Aug. 1st, 2008

Well...

Aug. 1st, 2008 10:22 am
danlansdowne: (Sick)
...the oral surgeon says it's normal to not feel for the first few days. Guess I'll just have to tough it out. I just wish my pills took care of what I CAN feel. I take a Tylenol-3 and an Advil every few hours, but they don't do a damn thing. And to top it off, the coughing from my cold has almost completely destroyed my voice.

Can I start this week over please?
danlansdowne: (Deep thought)
From the Daily Telegraph

"In the event of a break-up of Belgium, France might seize the southern chunk. A new poll in Le Soir shows that 49 per cent of Belgian Francophones now favour incorporation into the Republic, up from 22 per cent at the end of last year. At the same time, 60 per cent of French voters want to absorb Wallonia."

The breakdown in political relations in Belgium brings two things to mind:

1) Yet another multi-ethnic (for lack of a better describer) European nation is on the verge of biting the dust, following Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the late Austro-Hungarian Empire of the previous centuries. It makes one wonder why these nations haven't taken any lessons from Switzerland. Here's a country that's been around for nearly a thousand years, made up of three or four different ethnic and linguistic groups, and they've managed to keep it all together. I would imagine the regular consultation of the populace contributes to this; they hold referenda on almost everything.

2) How do they expect the EU to survive through the next century if the only remaining multi-ethnic (again, lack of a better word) country in the organization can't keep itself together? Not exactly the greatest harbinger for the EU if the country it's mainly headquartered in can't keep itself together. If the EU follows this pattern, Europe is going to destroy itself again by 2050. As it is, Britain, Ireland, and some of the newer members in the east are wary of the EU's intrusive policies.

And what of other multinational organizations headquartered in Brussels, like NATO? They can't really move to Switzerland, because Switzerland isn't a member of any of them. And I doubt the fighting over the future headquarters of NATO et. al. is going to be pretty if the members decide that Brussels isn't a good location any more.

The next few years are going to be interesting in northern Europe.
danlansdowne: (Flag)
Warship ill-equipped for Arctic, officer says

A Canadian warship, HMCS Toronto, will be at the mercy of Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers because it is inadequately prepared for service within its own country's waters.

HOW can a country have warships in its navy that aren't capable of sailing at home? This is like the United Aircraft Turbotrain that VIA and Amtrak tested in the northeast and Quebec City-Windsor corridors (which face rather harsh winter weather) being susceptible to snow blowing in the exhaust vents!

God help our country when Russia starts doing test drilling for oil in the Arctic Circle...

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