Random Fate

A day-trip to Lucerne, Switzerland

Yesterday I went to Lucerne, Switzerland. I did the tourist thing and took photos, a few of which are below. It was cloudy for most of the day, which provides a good light for photos in cases where you want to avoid high contrast, but it keeps the colors from being as vivid as they are in life. I have many other photos I may touch up a bit before posting them.

Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger image.

Here was my first view of the center of town. The specks in the sky are not a defect of the camera, they are birds:

And here is looking in the other direction down the river, taken from the bridge that can be seen in the first photo:

The prominent building here that looks like a church may not be one. A plaque on the side (assuming my interpretation of the German is even close) says it is a school:

Many buildings had painted facades. This one has both German and French written on it:

This building was a little more flamboyant:

Despite being historically neutral, Switzerland does have a military history. One of the main sources of income for Lucerne from the 15th to at least the 18th century were from the "Swiss Guard" mercenaries they supplied for wars throughout Europe. Incidentally, these mercenaries were not volunteers. The Swiss Guards at the Vatican are a modern vestige of that martial past.

Another reminder of that past is in the remnants of the wall that protected Lucerne. Here is a tower in that wall, on the side that faces the city. I do not know if the clock was originally installed when the tower was built:

A view along the wall from inside one of the towers:

Here is how the wall descends down to the river as viewed from the last tower before the one at the riverside:

And here is how the town the wall was built to defend looks from the same tower:

There are two museums in Lucerne that have fairly extensive collections of works by Picasso. I was able to see them, but as is usual and expected in museums, photos were not allowed. We had some other, more "interesting" experiences in museums there that I'll write about later, along with some other observations and possibly putting up a few more photos, after I clean them up a bit.

Technorati Tags: letters from Europe, Lucerne, photos, Switzerland

Lance Armstrong gains his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory

PARIS, France - Lance Armstrong completed his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory today, and a large contingent of Americans were in Paris to greet him.

Always, when I visit Paris, I hear more American English than anywhere else in Europe, but today as I walked along the Champs Elysee I heard more American accents than I did all others added together.

American flags were much in evidence, if not always treated with respect:

And then, there are idiots who show less understanding of what the flag represents than those who choose to burn it in protest:

The Australians, ironically enough known for a devil-may-care attitude, were much more dignified with their flag:

While the Dutch were feeling rather orange, but happy (this and all following photos have larger images you can see by clicking on the thumbnail image):

The crowds along the Champs Elysee were too thick, so I chose to walk to the garden of the Tuilleries, where I managed to find a forgotten corner across from the north-west most extent of the Louvre. When I arrived, there were only a few people there, but eventually, others realized it was one of the few spaces open on the route in Paris where they ride by eight times to finish the final stage, so it was not long before I was surrounded by people.

One of the features of the Tour de France is the caravan of sponsors that goes by before the riders. This is a major advertising venue for many of these companies, and they have some interesting vehicles in the caravan.

First, though, the official vehicles of the Tour:

Then some of the more unusual entries. The rain made a duck-mobile seem appropriate:

But the pigs were not flying:

I'm not sure exactly what the squirrel was trying to do with the flags here:

What was most interesting to me were that the cars that were giant watches (sorry, no photo) had the correct time on the four foot diameter watch face. I guess they proved their point about keeping good time.

Finally, the riders came through. I was unable to get any good photos on the first pass, but I was able to get a photo of Lance Armstrong on the second pass:

He was not in the lead, and he was quickly followed by the rest of the riders:

By the next pass, they had picked up their pace, and the sprinters were out front:

The speed is apparent in the blurring of the riders, including Lance Armstrong:

On the next pass, I took a movie to give a sense of how fast the pace had quickened, the entire movie is less than 30 seconds long and they all pass in less than that time (click on the thumbnail below, there is sound with the movie):

It is difficult to convey how fast they move, and it is amazing that after 21 stages with only a few rest days they can still push the pace. It takes an outstanding athlete to even finish a Tour de France, and the accomplishment of Lance Armstrong in winning seven consecutive Tours is almost beyond imagination.

It was not beyond the imagination of Lance Armstrong, however.

Technorati Tags: bicycling, letters from Europe, sports, Tour de France

Bastille Day

Bastille Day is a national holiday in France, the fête nationale as the Fourth of July is to us. In an eerie parallel, they call it the Fourteenth of July instead of Bastille Day as we term that day in the US, similar to what we call our national holiday, the Fourth of July.

