Have you read Mark Steyn's article on the decline of Western Civilization?
Here is another excerpt:
"A decade and a half after victory in the Cold War and end-of-history triumphalism, the "what do you leave behind?" question is more urgent than most of us expected. "The west," as a concept, is dead, and the west, as a matter of demographic fact, is dying."
Consider what Steyn is writing against the absurd circus about to get under way in the United States on the Alito Hearings, where the main complaint against Alito is that he might be too conservative, and that he might be against abortion.
There is little doubt that the Democratic Party in America has a death wish and the same statement can be levelled against the powers that be in the European Union.
Here is what Steyn writes [note that a man and woman to even replace themselves have to have two children at the least - that is the population replacement rate]:
"Scroll way down to the bottom of the Hot One Hundred top breeders and you’ll eventually find the United States, hovering just at replacement rate with 2.07 births per woman. Ireland is 1.87, New Zealand 1.79, Australia 1.76. But Canada’s fertility rate is down to 1.5, well below replacement rate; Germany and Austria are at 1.3, the brink of the death spiral; Russia and Italy are at 1.2; Spain 1.1, about half replacement rate. That’s to say, Spain’s population is halving every generation. By 2050, Italy’s population will have fallen by 22 percent, Bulgaria’s by 36 percent, Estonia’s by 52 percent. In America, demographic trends suggest that the blue states ought to apply for honorary membership of the EU: in the 2004 election, John Kerry won the sixteen with the lowest birth rates; George W. Bush took twenty-five of the twenty-six states with the highest. By 2050, there will be 100 million fewer Europeans, 100 million more Americans—and mostly red-state [Republican] Americans."
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Will Europe Cease to Exist in this Century?
What kind of a world are we heading for in the coming years?
It’s the demography, stupid, an article by Mark Steyn at The New Criterion, has a sobering analysis of what human populations will look like down the road, given the current birthrates around the globe.
Steyn's opening salvo is a blockbuster:
"Most people reading this have strong stomachs, so let me lay it out as baldly as I can: Much of what we loosely call the western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most western European countries."
Read that article here.
We do not agree with all of Steyn's conclusions, but we definitely think that he has identified some major problems which will face the world in coming years.
Especially the demographic situation in Europe is a cause for considerable concern.
Read Steyn to find out why.
Hat tip to CaryGEE.
.
It’s the demography, stupid, an article by Mark Steyn at The New Criterion, has a sobering analysis of what human populations will look like down the road, given the current birthrates around the globe.
Steyn's opening salvo is a blockbuster:
"Most people reading this have strong stomachs, so let me lay it out as baldly as I can: Much of what we loosely call the western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most western European countries."
Read that article here.
We do not agree with all of Steyn's conclusions, but we definitely think that he has identified some major problems which will face the world in coming years.
Especially the demographic situation in Europe is a cause for considerable concern.
Read Steyn to find out why.
Hat tip to CaryGEE.
.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Germany Raises Postal Rates for Europe
To start off the New Year, the German Post (Deutsche Post) has raised the price for mailing letters from Germany to EU countries by ca. 27% (a monopolistic price increase), and we inquire below as to how this could happen.
See here for a .pdf list of old rates and new rates:
2006 Price List of the German Post (Deutsche Post)
The monopoly on the post in Europe goes back to the days of Thurn and Taxis and not much has changed in the interim.
Although the German Post was allegedly "liberalized" in 1989 (Postreform I) and 1994 (Postreform II), it still possesses a time-limited law-prescribed "exclusive license" (i.e. a monopoly) for the sending of letters up to a certain weight. This exclusive license was first granted to last until the end of 2002 and then was greedily extended by German law (Postreform III) to 2007, pursuant to a rather foolish exception provided for by EU Law:
"Directive" in English: EU Directive 2002/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services
"Richtlinie" in German: (Richtlinie 2002/39/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 10. Juni 2002 zur Änderung der Richtlinie 97/67/EG im Hinblick auf die weitere Liberalisierung des Marktes für Postdienste in der Gemeinschaft).
(see here for this directive in all EU languages)
Here is our excerpted text of that Directive in English (we snip out a lot of the unnecessary garble and pedantic posturing that is included as a matter of course in European law texts):
"Directive 2002/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002
amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services
. . .
Article 1
Directive 97/67/EC is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 7 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 7
1. To the extent necessary to ensure the maintenance of universal service, Member States may continue to reserve services to universal service provider(s) [LawPundit note: "universal service provider" is a fancy cloaked name for "monopolist"]. Those services shall be limited to the clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of items of domestic correspondence and incoming cross-border correspondence, whether by accelerated delivery or not, within both of the following weight and price limits. The weight limit shall be 100 grams from 1 January 2003 and 50 grams from 1 January 2006. These weight limits shall not apply as from 1 January 2003 if the price is equal to, or more than, three times the public tariff for an item of correspondence in the first weight step of the fastest category, and, as from 1 January 2006, if the price is equal to, or more than, two and a half times this tariff.
