What difference will the EP Elections make for you? | 21 comments (21 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: What difference will the EP Elections make for (4.00 / 2)

Among supporters, is there ambivalence to the whole EU idea? (Assuming there is no such uncertainty among euro-skeptics.) Is it just the end of the EU honeymoon of the 90's? Is there a lack of mesmerizing political talent in EU politics? Are people presently focused more on pocketbook issues with the economy the way it is?

Our last presidential election really meant a lot to many of us here. Obama could not have been elected had it not been for the anger over Bush's War, and the lies his administration told to ignite it. I haven't seen anything like this since Nixon was forced out of office in the 70's.

I don't even know if the European Parliament (any such institution is one I'm all for, btw) has enough juice to conduct policies that could get Europeans up in arms. That could be another factor. Is the EP merely a debating society?

<----- snip

As for WordPress, I like it. After trying two other blogging apps (drupal and typepad), I set up my own installation as well as took advantage of the free WordPress.com installation for another which I use as a backup. Traffic at both blogs is extremely modest, but has been picking up in the past month.

One caveat: I never use the Visual editor. I know html and css so that's ok by me as I get to overcome some of the formating quirks that different WordPress themes can throw at you. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with my combination of WordPress and Imageshack. The last time, but one, that I upgraded, I wound up having to uninstall and reinstall. I never lost any of my posts, but setting up categories and my blogroll was a pain in the ass. I had set up a fairly extensive hierarchy and had lots of links prior to that upgrade, but even that has been fixed. Now there's a one-button click that does all the upgrade for you automatically. The open source crowd that put together WordPress has and continues to do a fine job.

Give it time.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire

by papicek (papi_cek_at_hotmail_dot_com) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 01:21:17 AM EST

Re: What difference will the EP Elections make for (4.00 / 2)

I think the WordPress issue may simply be a case of insufficient bandwidth/server capacity - and not a software issue, but I need to talk to the thinkaboutit techy to conform that.

As for the EU, I think the biggest issue is that the postwar generation who appreciate what the EU has achieved in terms of peace and prosperity (and the contrast with what went before) have now passed on and their children take the good the EU has done for granted and focus on the bad bits - ably abetted by a eurosceptic dominated media (at least in anglo-phone countries).

Also the early idealism has been replaced by a "what's in it for us" attitude which is naturally frustrated when the interaction of 27 different national interests and numerous commercial and advocacy interests results in outcomes not to their liking. So we have a permanent whinge fest where every complains about not getting everything they want.

Considering the above, the EU works remarkably well really...

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 06:54:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What difference will the EP Elections make for (4.00 / 2)

Are there really 27 separate national interests? Or maybe 4 (Protestant Europe, Catholic Europe, ex Communist countries, and the English speaking countries)? I've a theory that national identity is mostly negatively defined by "who you are not." Muslims are not westerners, but they've been defined as being Islamic (by westerners), so witness the Islamic "flowering." We see today. What that means in terms of values is what counters everything the west is accused of being.

Just a thought.

If I'm not mistaken, the EU really hasn't experienced this kind of bloc formation (though from what I'm reading, it exists). So the lack of drama and interest might be a blessing.

<------

As for the bandwidth issue, it might be a database issue as well. My installation relies on a MySQL database, which was free as well. As far as I know, only Oracle and PostGre are databases which pass the ACID test, and can handle large amounts of data and transactions. PostGre is free, but requires a Unix/Linux server. I've taken to writing my posts in a text file and dropping it into WordPress to preview. But I had screen issues which required this. Works fine for me, I have no plans to experiment with anymore blog apps.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire

by papicek (papi_cek_at_hotmail_dot_com) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 10:08:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What difference will the EP Elections make for (4.00 / 2)

As the EU is composed of 27 sovereign states, what divergent interests there are are articulated though that structure - primarily through the Council but also through nationally based EP caucuses.

There are no structures to articulate any divergent interests that may exist between North/South, East/West, Protestant/Catholics although states can of course form alliances on an ad hoc basis - typically on a regional basis but their can also be regional rivalries and divergent interests.

Thus countries with a strong agriculture sector may ally in support of the CAP, countries with conservative Governments or pro-US policies/cultures may ally on certain issues. Social conservatives may ally via the Churches, but they really have very little direct power or influence.

One of the reasons Libertas is interesting is that it may be an alliance of pro-business/nationalist and social conservatives - all of whom want the EU to keep out of their free market business affairs/national affairs and to minimise social/secular influences on their state/religious politics.

I agree that sometimes boring politics can be a blessing...

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 10:30:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What difference will the EP Elections make for you? | 21 comments (21 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Top Diaries

Easter Grift

China Plans: Energy in the 15th Five Year Plan

A Deadline is a Deadline

But First . . .

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - April 2026

City Agriculture - March 22, 2026

Recent Diaries

A Murderer At Large, the World Sits Back and Watches

Easter Grift

Insanity

China Plans: Energy in the 15th Five Year Plan

A Deadline is a Deadline

Trump: AMALEK, Total Annihilation of Persia

A Revolt: With Francis a New Beginning?

But First . . .

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - April 2026

City Agriculture - March 22, 2026

Obnoxious

Cowardice and Treachery Combined: Spells TERROR

Occasional Series