We of the US should remember this day as well, but for reasons different than those of the French.

Both the Fourth of July and the Fourteenth of July celebrate revolutions, but it is rarely recalled how different are the paths that the two revolutions traveled.

The American Revolution, while marked by a war between organized armies, was remarkably violence free for a civil war, which it indeed was, with Loyalists to the British Crown present throughout the thirteen colonies that were rebelling against what was admittedly their legally constituted system of government.

There were comparatively few incidents of fratricide within the colonies, despite the true rebellion that was underway.

By contrast, the self-immolation practiced by the French in their revolution as it degenerated from the high ideals expressed in 1789 to the reckless use of the guillotine to eliminate political opponents in 1793 show the path that could have been taken in America but was avoided by a combination of incredible luck and good leadership that almost begs for a belief in divine intervention.

In a symmetry that is common in Physics but rare in human history, the American Revolution was financed by the ancien régime in France, and the cost in no small part helped in prompting the calling of the Estates-General of 1789, which resulted in a self-declared National Assembly, the first step of defiance of absolute monarchy that was the foundation of the French Revolution.

For better or worse, whether we like it or not, the history of modern France and the United States are intertwined in ways that resonate starting in the late 18th century and continue down to the present.

And a clue for those who like to cry about how Christians are discriminated against in the United States now, examine the history of DeChristianization that was an official policy in the French Revolution. I saw some of the results of this policy when I toured the Palais de Papes in Avignon, where priceless artwork was destroyed in the heat of anti-Christian revolutionary fervor.

When was the last time the US Congress passed a law saying that all Christian clergy were subordinate to the US Government?

Yes, cries of oppression that have no foundation, especially when compared with the real persecution present in the world, are a peeve of mine...

Regardless, there are many lessons that we Americans can learn from the divergent paths of the French and American Revolutions, and we forget at our peril the excesses of political passions that we managed to avoid, as evidenced by our own, fratricidal Civil War.

It is not inevitable that history repeats, only if we are willfully blind to the lessons we can draw, which we all too often are.

Technorati Tags: commentary, history, letters from Europe

A day in the park in the heart of Grenoble

No, I'm not pretending I'm a great film maker, nor is the quality of the movies my digital camera makes that impressive, but here's a 30 second AVI of the day in the park next to my apartment that I was describing before, the sound you hear is of a group performing African-based music (a change from the Mexican music I heard earlier in the day):

Click on the image to get to the movie.

Technorati Tags: letters from Europe, photos

More photos from Prague

I promised more photos from Prague, here are a few. As always, click on the images below for a larger photo. More are on the way.

The earlier photos are here:

Inside Saint Vitius cathedral

Memorial to all those whose lives were ruined or lost because of Communism

First, for those who forget, Budweiser is not an American name, and the Budweiser beer in Prague is much, MUCH better than the beer sold beneath that name in the US.

Next, some skyline photos:

A view from a church tower of a famous bridge (the name of which I forget, I'll look it up...), which you can see is completely packed with people:

A view across the river to what I believe is the Prague Opera House:

And finally, some graffiti making a pointed political statement, written on the wall of a School for the Graphic Arts (there's a pun in there, somewhere):

More to come, along with photos from Paris.

Technorati Tags: letters from Europe, photos

Another photo from Prague...

...but not as beautiful as the cathedral photo.

This one is of the memorial to the victims of the communist regime imposed after World War II (click on any of the images to see a larger photo):

Another part of the memorial is this (I did not reduce the image size, and I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, the only way I could take it was from above to avoid a bad shadow, so the proportion is awkward):

The dedication was off to the side (again, I did not reduce the image size, it should be read clearly):

More to come soon, but it is important to note they have memorialized those who not only died, but whose lives were ruined by the regime imposed by the Soviet Union.

Technorati Tags: photos

A photo from Prague

I haven't yet written of my visit to Prague and the impressions it made upon me. I hope to do so soon.

Until then, enjoy this photo of the inside of the Saint Vitius Cathedral. I've discovered that the photos of cathedrals never capture the true open feeling that one has inside them, despite the massive amounts of stone surrounding the interiors.

As always, click for a larger photo. If you want an even larger version, email me.

Technorati Tags: photos

France voted "Non!" on Europe? Not really...