In the case of the free postal service for blind and partially sighted persons, exceptions to the weight and price restrictions may be permitted.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service, direct mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight and price limits.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service, for example when certain sectors of postal activity have already been liberalised or because of the specific characteristics particular to the postal services in a Member State, outgoing cross-border mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight and price limits.
2. Document exchange may not be reserved.
3. The Commission shall finalise a prospective study which will assess, for each Member State, the impact on universal service of the full accomplishment of the postal internal market in 2009. Based on the study's conclusions, the Commission shall submit by 31 December 2006 a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompanied by a proposal confirming, if appropriate, the date of 2009 for the full accomplishment of the postal internal market or determining any other step in the light of the study's conclusions.";
2. the following indents shall be added to Article 12: "- whenever universal service providers apply special tariffs, for example for services for businesses, bulk mailers or consolidators of mail from different customers, they shall apply the principles of transparency and non-discrimination with regard both to the tariffs and to the associated conditions. The tariffs shall take account of the avoided costs, as compared to the standard service covering the complete range of features offered for the clearance, transport, sorting and delivery of individual postal items and, together with the associated conditions, shall apply equally both as between different third parties and as between third parties and universal service providers supplying equivalent services. Any such tariffs shall also be available to private customers who post under similar conditions,
- cross-subsidisation of universal services outside the reserved sector out of revenues from services in the reserved sector shall be prohibited except to the extent to which it is shown to be strictly necessary to fulfil specific universal service obligations imposed in the competitive area; except in Member States where there are no reserved services, rules shall be adopted to this effect by the national regulatory authorities who shall inform the Commission of such measures.";
3. the first and second subparagraphs of Article 19 shall be replaced by the following: "Member States shall ensure that transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures are drawn up for dealing with users' complaints, particularly in cases involving loss, theft, damage or non-compliance with service quality standards (including procedures for determining where responsibility lies in cases where more than one operator is involved).
Member States may provide that this principle is also applied to beneficiaries of services which are:
- outside the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3, and
- within the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3, but which are not provided by the universal service provider.
Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that the procedures referred to in the first subparagraph enable disputes to be settled fairly and promptly with provision, where warranted, for a system of reimbursement and/or compensation.";
4. the third subparagraph of Article 22 shall be replaced by the following: "The national regulatory authorities shall have as a particular task ensuring compliance with the obligations arising from this Directive and shall, where appropriate, establish controls and specific procedures to ensure that the reserved services are respected. They may also be charged with ensuring compliance with competition rules in the postal sector."
5. Article 23 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 23
Without prejudice to Article 7, every two years, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 2004, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive, including the appropriate information about developments in the sector, particularly concerning economic, social, employment and technological aspects, as well as about quality of service. The report shall be accompanied where appropriate by proposals to the European Parliament and the Council.";
6. Article 27 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 27
The provisions of this Directive, with the exception of Article 26, shall expire on 31 December 2008 unless otherwise decided in accordance with Article 7(3). The authorisation procedures described in Article 9 shall not be affected by this date."
Article 2
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 31 December 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 3
This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 4
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 10 June 2002.
. . ."
The extension of the exclusive license granted to the Deutsche Post in Germany from 2002 to 2007 was unsuccessfully challenged as unconstitutional in the German Constitutional Court. (See the court's Press Release, and Decision: BVerfG, 1 BvR 1712/01 vom 7.10.2003, Absatz-Nr. (1 - 129), http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20031007_1bvr171201.html.)
The German Justices apparently saw no harm in the extension for another five years of the exclusive monopoly license which was originally granted to the Deutsche Post to cover the interim period - from monopoly to liberalization - under the rationale that such a monopolistic exception was required to guarantee full postal service to the public in the interim period.
The German Constitutional Court was unconvinced by the argument that the intent of the exclusive license was not to protect the public and its right to postal services but rather to reinforce the financial status of the Deutsche Post (which continues to bring in record monopoly profits).
