So what's the EU good for? | 67 comments (67 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: So what's the EU good for? (4.00 / 5)

The eu has the potential to offer balance to a world currently dominated by the US- to act as a counterweight to McWorld.

If it will.

-cultural complexity instead of cultural conformity,

-Tolerance in values, economic organization and social organization instead of lockstep Neoliberal BS,

The Arch de Triumph sits on one end of the Avenue de la Grande Armee. At the other end, in La Defense (where Jerome hangs out these days)is another arche- the Arche
de la Fraternity. A lovely triumph of soaring architecture.
Among many marvels to do with the EU, it contains several floors in the top that are dedicated to a tableau- a discussion of Europe an entity. When I first went there, about 16 years ago, the discussion was about "exclusion". Exclusion from good drinking water. From educational opportunities, from adequate power grid structure, clean air, political freedom,etc. etc.
Maps, friends. Wonderful worldwide maps of everything- fences, water pipes, educational access, nutrition-- and all in six languages.

The next discussion was about 'The talents and conscience of Europe". Superb portrait photography and bio data on the best minds in Europe, and their contributions.

This is a European gift to the world. Already real, it can grow.

Balance. Napoleon's ego on one end, -- cooperation, synergy, and potential beyond measure on the other.

Lastly, the EU has the potential to teach- to help my country grow up.

If it will.

Capitalism searches out the darkest corners of human potential, and mainlines them.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 04:13:34 PM EST

Re: So what's the EU good for? (4.00 / 3)

All this is under attack from neoliberals, homegrown and imported. The left dropped the guard and I don't see it perking up.

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 04:46:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

And how DID this happen so fast? (none / 1)

I still have my copy of Jeremy Rifkin's The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream (published in 2004) in a position of honor on my desk, but more and more it's seeming about as relevant to current affairs as Thomas More's Utopia (published in 1516).

Truly, except for Zapatero winning the election in 2004, I can't think of anything positive (for the rest of the world at least) that's come out of Europe this century.

by Matt in NYC on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:07:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (none / 1)

Monty Python!

The Mighty Boosh!

Olivetti typewriters!

Microwave technology!

Cambridge amps!

eltax speakers!

My sofa and my armchair!

The table I'm sitting at and the chair I'm sitting on!

Einstein!

John Cale!

Medecins Sans Frontiers! (Apologies for my lack of accents.)

Médecins Sans Frontières was created in 1971 by a small group of French doctors, as an aftermath of the Biafra secession. The organization is known in most of the world by its French name or simply as MSF, but in the United States the name Doctors Without Borders is often used instead.

MSF is governed by an international board of directors located in Geneva, Switzerland, and organized into 20 sections. Annually, about 3,000 doctors, nurses, midwives and logisticians are recruited to run projects,[1] but 1,000 permanently employed staff work to recruit volunteers and handle finances and media relations. Private donors provide about 80% of the organization's funding, while governmental and corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately USD 400 million.[2]

The organization actively provides health care and medical training to populations in more than 70 countries, and frequently insists on political responsibility in conflict zones such as Chechnya and Kosovo. Only once in its history, during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, has the organization called for a military intervention.

MSF received the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its members' continuous effort to provide medical care in acute crises, as well as raising international awareness of potential humanitarian disasters. Dr. James Orbinski, who was the president of the organization at the time, accepted the prize on behalf of MSF. Prior to this, MSF also received the 1996 Seoul Peace Prize. [1] The current president of MSF is Christophe Fournier, M.D..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9decins_Sans_Fronti%C3%A8res

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:39:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (4.00 / 2)

Sorry, they were all last century. This century, I suppose there's some mobile phone technology out of Finland, lossa high-tech out of Germany. I assume the europeans are leaders in wind-energy tech. (?), there's wave-energy tech being developed off the coast of Scotland....

It's just one big planet! If you mean politically, I'd be interested to know which politicians in the period 2000-2007 have demonstrated

a) An understanding of the real issues facing those they represent (in their skin I mean)

b) The abilities necessary to mediate effectively on behalf of those humans

c) Bring the area they represent into greater prosperity, happiness, freedom from illness, destitution, hunger, alienation, etc.... (the global happiness quotient)

I think the last winner was Norway, closely followed by Iceland... Somewhere up north where it's cold and people seem to have learned to live together without resorting to organised violence (though someone's recent diaries and the situation in Denmark....ach....so much world and so much going on!)

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:44:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (none / 1)

And apologies for any snarkiness of tone, you just sent my mind a-reeling, thinking yes, what have the europeans given the world recently? Lossa bad, yes, lossa bad all over coming from every angle. But on the positive side, I wondered....and those are my first impressions.

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:45:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (none / 1)

And I think I should add, for the sake of truth, I mean because it suddenly occured to me that the following did, indeed come out of the 21st Century:

The Mighty Boosh!

(My) Cambridge amp!

(My) eltax speakers!

(My sofa and my armchair may have been on the cusp, but I think they're 21st Century--just.)

(And John Cale is, of course, still the re-inventive chap he ever was, so any of his works from after 1999 count, I think.)

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:49:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (none / 1)

From the medecins sans frontiers site:

Bangkok/New York/Geneva - The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today denounced Abbott Laboratories' decision not to market its new medicines in Thailand.

The Chicago-based multinational pharmaceutical company has cited Thailand's use of compulsory licenses as a reason for taking the drastic measures. MSF notes that the use of compulsory licenses to improve access to essential medicines is consistent with international laws, and is concerned that patients will bear the brunt of Abbott's harsh decision.

Among the drugs the company is refusing to sell in Thailand is the new, heat-stable version of the medicine lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), marketed by Abbott as Kaletra. The drug is a vital component of treatment for a growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS who no longer respond to their first set of medications.

In the US, Abbott no longer sells the old version of the drug, which requires refrigeration. The company will continue to sell it in Thailand, though, where tropical temperatures make it highly impractical to use.

"Our patients in Thailand, who still use the old version of the medicine, have been waiting for this new version for a very long time," said Dr. David Wilson, of MSF in Thailand. "The drug was registered in the US in October 2005, but still cannot be used in Thailand and many other countries where it is desperately needed. Refusing to sell the drug here is a major betrayal to patients."

MSF currently provides treatment to more than 80,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in over 30 countries. In one MSF project in Khayelitsha, South Africa, 20 per cent of patients needed to be switched to a second-line regimen after being on treatment for five years. While the needs for second-line regimens are likely to increase in the coming years, medicines used for second-line therapy are mostly unavailable or unaffordable in developing countries.

These are our problems.

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Mar 21st, 2007 at 08:55:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (4.00 / 2)

All that stuff is so last-century, rg.

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 at 02:00:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: And how DID this happen so fast? (4.00 / 2)

I think most people, Rifkin included, misunderestimated the effect that the end of the Cold War, the "end of history", the neoliberal consensus, globalisation and postmodern politics would have on Europe. Rifkin risks becoming obsolete and starts to sound quaint not because of what happened since his book was published but because of what happened over the last 15 years, which started to manifest itself only recently.

Maybe the Bush regime and the post-9/11 world order have acted as catalysts. They certainly catalysed Blair going insane and Aznar showing his true face, as well as emboldening the neoliberal spin machine which now has global reach.

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 at 02:14:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

So what's the EU good for? | 67 comments (67 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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