Paris and Grenoble, FRANCE - The "Non!" vote has carried the day, in no uncertain terms. However, it is important to remember the wise words of an American politician, the equivalent of which I have yet to encounter here in France:

All politics is local.
   -Senator Thomas P."Tip" O'Neill

I visited Paris the weekend before the election, and while I walked about town I looked to see any signs of advocacy for either a "Oui" or a "Non" vote. The "Non" was easily found on the public boards that are placed in prominent pedestrian areas here in France for any election. The "Oui" posters were significantly harder to find, in both Paris the weekend before the election, and in Grenoble for the past several weeks.

In the end, here are samples of the only "Oui" posters I was able to find (click any image to get a larger picture):

In Grenoble, only this:

In Paris, these:

The lack of "Oui" posters was surprising in this vibrant, combative, discursive political environment and indicated the true depth of uncertainty involved.

There are many here in France who say that the goal of President Jacques Chirac was to break the power of the Socialists and other left parties such as the Greens (in the second Paris poster image above) to preserve his own power. Unfortunately for him, he appears to have miscalculated regarding his ability to get a "Oui" or "Yes" vote from the populace at large. The far left has indeed lost power, but apparently so has President Chirac.

However, it is important to remember, not everything is always as it seems. As was once said in a song:

When the world falls apart
Some things stay in place
   -Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin

In the end, what does this mean to President Chirac, and to the idea of a closer European Union?

For Chirac, it is a decisive rejection of the results of his recent policies.

This means nothing more than the recent low polling numbers for President George W. Bush in the United States, poll numbers which in the US are driven more by high prices for gasoline than by any more fundamental dissatisfaction.

In France, they are driven by the apparent turning away from what is regarded as the "French socialism" of long term unemployment benefits and comparatively high retirement income.

To put it in simple, straightforward terms, the population of France is simply afraid. Afraid of two things: first, of losing the wonderful social benefits that have recently been cut because of fiscal constraints, retirement benefits, unemployment benefits, and medical benefits, all provided by the French government as part of the "French socialism" that was until recently regarded as such a success here in France.

The second fear? The fear of job losses to the new nations recently accepted into the European Union from the former Warsaw Pact. I can speak from personal experience in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, prices there are MUCH cheaper, and I presume the labor and other expenses are as well. When there is a cheaper alternative within the EU, why choose France?

Not an unreasonable question, nor an unreasonable fear of the answer.

All politics is local.

Europe did not lose in this election, President Chirac and his policies aimed at making France more competitive at the expense of the French socialism lost the election.

Chirac could have taken the decision to the French legislature for a guaranteed passage, as was done in Germany, but he chose the more risky path to reduce the power of the far left.

He accomplished his aim, at the expense of his own power as well.

Will the idea of Europe (an idea, or rather an ideal, more than a reality, even now after the advent of the common currency and the free travel between nations without the need of a passport) die after this vote?

No.

It may provide a much needed breather to allow the population to catch up with the politicians, however.

The ideal of Europe is hard to describe to those who have not encountered it first hand, yet it is indeed there, and this ideal is stronger than any single vote rejecting a huge Constitution for Europe.

The ideal survives, and will eventually prevail despite momentary setbacks.

Expect a lot of changes in Europe in the next decade.

A Case of Identity: Some thoughts on the Real ID Act, a national identity card, and the definition of liberty

GRENOBLE, France - The Real ID Act was passed today by the United States Senate as an amendment of a spending bill on the war in Iraq.

While I am too much a cynic (in the Shaw definition of the term) to truly be surprised by this development, I am still disheartened.

I despise hyperbole when used in political discussions because it weakens arguments and causes a loss of credibility when the fine line between spicing up the writing is crossed into overindulgence, but it is difficult for me to overemphasize the effects that the Law of Unintended Consequences will wreak as a consequence of the enacting of this set of regulations will have.

There are two major problems with this act.

The first involves a clause that exempts decisions of the Secretary of Homeland Security from judicial review.

From the text of the Real ID Act:

(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.

(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction–

(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or

(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.

In other words, an appointed official, NOT an elected official, can make decisions that are exempt from judicial review.

The act appears to limit this exemption to decisions associated with "all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section," but I have seen more than once how passages that were written with the intent of limiting them to certain areas were interpreted more broadly because of poor writing in the law.

I suspect and fear that this will be the case in this instance as well, especially considering how the amendment/act was NOT debated in the Senate.

The second problem is related to the so-called "machine readable ID" requirement.

Ostensibly it is a requirement to discourage illegal immigration, but the effects will NOT be limited to immigrants.

