US versus Europe
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Paul Watson wrote: Well I am sure many non-German Europeans will object to your last statement... I'm half Danish, half French, and was born and lived the 18 first years of my life in Luxembourg, and attendend the European School there; That doesn't make me some european superman, but I still think I know a bit more than the average guy on european cultures. :-D Obviously a lot of what is written on the page (especially the jura-related info) applies to Germany only, but what I meant with the "The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too)." statement is that a lot of the cultural/social/lifstyle apply (with minor modifications) to a lot of countries in Europe, and describes the general European attitudes very well.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
Marc Richarme wrote: was born and lived the 18 first years of my life in Luxembourg I've always wondered about Luxembourg - what is it like as a place to live or visit? It never seems to get mentioned, so is it this nice friendly little place where other Europeans go to retire, or is it just small and annoying like France's bastard son? ;P One of these days I'm going to plan some more trips around wastern Europe. I miss all the wonderful landscapes of Germany, Austria, and (I've forgotten my geography) the wine growing region of France - amazing images that you won't find down here in Hobiton. I think I'd like to go to Luxembourg, maybe Switzerland, next.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
h.a.s: 0.0.4
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The reason teltext, ISDN, etc isn't widely available in the US because the phone and cable companies felt they couldn't make a profit off these services. If the phone and cable company is state owned profit isn't as much of an issue.
Phone & Cable services are private in most European countries too, and they do make profit of ISDN, for example (and I think it's quite successful too). The smart thing about those services is that no phone lines / cables need to be replaced to implement them, so only a tiny investment is required compared to ADSL, for example.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
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All I mean by that is, from my perspective, Europeans have never really escaped an inherently fuedalistic mindset. In other words, Marxism, Socialism and even Fascism, are variations on a basically fuedalistic theme. Instead of peasants looking to their 'lord' for their most basic needs, protection and security, you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
Interesting insight. Never thought to compare feudalism and socialism. There are obvious differences of course, but the parent->child relationship remains. 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
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All I mean by that is, from my perspective, Europeans have never really escaped an inherently fuedalistic mindset. In other words, Marxism, Socialism and even Fascism, are variations on a basically fuedalistic theme. Instead of peasants looking to their 'lord' for their most basic needs, protection and security, you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
Stan Shannon wrote: you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. IMO we look not to the government but to the Nation. Because we are the Nation, we are collectively and individually responsible, through a vertue called civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . I know it's more and more an utopia, thanks to a globalization of the jungle rules, but I still keep this vision as an ideal.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
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http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/us-d.html[^] The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too). Very interesting, IMO.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
The jobless youth in big German cities and in the eastern part of the country however often present an aggressive nationalistic attitude, to the extent of harassing, beating and even killing foreigners with the wrong skin color. This kind of violence is unheard of in the US. Eh.. What about the KKK? -- Yeeeeehaaaaawwwwd!
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Phone & Cable services are private in most European countries too, and they do make profit of ISDN, for example (and I think it's quite successful too). The smart thing about those services is that no phone lines / cables need to be replaced to implement them, so only a tiny investment is required compared to ADSL, for example.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
Really, I was under the impression that most TV and phone companies in europe were nationalized. Deutshe Telekom is a "private" company, but the goverment holds almost 3/4 of the shares.
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Stan Shannon wrote: you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. IMO we look not to the government but to the Nation. Because we are the Nation, we are collectively and individually responsible, through a vertue called civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . I know it's more and more an utopia, thanks to a globalization of the jungle rules, but I still keep this vision as an ideal.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
Kaßl wrote: civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . "Civic Duty" probably comes pretty close. 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
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The jobless youth in big German cities and in the eastern part of the country however often present an aggressive nationalistic attitude, to the extent of harassing, beating and even killing foreigners with the wrong skin color. This kind of violence is unheard of in the US. Eh.. What about the KKK? -- Yeeeeehaaaaawwwwd!
The Klan has largely been defanged in the U.S. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
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Kaßl wrote: civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . "Civic Duty" probably comes pretty close. 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
The french definition for civism is: Devotion of the citizen to his country, of the individual to the community. The term duty implies a constraint, when civism is more voluntarist.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
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The Klan has largely been defanged in the U.S. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
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The french definition for civism is: Devotion of the citizen to his country, of the individual to the community. The term duty implies a constraint, when civism is more voluntarist.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
The term however, at least as I take it, describes an obligation one is proud to uphold. It is not something someone feels negatively about. I'm sure there is a bit of difference between the two, but at the moment I can't come up with a closer word or phrase. 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