A Greek and a German go into a bar...

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is widely seen as the most likely candidate to help prevent what would be a disastrous Greek default but there is strong opposition in the country against such a move.

Greek politicians have bristled over insulting headlines in the German press and editorials denouncing the corruption there, although Papandreou himself has acknowledged the problem.

Yeah...corruption. Um...I suppose that's a euphemism for "Socialism." Greece is a socialist country. In fact, while they teeter on the default cliff they are STILL raising taxes in an effort to stave the flow. We are talking about a country that has a public sector holiday allowance where the government can freeze private sector pensions.

Socialism = Corruption.

I just find it amusing that Greece, the most Socialistic of the European Union is in dire straights...and now requires Germany (the most Capitalistic of the European Union) to bail them out. Greece's plan in that regard? Cutting taxes? Limiting spending? Boltering private business?

Nah...Greece wants Germany and the rest of the EU to leverage their own economic ratings to secure better credit for Greece in world markets. In other words, they want to go further in debt, and drag the more solvent members of the EU down with them.

Ahhhhh...Socialism. It's what's for dinner.

Put the bloody morons on E-Bay...

Mr. Holder said that of the 241 inmates still held in Guantánamo Bay, 30 could now be released. In the coming weeks, he said, specific countries in Europe would be asked to take specific detainees. The U.S. authorities will share “sufficient information” with any receiving countries “about why the inmates had been held in Guantánamo and how they conducted themselves during that time.”

During WW II, German POW's used to work the apple orchards in Pennsylvania (among other places). Of course, they weren't considered victims back then. They were enemy combatants.

I find it amusing that our Attorney General is in Europe literally begging for the EU to take over the care, custody and control of these Jihadist cretins while piling on a heaping helping of "righting a wrong." It shows the country in a weakening state while portraying our current Administration as the "white knight of justice." Of course, to be able to accept the former and the latter, you would have to be a mouth breathing idiot...and we have plenty of those.

Absolutely PRICELESS...Take Two...

The other day, I pointed to a piece in the International Herald Tribune in which a number of artists were, allegedly, contracted to present "art" made up of contributions from each of the 27 European Union member states. The result was rather humorous and not necessarily what the EU expected.

It turns out that only one artist produced the work...and now the European Union is discussing how they can...get rid of it.

In the 16-square-meter, or 172-square-foot, work, Bulgaria is portrayed as a lavatory and France as a country on strike, while Britain is absent from Europe altogether.

The revelation that the work was produced by one artist, David Cerny, leaves the Czechs with an embarrassing decision about whether to remove the installation.

In material produced by the Czech government, many of the fictional artists named as creators of the work had detailed biographies and Web sites, apparently set up by Cerny. Several were mentioned in reports in the media, including the International Herald Tribune.

Classic!!! The piece is hanging outside the office buildings in Brussels...and looks pretty weak, in my opinion. But, it creates a dilemma for the EU. Do they pull it and risk being labeled as "intolerant?" Or do they leave it up and risk offending the perpetual offended pansies of their constituency. Keep in mind that the Netherlands was represented as a member state fully underwater with the exception of minarets sticking up through the surface.

Reuters reported that Cerny had admitted to making up the names with two friends.

"We knew the truth would come out," Reuters quoted Cerny as saying. "But before that, we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself."

I'm betting...not.

Absolutely PRICELESS...

BRUSSELS: Bulgaria is one giant lavatory, France has gone on strike and Spain's construction industry has concreted the entire country.

Britain, meanwhile, has disappeared from the European continent altogether.

When some of Europe's artists were asked to portray their countries and how they see the European Union, organizers hoped for a provocative exhibition. But the results - due to be unveiled here Monday - may have officials choking on their morning croissants.

When they arrive at work, diplomats will be exposed to a satirical portrayal of Poland's Roman Catholic Church and an image of the Netherlands, submerged in seawater, with just minarets still visible. Italy is represented by a display illustrating its "autoerotic" obsession with soccer.

Organizers hope that it will stimulate something rather rare: public interest in the EU.

Never underestimate the cynical nature of the common man...if you can refer to artists as "common."

When the artists weren't poking fun at the stereotypes of their forced neighbors, they were commenting on the cultural issues that have reared their ugly heads as of late. The representation of the Netherlands with only minarets piercing the surface is golden.

In an interview at the Imperial hotel bar in Prague, Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister, said he supported freedom of expression.

"It is a piece of art - nothing else," said Vondra, a dissident in Communist days. "If Europe is not strong enough to look at this, it would be a tragedy. It is Europe through the eyes of 27 artists. It is not Europe through the eyes of the Czech presidency."