Many true cynics like to say that we no longer have any privacy at all, so nothing new can be done to violate what we have already lost.

However, it has not all been linked together in a grand, government-run database, nor has our data ever been required to be in such an easily readable form.

I can see in the near future a requirement by any store or vendor to get a "read" of your ID to use a credit card or to write a check in order to "verify your identity", and simultaneously they get easy access to your address, telephone number, Social Security number, and the other personal identifying characteristics that are required for the new ID.

Yes, they may have had access to all of this information before, but they had to at least PAY to either get the data or to have people transcribe this information into their database.

Now, no transcription is necessary, they just read the new, federal-mandated government-issued machine-readable ID.

In other words, the United States government has just made it ridiculously easy for BOTH the government itself and any corporation to track every purchase you make that is not in cash, and for every other move you make that requires an ID.

And the requirement for a government issued ID that is easily readible will soon be ubiquitous in a vain effort to provide additional security.

Unfortunately, it has been proven repeatedly that ANY ID system can be defeated.

So, we are getting a pig in a poke, supposedly buying additional security that is an illusion with likely fatal consequences at the price of sacrificing our liberty of freedom of movement and privacy.

In other words, those who promote this bill as discouraging illegal immigration and improving "homeland security" are either fooling themselves, or they have an agenda that is darker than the one they are presenting.

I believe the answer is the former, but unfortunately the outcome will be to promote the darker agenda that is not their intention.

However, regardless of their intentions, the Law of Unintended Consequences will hold true and ride roughshod over them.

While of uncertain provenance, the saying that "the Road to Hell is paved with good intentions" became a truism in Western culture for a reason.

What exactly do you think that reason was?

I think I do not need to insult your intelligence by spelling it out, I suspect.

In the end, what is this thing we call Liberty that we claim to believe in, protect, and promote?

Around a hundred years ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story titled "A Case of Identity".

In this story, a journalist had played a beggar in the center of the financial district in London at the turn of the 19th century to the 20th as a part of a story for a newspaper. He found the charade to be so lucrative relative to a real job that he kept up the facade for years, even after he married. His wife thought he had a job in "the City of London", which is what the financial district is still called, until she saw him in a window when she was in that area on an errand.

He tried to hide his shame of bringing in his income by begging by maintaining his facade as an ill-appearing and ill-humored beggar, until Sherlock Holmes used his logic to peer through the deceit.

Today, that story would be impossible. We have to repeatedly prove our identity to officialdom.

Our system is supposedly built upon the premise of "innocent until proven guilty".

However, we now have to prove, by showing our ID, that we are not on some list of terrorist or other "undesirables" with no probable cause, with no reason other than some secret government regulation that we are not allowed to see.

Now, very soon the ID we will have to show must contain BY LAW machine readable information regarding our address, our date of birth, our physical characteristics, our Social Security number, and other details.

In other words, we now have to prove our innocence because we are assumed guilty until we verify our identity.

---

The world is turned upside-down.

---

How long before we have to submit to this ID being read to write a check?

How long before we have to submit to this ID being read to use our credit cards?

How long before corporations take advantage of the ridiculously easy access to the information on this ID to build up a database of our purchasing habits and other preferences for "targeted advertising"?

How long before various government agencies take advantage of the databases built up by corporations and other government agencies to make a "profile" of everyone that they can run through an "expert system" to find "undesirables" that they can then put on "no-fly lists", "watch lists", or even prevent them from buying guns?

This is not hyperbole.

This is reasonable extrapolation.

I despise hyperbole.

I am very good at predicting trends.

I suspect that you see the same trends I do.

One of the odd perspectives I have gained by living in Europe is a view of how Americans both distrust and trust the government excessively.

It is difficult to explain, but I will try.

In Europe (France in particular, but in lesser degrees in other nations of the EU) there is a trust in the government and the system of social responsibility (which is NOT the same as what Americans label as "socialism") that is far beyond what I believe could ever exist in the United States in the foreseeable future.

This trust is one that the government will ensure adequate health care and retirement benefits for all citizens.

Even in the heyday of the Roosevelt era, I cannot envision that trust existing in the majority of the citizens of the United States.

I have had extended discussions with many of my European colleagues (who are from France, Germany, and Belgium, among other nations) regarding the fundamental differences in philosophy between the United States and Europe, differences that arise out of history.

How can I describe these differences without this turning into a book?

In the latter part of the 18th century, the British colonies in America had a unique experience, they were from Europe, with the associated cultural heritage, but they were not a part of Europe.

