Tuesday, October 29, 2002
A European Costitution Still it’s an exciting time to be European if you are into this sort of things, it doesn’t happen often that countries decide to reshape themselves peacefully into a new entity. I actually think this might be an historical first. I hope that the result of this exercise will not be just rhetorical but a functional Constitution able to embody the spirit of Europe in the same way that the beautiful American work of Madison and co. incarnates the American one. To do so, the new Constitution must be able to rise above the pork and barrel political debate that is the current European standard. Let’s hope these founding fathers will be up to the challenge. The present bunch of political leaders (with few exception) has spectacularly failed to connect with the people of Europe. A well written, clear and concise Constitution could be a turning point for European fortunes. I, for one, will keep my finger crossed.
Europe is deciding on the shape of things to come
Away from the limelight and the front page news, Europe is silently working at re-shaping itself. The humbly named European Convention headed by former French president Giscard D’estaing is currently taking a shot at writing a European Constitution. It is a magnificent and daunting task, in a sense more complex than the one that confronted the American founding fathers more than two centuries ago. Europe is not an homogenous country, her current 300 plus million inhabitants, soon due to expand to 400, speak twenty (or more) different languages, have strong traditions, different government systems and cultures, to say nothing of that annoying habit of thinking themselves as French, German, English, Italian etc. first and European (a distant) second.
posted by Mooraq at 6:00 PM
Threat of the West Nile An epidemic of West Nile broke out in New York in 1999 and spread quickly through the United States, killing hundreds of people and thousands of animals. I was in Manhattan at the time and you couldn't find a mosquito repellent for all the money in the world, although the panic has somewhat subsided since then. Britain's very limited mosquito population may contain the impact of the virus in this country. Thanks goodness, because there is no specific treatment for it.
A virus which killed hundreds of people in the US may have reached the United Kingdom
A deadly virus may have come to Britain. Scientists think that the West Nile virus, which kills animals and can prove fatal to man, may have reached the country. But the culprit is hardly a terrorist organisation. The virus is carried by birds and transmitted by mosquitoes, which suck it with the blood of infected birds and pass it on to humans and livestock alike as they bite them. Elderly people, or those who suffer from a serious illness, are at risk from the disease, which causes brain inflammation and shows similar symptoms to viral meningitis.
posted by Carla Passino at 9:10 AM
Obrigado, Brasil Hats off to Lula, and good luck. P.S.: Long time no see - in the literal sense of the word. I have had to undergo a small eye operation and could not see much for a while, let alone post to a weblog. But I'm back now, and raring to go, so expect many more postings. Thanks to those of you who have kept visiting, and to Mooraq for manning the fort on his own.
Never underestimate the determination of the boisterous man
So Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva finally made it and is now Brazil's new President. Commentators have put his victory down to growing anti-American feelings, anti-capitalism, or both. But I think none does any justice to the man himself. Lula won also because, or perhaps especially because, he didn't give in when he lost in the past. He believed in the presidency, wanted the presidency and persevered till he got it. He willed it, always willed it and very strongly willed it. Why, this reminds me of....the American dream.
posted by Carla Passino at 8:25 AM
 |
|