And there lies the Achilles Heel of the European Union. So afraid are the elite governmental officials of the opinion and will of the common constituent that they did their best to avoid referendum votes across the board on the approval of the Lisbon Treaty. One country required a referendum vote due to their own 'Constitutional' obligations (Ireland)...and it got shot down.

Personally, I think Europe would be better off with a view from the "great unwashed" instead of the political perspective of those in power. Can Europe stomach dissention in the ranks? Sure...as long as those in power can minimize its exposure...and marginalize the effect.

I don't think they will be doing this again any time soon, however.

Get the Popcorn...

BRUSSELS: The European Parliament voted Wednesday to end Britain's exemption from a 48-hour weekly ceiling on working hours, threatening one of the most potent symbols of the country's flexible labor market.

The vote also puts into doubt a carefully negotiated accord on whether the time when hospital doctors are on call should be considered work or rest.

You can always count on bureaucrats to dabble in private business whenever given the opportunity...or in this case...the means.

Here's the thing. The United Kingdom signed onto the European Treaty by vote of Parliament back in June of this year. There was no referendum vote...more than likely due the embarrassing possibility that it would have failed. A number of European countries took that road for the very same reason. Ireland, of course, took a referendum vote, and it DID fail.

I'm wondering how many fine constituents of the United Kingdom swallowed that swill that suggested in no uncertain terms that the EU would not necessarily effect the sovereign decision making for the good of the "country." Small business owners in the UK are probably a little...well...surprised. Working extra hours is the only thing that can keep them afloat...especially in today's economic climate.

Looking back to one year prior to the UK having the EU Treaty forced upon them, only 45% even knew what the EU Treaty was. Those who were aware overwhelmingly wanted a referendum vote. Too late.


(NOTE: Blogging has been light and will be so again tomorrow)

SPACE between your ears...

KOUROU, French Guiana: Not so long ago, French Guiana was etched into the public imagination as a depraved prison colony by books with titles like "Horrors of Cayenne," "Hell Beyond the Seas" and, of course, "Papillon," Henri Charrière's classic memoir of his incarceration on Devil's Island.

But now this overseas sliver of France offers something altogether different - a bit of insight into the shifting fortunes of the United States in at least one corner of the evolving world economy.

From Kourou, where 20,000 people, many of them transplanted cosmopolitans, live sandwiched between jungle and ocean, it is easy to see how much Americans, who once dominated the commercial space industry, have been reduced to just another competitor - or, worse, a partner in joint ventures with Russians - on a global field of play.

Well, that's a nice story...but let's discuss how France and the rest of the European Union does business.

Today's topic...the European satellite navigation system, Galileo.

It seems that the European Union wanted their own Global Positioning System, so the United States provided them with the technology to do so with the understanding that the encoding would be made available without charge. The European Union refused to provide the encoding when requested by Mr Psiaki, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University and co-leader of Cornell's GPS Laboratory. They regretted that decision.

Three months later he and his group of scientists had cracked the codes "just with an antenna and lots of signal processing," and with a basic algorithm to extract the codes.

"An antenna and lots of signal processing"...

"That means free access for consumers who use navigation devices," said the scientist who broke the code, Mark Psiaki, in a statement.

The following year, the EU released the final codes or what is known as the GIOVE-A Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document. If you're a cynic like me, you believe that originally they had no intention of doing so, but a bunch of American "Yahoos" at Cornell kept them honest...looks like the EU space program is leaving NASA in the dust....How did that Christmas Day 2003 Mars landing go for them? Anyone remember?

This will be good...

From Andrew Bolt of the Herald Sun (Down Under). This is priceless...I hadn't known that it was Václav Klaus's turn at the wheel.

He has blamed what he calls the misguided fight against global warming for contributing to the international financial crisis, branded Al Gore an “apostle of arrogance” for his role in that fight, and accused the European Union of acting like a Communist state.

UPDATE:

During a Nov. 10–12 official visit to Ireland, Klaus sat down to a friendly dinner with another notorious anti-EU-campaigner, Declan Ganley. While addressing journalists after the private soiree, Klaus reportedly voiced his support for Ganley — whose organization Libertas is held responsible for the Irish “No” vote on the Lisbon Treaty in a June referendum — during the upcoming European parliamentary elections and criticized the Irish government for its pro-EU stand.

Klaus later provided a bizarre defense of his actions in the face of criticism by local and European observers. “I see no reason why I should not meet with him,” he said, pointing out that his predecessor, Václav Havel, used to meet with international dissidents on official trips. “I, too, am now meeting one EU dissident. I consider myself to be another one.”

Holy smokes...this is going to be REALLY good.