The Law of Unintended Consequences took its toll, and the United Kingdom lost valuable colonies because it was unable to see how the value of treating the colonists as equal citizens over-rode the traditions of class and Empire.

A large number of books have been written on this theme, with innumerable words dedicated to showing the blindness of those in power in England at the time. I will not attempt to add to that total here, because if it is not self-evident to you, then my argument is pointless.

In Europe, however, democracy was gained in through a far more difficult path.

I have written before about how the American Revolution was essentially a conservative "revolution", where those fighting the British were trying to preserve their tradition of local control of taxation and other forms of government.

The government in England at the time (it was not yet the "United Kingdom") was based upon election by the elites of members of Parliament, along with a relatively powerful House of Lords that was determined by appointments by the Crown.

In other words, not a democracy as we know it.

The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in the dictatorship of Napoleon, although the French prefer to remember it as a glorious part of their history when they dominated Europe.

The rest of Europe, well, their memories are different, and not that far afield from what they recall of Hitler.

That is not the point, however.

Ultimately, democracy came to Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) because of the depredations of the Napoleonic Wars, the wars of Empire in the late 19th century, and the wars of the first half of the 20th century that we label World War I and World War II.

In other words, Europeans have a much more recent experience of non-democratic governance than we in the United States enjoy.

In addition, they did not have Founding Fathers with an inherent mistrust of a powerful centralized government that we had the benefit of having.

So, there is not the mistrust of government that exists in the United States.

That is why the dreaded "socialism", which was demonized by large corporations in the United States because it might give workers "uppity ideas" regarding their rights, is not the anathema in Europe as it is in the US.

However, in Europe, the thought of a machine readable, government issued ID is anathema, and even in the UK it has been an issue of vigorous national debate.

In the United States, however, it is passed as an amendment to a spending bill apparently without a second thought to the consequences.

Is there any wonder that I would like to indulge in the hyperbole I despise?

Those who have actually read this far, I applaud you, but I have one more request.

Think about the consequences, and if you do not like those that arise in your mind, write your Senators and Congressmen.

Technorati Tags: civil liberties, commentary, freedom, letters from Europe, opinion, privacy

The forgetting will be their second death

GRENOBLE, France - I have lived in France now for slightly over a year, and in that year I have seen many commemorations, notably those associated with the liberation of France during the Second World War 60 years ago. My apartment is located in the city center, within a short walking distance of the former Palace of Justice and the old City Hall is located on my street. There are several plaques in the small courtyard next to the old City Hall, notably one commemorating the declaration of the city council to support the actions of the Consul General in Paris that started the French Revolution, another noting the acceptance of the city council of the Rights of Man when the French Republic was restored after World War II, and a small marble plaque that thanks the commander of the US Paratrooper brigade that liberated the town in 1945. These plaques are less than 10 yards from a section of wall constructed by the Romans to defend the town during their Empire.

History weighs more heavily here than those of us of the New World fully realize.

Contrary to what is popularly perceived in some circles, the French are very aware of their debt to the United States from the Second World War. For every holiday or anniversary associated with the war, I am asked how it is celebrated in the United States. My response that there are no holidays directly associated with World War II, instead we have Veterans Day to honor all of our soldiers, brings a moment of pause to my questioners.

Late last year large placards were posted around town saluting the Partisans of the Second World War, with each placard bearing a photo of one of those being honored. A couple of weeks ago similar banners were hung around town, but this time the photos were different. Some were obviously from identity documents because they had some kind of stamp that could be seen crossing the photo.

The titles on these placards was of a different tone than the celebration of deeds of the Partisans. The photo above is one I took today, click on it for a larger image.

The best translation of the meaning in the title is "The forgetting will be their second death."

Each sign has a different photo, with a name, birthdate, and date of death.

Below that, the epitaph "Victim of the Holocaust".

The forgetting will be their second death.

Cambodia

Rawanda

Bosnia

Darfur

The list goes on.

The forgetting will be their second death.

Technorati Tags: commentary, France, Holocaust, Second World War, World War II

Opinion polls in France show a shift on the EU Constitution

Cross-posted at The Moderate Voice.

GRENOBLE, France - Over a week ago, I wrote a commentary at The Moderate Voice on the television appearance by French President Jacques Chirac to promote a "oui" vote on the EU Constitution.

I concluded with the following:

So, in the end, even though the polls look like Chirac had no effect on public opinion after his televised discussion of the EU constitution, don't be surprised if another razor-thin victory is pulled out by the government in favor of the EU, as was done in the case of the common currency.

