So that US oriented themes have dominated the OT doesn't surprise me terribly, especially over the past couple of months during the run-up to the presidential election.
By contrast, when the Salon was started early in the morning EU time, it was invariably dominated by EU and other non-US themes -- still is, BTW.
So that's my explanation == time zones; back in the spring of 2007, the OT was all about the French elections and French stuff (another occasion for Brit moaning:-)) Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
The OT is started late afternoon, EU time, and this is the time when US-based ETribbers drop by and we start a chat around the water cooler.
Most europeans have then finished work so you might expect them to dominate, if we're thinking about time zones.
Believe it or not it's not the only significant thing happening in the world, and, as I said, the chat often follows the US media horse-race focus - there's more to politics. Also the outcome isn't likely to fundamentally change things - cf. Nader article.
The Salon has a healthier balance because it has sections specifically for: "Europe", "world" - but often it doesn't get a lot of comment.
So that's my explanation == time zones; back in the spring of 2007, the OT was all about the French elections and French stuff (another occasion for Brit moaning:-))
IF it really was all about French elections and French stuff it would have been a rather unusual change - and living in France I wouldn't have such a problem :-)
As I said it is related to the discussion of ideology in ValentinD's diary; the fact that you see US cultural domination (widely acknowledged) as just due to phenomena like time-zones - "it's natural" - is another example of the obfuscating nature of ideology. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice.
As for the US cultural domination, I'll just say: guilty as charged. I've been living in the USA for a number of years and I've been following US politics since then. So I may have a skewed view of what the right balance "should" be on ET.
For what it's worth, I too would like to see more coverage on European issues and countries -- outside France, that is. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
