'OLD EUROPE' -- OR 'OLD AMERICA'?

KaRl

"But whatever we may think about French and German caution (or limp-wristedness) in opposing a rush to war in Iraq, the interesting question is, was Rumsfeld right?[^]"

Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop

Paul Watson

KaЯl wrote: "But whatever we may think about French and German caution (or limp-wristedness) in opposing a rush to war in Iraq, the interesting question is, was Rumsfeld right?[^]" Cool site. Like the simplicity and directness of it. Easy to read. * Indeed I am ignoring political discussions. Will wait for that first bomb to drop before I get back into talking about stuff I know nothing about ;)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: I don't know much about Artificial Intelligence, but I've seen a lot of Natural Stupidity in the corporate world...

KaRl

Cool layout indeed. But this article is not about a potential war, it's not even about Iraq! However, I now better understand your comments about the graphical aspects, and your position on the subject. So, rendezvous on saturday!

Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop

brianwelsch

Well done. Thanks for the link. :) BW "We get general information and specific information, but none of the specific information talks about time, place or methods or means..." - Tom Ridge - US Secretary of Homeland Security

Roger Wright

Excellent article, and plenty of food for thought there...:-D It is ok for women not to like sports, so long as they nod in the right places and bring beers at the right times.
Paul Watson, on Sports - 2/10/2003

Chris Austin

A very good article. I will have to add this site to the read list. Thanks for the link KaЯl. "Veni, Vidi, Booyah!" - Ceasar

David Wulff

I was trying to put my finger on why I liked the layout so much, and then it struck me out of the blue. Bloody chickens. (I've been reading The Far Side Gallery 5, Larson, today (The Chickens are Restless and Cows of Our Planet), so forgive the animal references that will ensue over the coming hours.) Ok, so the real reason was because it had no ads flashing at me while I read it. It actually took me quite a while to register that was why it looked so clean; it's so rare to see such a thing nowadays.

David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk

Brit

I don't altogether disagree with what was said, but the assumptions of the article are a bit flawed. A few notes: In fact, a more convincing case might be made that France and Germany actually represent the ''New Europe'' or even ''the coming world.'' Think about it. These two European powers have put five centuries of wars behind them, including two devastating world wars, to form a new union with shared currency and desires to forge a broad common foreign policy. Such a step is revolutionary among ancient nation-state rivals with quite different cultures. At the dawn of the world, people looked around and discovered people similar to them and people different from them. They tended to form alliances with the people most similar with them because they often had a common goal, whereas the people different from them worked against their common interest. During pre-history, the people who were different from them were the people in the next town. The people similar to them were people in their own town. As mobility and communication increased, they discovered that the people in the next town were actually quite similar to themselves when compared to the much larger array of people that they were coming in contact with. So, they formed alliances with the people in the next town against people in the next providence. This trend continued up until today, when people (like the French and Germans) find that they are much more similar to each other than say, the Germans/French are to the Chinese or Africans or Americans. It's hardly a "new" phenomena. It's the same old forces that have shaped alliances from the beginning of time. This European Union is a remarkable experiment -- the first time in history when states have been willing to give up real hunks of their own national sovereignty in order to join a new civilizational project. Not really something new. They are banding together to serve a common interest. If the rest of the world disappeared tomorrow, the EU would fall apart into several disjoint alliances - each defending their own common interests against the other. Now, this Pax Americana may have many positive as well as negative features, but its foundation based on monopolization of power rather than consent can hardly be described as the ''New World.'' Power, and not international law, is very much the basis of ''Old Power'' and the ''Old Order'' down through the ages. While this appeal to "international law" (which everyone will joyfully follow) is a bi