Although the voting itself is still weeks away, the outcome of "NON!" looks far less certian. From The Guardian newspaper:

Opinion polls out this weekend show for the first time that a majority of French people intend to vote in favour of the European draft constitution next month.

The two surveys, carried out for Le Monde and the Journal du Dimanche, found that 52 per cent supported the draft constitution and 48 per cent opposed it.

But a large proportion said they might still change their minds ahead of the 29 May referendum - 24 per cent in the Le Monde poll and 30 per cent in the other survey.

The turnaround comes amid an energetic campaign by the right-wing government and the mainstream Socialist party to highlight the advantages of European co-operation.

As I wrote before:

The US based reporting that I have seen has missed both the nature of Chirac's arguments, and the usual, apparently indifferent reaction of the French citizenry to the arguments he made.

Despite the popular perception of the French character, it has been my experience that they are actively repulsed by emotional arguments used in politics. Don't get me wrong, they actively enjoy arguing politics here, but as soon as you make an argument that appeals to the gut rather than the head, you have lost the argument in their eyes.

Does this mean they are eminently logical?

No. For the weights they assign to different factors that have to be balanced against each other are very much affected by their feelings, and in most cases the weighting is actually determined emotionally, not that they would ever admit it!

This results in what in the US would be thought of as an extremely delayed reaction to events, making instant opinion polls deceptive to the outside viewer.

This is a very complicated issue, and not solely because of the length of the proposed constitution. Europe is struggling to define its identity. The proposed addition of Turkey is exposing fault lines that make the discussion over the constitution appear trivial. Because of this level of soul-searching and self-definition, don't expect there to be any certainty on the outcome until AFTER the votes are counted.

Technorati Tags: commentary, EU, EU Constitution, European Union, European Union Constitution

Letters from Europe - Campaigning on the EU Constitution begins in earnest

GRENOBLE, France - In France, there are official sites to put up posters supporting or against whatever the next election discusses. For example, in the last election for representatives to the European parliament, posters were put up supporting various candidates or parties.

In the upcoming referendum on acceptance or rejection of the European Constitution, last week the official poster placement sites were put up. Next to my apartment, they put up special temporary boards on which to post up placards. Apparently, since the small side street behind my building leads to the base of a cable car that carries tourists and others up to the Bastille that dominates the area, and the street is right next to the city Parc du Jardin, or "Garden Park" where many city sponsored festivals and events are held, it is regarded as a central location, despite being a very quiet street.

For those who don't read or speak French, the text on the poster:

The main text (in the blue box on the left), "The hope, May 29th, the vote, NO, the French Communist Party".

The alligator is about to eat a newspaper called "Humanity", and the title of the white box is "Humanity is a daily fight".

The text in the yellow boxes says "38 million euros have flowed into a box, VOTE NO".

The red box at the bottom center states, "Together, let us change this world here and now".

The smaller sign on the top is "free posting, city of Grenoble".

They have other, similar signs, both in the designated areas where signs for elections are to be freely posted, and areas where signs either must be paid for, or are not to be posted.

It is interesting that the French Communist Party opposes the European Constitution, because the European Union pushes governments in Europe towards the true Communist principles more than away from them, especially in transferring wealth from the richest nations in Europe to the poorest nations.

Ironically enough, that wealth transfer is one of the main concerns of many here in France who oppose the new Constitution.

I have overheard many intense discussions on the upcoming vote on the European Constitution at my workplace, and there is much more actual discussion of the issues than I have ever heard in the United States. Admittedly, I have had to ask my office mates to help me with translating some of the discussions, especially when they get fast because of the intensity, but even interpreting solely the intonations it is obvious that they are true discussions and not mere shouting matches as what we call "debate" in the United States has become, if people even bother to participate in it.

Even I, an American, have been asked more than once what my opinion on the European Constitution was, even though I do not have a vote, nor a true right to an opinion (at least, that would be what many would say in the United States in similar circumstances).

My reply? I am forced to say in French, "It is difficult for me to describe in French because I do not know the right words, can I explain in English?"

After their usual ready assent, I explain to them that my main concern is the size of the proposed EU constitution, which is over 200 pages even in English, one of the more compact languages in Europe, since it is very long and complex especially when compared with the United States Constitution, which has only 8 articles and 27 amendments in total.

