I never agreed to that ... that's another thing "agreed to" by the DC Village and the Murdoch Press Empire without my consent.
 

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

Didn't we agree that "Western" = "English speaking" anyway? France and Germany are not quite Western

I suppose there is "Western" as in the FT and then there is "Western" as when you stand at the Pointe du Raz, and the next land is America. Then France is Western Europe all right...

This would be a very uncommon definition. And I agree with BruceMcF, that this definition would be kind of neocon success.
Your diary on dkos gives a completely wrong picture about the role of Europe, as many on dkos will believe, that you include Europe in the West, especially given your general dislike of Sarko, Berlusconi, etc.
If the article is correct, the EU and the OSCE had a positive moderating role in the conflict, and are accepted by Russia as sufficiently neutral to negotiate with. If the West is only UK and US (Eastern Europe for sure has less right to call themselves 'West' than Germany, Benelux and Italy) then, as many people think the West has won the cold war, you declare western continental Europe as irrelevant on the world stage, just in a moment, where it proves greater diplomatic skill than many others.


Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den Menschen
Volker Pispers