It's not fair to compare the US and the EU system, but the world isn't fair.
While the EU thinks in 10 year terms, US president Obama has proposed a five year plan to double US exports in 5 years.
If Obama doesn't get his country on track over the next three years, he won't be re-elected. If Europe 2020 is no success, most governments and top EU-officials won't be in office anymore, and their successors will make a new plan for 2030.
And I don't talk about China, but just because re-election is not such a big topic over there...
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Saturday, 27 June 2009
The EU in German blogs (5): Internet filters in China and Germany - updated
A considerable number of German blogs like knick.knack, Lars Heise, Feistes Ding, Addliss, P-Pricken, Nicht Spurlos, Blogwürdig, The Archangel, Rappelsnut, Windflüchter, Kamikaze-Demokratie, uebergeek, schongehoert, and also the most important and influential German blog Netzpolitik have reacted to a statement by EU Commissioner Viviane Reding against internet filters in China.
If they don't cite netzpolitik.org, they all refer to a news article at a German radio station published 4.30 pm yesterday. I don't think that this is not the original, since a German AFP press release with the same content came out earlier. But why checking sources when it comes to EU politics?
In fact, I was unable to find this statement on the press overview of the Commissioner herself, so it is quite hard to verify in which context it has been said. EUobserver had the statement yesterday morning, but quoting Martin Selmayr from the DG Communication.
The reason why the German blogosphere is sarcastically reacting to this statement is that the German parliament just passed a law to charge the Federal Criminal Police Office to centrally filter child porn pages.
This legislative proposal (the story in English) has led to the largest reaction of the German internet community ever, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the installation of censorship mechanisms (which also proved to be ineffective against the diffusion of child pornography) by the German legislator.
The non-responsiveness of the governing parties (Christian Democrats and Social Democrats) to the concerns of hundreds of thousands who reacted online and offline is likely to cost them many votes of the "internet generation" at the parliamentary elections in September, possibly even strengthening the German Pirate Party.
Having the EU Commission react to China but not to Germany therefore sounded rather ridiculous in the ears of German bloggers
See also: Dyrathror
If they don't cite netzpolitik.org, they all refer to a news article at a German radio station published 4.30 pm yesterday. I don't think that this is not the original, since a German AFP press release with the same content came out earlier. But why checking sources when it comes to EU politics?
In fact, I was unable to find this statement on the press overview of the Commissioner herself, so it is quite hard to verify in which context it has been said. EUobserver had the statement yesterday morning, but quoting Martin Selmayr from the DG Communication.
The reason why the German blogosphere is sarcastically reacting to this statement is that the German parliament just passed a law to charge the Federal Criminal Police Office to centrally filter child porn pages.
This legislative proposal (the story in English) has led to the largest reaction of the German internet community ever, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the installation of censorship mechanisms (which also proved to be ineffective against the diffusion of child pornography) by the German legislator.
The non-responsiveness of the governing parties (Christian Democrats and Social Democrats) to the concerns of hundreds of thousands who reacted online and offline is likely to cost them many votes of the "internet generation" at the parliamentary elections in September, possibly even strengthening the German Pirate Party.
Having the EU Commission react to China but not to Germany therefore sounded rather ridiculous in the ears of German bloggers
See also: Dyrathror
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Tibetans and Germans, the suppressed peoples
Is it necessary to comment on such stupidities?
"If it is wrong for Beijing to impose its rule on the Tibetans in the name of harmonisation, why is it right for Brussels to impose its rule on equally historic nations? Surely the national principle applies to Europe, too. If Tibet can legitimately aspire to independence, Germany must have the same right."Who has elected him into the European Parliament?
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