The United States Constitution is much shorter even considering the amendments, and it has the virtue of surviving over 200 years and through a major Civil War.

I try to explain my belief that despite any language or philosophical differences, the foundation of ANY government needs to be simple and easily understandable to ALL the citizens.

Fortunately, I had an interest in French history long before I even knew I might move to France, so in many cases, I know more about the history of the country than everyone from France that I have spoken to so far.

The knowledge of their own history has assisted me in advancing my point that a Constitution that is too long is far, far too detailed to have the flexibility that has enabled the US Constitution to last over 200 years, even if recent events seem to put the foundations of our Constitution in danger, and that is indeed the perception here regarding recent history in the US, not solely my own view.

What we in the United States do not understand is the origins of the belief in Socialism in Europe, especially in Continental Europe.

In the United States, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there was always the opportunity to move to the Frontier.

In other words, those in Europe didn't have the escape that those in the United States had from the abuses of the the companies and corporations in the Industrial Revolution.

And abuses there indeed were. Any who deny them are in the same class as those who deny the atrocities of the Nazis and other fascists in the early to mid-twentieth century, or the genocide committed by the Russian or Chinese "Communists" of the latter part of the twentieth century.

That fundamental difference in escapes, a frontier versus immigration, has had a profound difference in shaping the culture of the United States versus Europe, a difference that we ignore at our peril.

That fundamental difference is the origin of the conflicts between the non-Anglo-Saxon parts of Europe and the United States in the years since George W. Bush was first elected President.

I will not debate the policy, philosophical, or political differences between Europe and the United States at this time, instead I will ask you to instead read the links I have included above.

Think for a while, and consider how YOUR viewpoint may indeed be influenced by the tragedies and triumphs that affected your forefathers and ancestors, and how those stories, views, and cultural influences just may have affected both your culture and how YOU view the world.

More on these differences later.

NOTE: Use Bugmenot to log into the articles in The Economist.

Technorati Tags: commentary, EU, EU Constitution, European Union, European Union Constitution, opinion

Some opinions on the EU Constitution and EU membership for Turkey

GRENOBLE, France - I have started a new custom here, a Friday happy hour after work. When I first suggested it, I was asked, "What are you celebrating?" My response, "the end of the week, the start of the weekend, and the fact that we're alive!" Odd, I had thought that since what I have seen in Europe how socializing is a big part of life, the custom of a post-work-week happy hour wouldn't be that foreign.

It goes to show we often don't know what we don't know and assume things we shouldn't.

Because of various circumstances, only one colleague could attend the happy hour with me this last week, an expatriate from Germany, Marcus. Marcus is an expatriate from his home country, as am I, but he is under a "local contract" and does not have a limited stay in France.

After the customary discussion of work related topics his girlfriend, a Frenchwoman, arrived and although it was my first meeting of Katherine (pronounced Ka-ter-een here in France), she greeted me in the French fashion between friends with the two kisses, one on each cheek. After the introductions and a last drink at the bar, they kindly invited me to join them for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

We had a typical French meal, slow, many courses, good wine, and much talk. What was interesting was when the discussion came upon the topic of the European Union, the upcoming vote in France on the EU constitution, and the possibility of Turkey joining the EU. The attitudes and arguments expressed by Marcus and Katherine could almost be said to typify many of those heard in their respective home countries.

Both Marcus and Katherine believe it is important to approve the EU constitution, but for different reasons. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, Marcus made the argument that it would help increase unity within the EU. Katherine stressed the importance of bringing together the different cultures, especially those of the recently joined nations in Eastern Europe.

In general, it seems that the young in Europe are in favor of the EU, Marcus being 35 and Katherine just turning 30 this last year. I have heard similar sentiments from other young adults here.

When it came to discussion of the prospect of Turkey joining the EU, disagreement arose, again along what could be described as representative of their respective nationalities. Both Katherine and Marcus had visited Turkey at different times. Katherine felt strongly that Turkey should join the EU both to help strengthen the EU along with to help spread "European ideals" to Turkey.

Marcus replied to Katherine that she had only visited the far Western portion of Turkey, the wealthiest section that little resembled the poor regions to the East. His contention was that Turkey was not a Christian nation, where the foundations of European culture are Christian.

A brief aside is necessary here, for when a European discusses "Christian nations" and "Christian cultures" they are not referring to what is thought when partisans in the US use these same terms. Similar to the different meanings that the words "liberal" and "conservative" have between Europe and the US, the terms "Christian nation" and "Christian culture" refer not to the creation or maintenance of a "Christian" or religious oriented culture, but instead alludes to the foundations upon which a common culture that can be labeled "European" has been built.

