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Privacy has been a problem in the USA for a long time (though for some reasons on some levels the US is more free than other countries). Europe has so far not become the 'Big Brother' state that the USA is on a lot of levels. However, we've now come one step closer. In Europe, there is a law that requires telecom- and Internetproviders to keep all logs of traffic by users for a couple of months up until a couple of years. Even though the dutch parliament and the dutch communications industry have protested heavily against this, our minister of justice decided to support this, and has also passed this law here in The Netherlands. Though I don't really like the idea (let alone think about the cost for this storage, which is gigantic, and will in the end be calculated into the price I pay for Internet and phone usage) it has now become even scarier. The European parliament has decided that they have no trouble with giving the USA access to this information. Now, we all know by now that the US government and it's secret services have absolutely no notion of what the words 'civil rights' mean. So these people having access into the information on with whom I have contact over the telephone and what I do over the Internet, even while it's quite innocent, is scary. Very, very scary. There was a time where Europe was the balancing good against the evil of the USA. It seems this is not true anymore. Europe is following the USA at it's every whim these days. I can not feel safe anymore talking to friends of the phone, or communicating with friends over the Internet using chat, e-mail or discussion forums. I will definitely be contacted the representatives in our dutch parliament about this, asking them to clear this up and to forbid our minister of justice to also support this madness. This is truly unbelievable. Last time I checked, we were not part of the undemocratic USA, lead by it's mad dictator Bush. But it seems that Europe is looking into the sky where mr Bush claimed to see a dead bird flying, while Bush is taking over Europe. Maybe it's again time for underground resistance, maybe we should already start organizing to fight the occupational forces which might soon be sent to Europe to 'liberate' Europe.
May 15, 2006 - tags: politics

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whatever: While I agree that your government has problems if they’re handing over your telecommunications to the US; I take a little offense to the Europe Good, US Evil line. I’d say more that’s more of a case of Europe normally overly-passive, and US sometimes overly-aggressive. I agree that the US can be heavy-handed and hawkish in its policies. But where would Europe be if the US hadn’t take a leadership role against Hitler, the USSR, and countless others who would have gutted Europeans like sheep because they’re too “civilized” to defend themselves?

Seriously, Sadam Hussein would have kept marching past Kuwait and Saudi Arabia—then taken over the entire Middle East—without aggressive US involvement.

It’s pretty easy for Europeans to stand on the sidelines and criticize the US for taking action. Maybe if Europe had something to offer besides criticism, the US could become more passive. The US cannot allow new despotic superpowers to arise in this modern age. To do so would be to invite tragedy.

Where are Europe’s solutions to Iran? North Korea? The Middle East? China/Taiwan?

I thought so.
June 4, 2006

left: OK, maybe I’ve put it slightly too black-and-white. Europe is not the best solution either. Definitely not the whole of Europe. But against the evil that is the USA, Europe is at least the better alternative.

I don’t think solutions to the problems of the world should come from either the USA or Europe. They should come from the United Nations. With the USA taking the aggressive stance and intervening without international support, we could deem the UN obsolete. Because the USA will do it anyway, with or without the support of the rest of the world.
June 5, 2006

whatever: if (Europe.is_best_solution()) ... # Error. Europe does not implement method “solve_problem()”.

As I implied previously, Europe must begin proposing and implementing solutions to the world’s problems before it can be considered a serious alternative. As it is now, it’s just a punching bag waiting for the next hitler to come along and take it over. Wasn’t it just a few years ago that ethnic cleansing was going on in Europe’s own backyard of Bosnia? Why did the US need to go half the world away to take a military lead in resolving that conflict? Oh yeah, it’s because we’re “evil”.

I’m fairly disenchanted with the UN for mostly the same reasons. It’s ineffectual. One of the most tragic genocides in history has been happening in Darfur. What has the UN done about it? Crap, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie have done more to raise money and awareness of the Darfur crisis than the UN. But what do you seriously expect out of the same body that funnelled so much money to Sadam in the Oil for Food Scandal? This non-merit-based organization actually put Libya in charge of its own Human Rights Commission. How can an organization so lacking in any semblance of integrity accomplish anything?

As a US citizen who has gotten out of this country a fair bit and has opened himself to other opinions (like reading your blog here); I’m sometimes embarrassed by the arrogant and failed actions of my government. That said, I would much rather have some failures while trying to DO positive things in the world than thinking my nation’s conscience is clear because we never attempted anything at all.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’re a “good” force in the world because you don’t directly do evil things. To do nothing in the face of evil is still evil.
June 5, 2006

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