoral process to the election of caricatures.
If anybody thinks that this is a very American tendency, I can tell you that having followed the preseidential elections in Paris the trend was much the same between mr. Sarkozy and mme. Royale.
I wonder why journalists are satisfied to reduce their articles and stories to these caricatures. Is it easier to write about, are we the public so none discriminative or is it because the politicians have so little to say these days, that the only meat on the story are these caricatures?

THIS COUNTRY IS THE MOST DISFUNCTIONAL PLACE I HAVE EVER LIVED IN

Sorry for this rather angry title, but this is how I feel right now. I've recently moved to the UK and I have to say I am less then impressed. NOTHING works here, businesses cheat you, public transport is a joke, everything takes for ever and if anything needs to get done you have to be the biggest asshole around. Not my idea of a great place.
If you need examples: It took BT 1 and half month to activate a telephone line, something that they charge 120 pounds to do, it has taken our stupid landlord the same time to give us a key that he promised (actually we still haven't recieved it), it cost me 1/3 of a ticket to Copenhagen, to take the crap trains that are always late from Reading to London. It takes the bus 1 hour to go 15 km in the morning. Roads are clogged after 7.30 in the morning. The building quality is a joke, with the wind coming through the windows like they were open, and isolation is about as good as it would be in a shanty town in Johannesburg. JESUS, please give me one thing that works in this symbol of capitalism...
I need it now....cause I really am a positive person....