In other words, Marcus believes that the Muslim foundation of Turkey is not compatible with the culture of Europe, which is based upon a Christian foundation, despite now being mainly a secular society.

The discussion passed back and forth, with brief interjections from me on topics ranging from how the citizens of the US referred to the United States in the plural before the Civil War and in the singular after that traumatic transformation, to how the US was founded by cultural rejects from England who then created a culture that while "Christian" in foundation has less in common with the current European culture than it may have with other, more religious oriented cultures such as those in the Middle East.

The discussion always remained civil, and in refreshing contrast to what I have seen in the US, agreement was not required nor expected. Perhaps there are still things we can learn from Old Europe.

Technorati Tags: commentary, EU, European Union, opinion

France and the EU - more notes from a stranger in the strange land

You can find my first post on the upcoming referendum in France on the EU constitution at The Moderate Voice.

GRENOBLE, France - Although I am a part of a three-company alliance in the semiconductor industry, the primary aim of that alliance is more on the development and manufacturing side rather than on the research side where I work. Hence, primarily people from the French component of the alliance surround me.

Today, I was able to spend some time discussing the referendum on the EU constitution that will be held here in France next month with a young man (he is 24) in the office who works as a contractor, writing software to model the results of the research. It was a conversation held in both French and English. We regularly talk to each other using the two languages, he helps me with my French and I help him with his English.

He is probably about as politically aware as the average French citizen, and he is remarkably humble and gentil (how the French say "kind," but more accurately if not the French-English dictionary definition, gentlemanly), especially for a 24-year-old.

He plans to vote "oui" on the EU constitution, but he fears that the referendum will result in a defeat for acceptance. He feels it is important that France is a part of the larger European community and culture.

Repeatedly shaking his head as he spoke, he described what he felt was a common sentiment, best vote "non!" out of fear of losing control over the social benefits provided by the French government for unemployment, health care, retirement, and all the other "social" programs as he described them.

As we talked, he revealed his annoyance that there are people in France who abuse the system of social benefits, never having to work yet receiving money from the government, sounding remarkably like what is described in the US as "right-wing", although I continually have to remember that in politics here the words liberal, left, conservative, and right ALL have different meanings than I am accustomed to.

When I asked him about the appearance of French President Jacques Chirac on television last week, he again shook his head and said that he felt Chirac did not make a good showing and had made several poor responses to the "young people" who questioned him and, remarkably in my friend's eyes, interrupted the President.

My friend discussed the larger implications of how if one of the "big two" in Europe, France and Germany, rejected the EU constitution, it could be a fatal blow to the continuance of the EU. What was interesting to me while we talked was the impression I received that he had arrived at this conclusion on his own; he was not parroting something he had read or heard.

He also said that despite his view that France needed to be a part of a larger Europe, many of his fellows felt that France had to pay too much in supporting less wealthy nations in the EU such as Spain, Portugal, and the recently joined nations of Eastern Europe. Describing a zero-sum game, he said that the wealthy nations had to be pulled down in order to raise up the poor nations. When I said it was better to pull the poor nations up to the level the wealthy now had, he agreed that was a better solution, but extremely difficult to achieve.

Then we began to talk about the differences between Europe and the US. I brought up the point that in Europe, within the individual nations, there was in general an agreement upon the role of government. For example, in France, there is no discussion about the propriety of government being involved in providing health care or retirement benefits to the population, the main debate is on how to raise the money to pay for these government provided services.

Despite the language barriers (he and I both speak the other's language equally well, or rather, equally poorly) needed to be overcome to describe complex issues and ideas, I explained to him how the debate in the US tends to be over the more fundamental question of how much government involvement should exist in these areas, he seemed taken aback. Once I explained the historical basis for the suspicion towards government in the Founding Fathers who wrote our Constitution, he said that their reaction at the time made sense, but he said that he still felt that acting as a larger society was better than the focus on the individual as promoted by certain groups in the US.

Even after discussing the history of the referendum in France for acceptance of the common European currency held over a decade ago, a vote that appeared to be against the government of the time and the common currency until the last votes were counted, he was still pessimistic regarding the possibility of an assenting outcome in France for the EU constitution.

I told him of a statement by a famous American wise fool, Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'till it's over," and we were both able to return to our work with smiles, if not an excess of hope.