Here is the text of what the German Constitutional Court issued as part of its press release on its judicial decision:
"§ 51 Abs. 1 Satz 1 PostG enthielt eine bis 31. Dezember 2002 befristete gesetzliche Exklusivlizenz für die Deutsche Post AG für die Beförderung von Briefsendungen und adressierten Katalogen bei einem bestimmten Einzelgewicht und Einzelpreis. Diese Befristung wurde im Jahr 2001 durch das Erste Gesetz zur Änderung des Postgesetzes bis zum 31. Dezember 2007 verlängert. Das Zweite Gesetz zur Änderung des Postgesetzes aus dem Jahr 2002 verpflichtet die Deutsche Post AG für den Zeitraum der gesetzlichen Exklusivlizenz zur Erbringung von Universaldienstleistungen. Darunter versteht das Postgesetz ein Mindestangebot an Postdienstleistungen wie insbesondere die Beförderung von Briefsendungen und adressierten Paketen eines bestimmten Maximalgewichts, die flächendeckend in einer bestimmten Qualität und zu einem erschwinglichen Preis erbracht werden. Das Dritte Änderungsgesetz aus dem Jahr 2002 sieht bis zum 31. Dezember 2005 die gesetzliche Exklusivlizenz für Sendungen bei einem Einzelgewicht bis 100 Gramm bei einem bestimmten Einzelpreis vor und reduziert die Exklusivlizenz für die anschließende Zeit bis 31. Dezember 2007 auf Sendungen eines Einzelgewichts bis 50 Gramm bei einem bestimmten Einzelpreis."
The German postal rates which have changed effective January 1, 2006 involve increases as large as 27% for standard letters sent from Germany to other European Union countries. These increases seem contrary to the entire mandate of the liberalization of the German postal service and are also contrary to the idea of a European Union in which postal rates should be equal for all, as they are e.g. among the several States in the USA.
Comments by others to the new postal rates can be read at:
Editor Bill at the Britboard
DDBug at ToytownMunich
.
See here for a .pdf list of old rates and new rates:
2006 Price List of the German Post (Deutsche Post)
The monopoly on the post in Europe goes back to the days of Thurn and Taxis and not much has changed in the interim.
Although the German Post was allegedly "liberalized" in 1989 (Postreform I) and 1994 (Postreform II), it still possesses a time-limited law-prescribed "exclusive license" (i.e. a monopoly) for the sending of letters up to a certain weight. This exclusive license was first granted to last until the end of 2002 and then was greedily extended by German law (Postreform III) to 2007, pursuant to a rather foolish exception provided for by EU Law:
"Directive" in English: EU Directive 2002/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services
"Richtlinie" in German: (Richtlinie 2002/39/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 10. Juni 2002 zur Änderung der Richtlinie 97/67/EG im Hinblick auf die weitere Liberalisierung des Marktes für Postdienste in der Gemeinschaft).
(see here for this directive in all EU languages)
Here is our excerpted text of that Directive in English (we snip out a lot of the unnecessary garble and pedantic posturing that is included as a matter of course in European law texts):
"Directive 2002/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002
amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services
. . .
Article 1
Directive 97/67/EC is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 7 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 7
1. To the extent necessary to ensure the maintenance of universal service, Member States may continue to reserve services to universal service provider(s) [LawPundit note: "universal service provider" is a fancy cloaked name for "monopolist"]. Those services shall be limited to the clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of items of domestic correspondence and incoming cross-border correspondence, whether by accelerated delivery or not, within both of the following weight and price limits. The weight limit shall be 100 grams from 1 January 2003 and 50 grams from 1 January 2006. These weight limits shall not apply as from 1 January 2003 if the price is equal to, or more than, three times the public tariff for an item of correspondence in the first weight step of the fastest category, and, as from 1 January 2006, if the price is equal to, or more than, two and a half times this tariff.
In the case of the free postal service for blind and partially sighted persons, exceptions to the weight and price restrictions may be permitted.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service, direct mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight and price limits.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service, for example when certain sectors of postal activity have already been liberalised or because of the specific characteristics particular to the postal services in a Member State, outgoing cross-border mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight and price limits.
2. Document exchange may not be reserved.
3. The Commission shall finalise a prospective study which will assess, for each Member State, the impact on universal service of the full accomplishment of the postal internal market in 2009. Based on the study's conclusions, the Commission shall submit by 31 December 2006 a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompanied by a proposal confirming, if appropriate, the date of 2009 for the full accomplishment of the postal internal market or determining any other step in the light of the study's conclusions.";
2. the following indents shall be added to Article 12: "- whenever universal service providers apply special tariffs, for example for services for businesses, bulk mailers or consolidators of mail from different customers, they shall apply the principles of transparency and non-discrimination with regard both to the tariffs and to the associated conditions. The tariffs shall take account of the avoided costs, as compared to the standard service covering the complete range of features offered for the clearance, transport, sorting and delivery of individual postal items and, together with the associated conditions, shall apply equally both as between different third parties and as between third parties and universal service providers supplying equivalent services. Any such tariffs shall also be available to private customers who post under similar conditions,
- cross-subsidisation of universal services outside the reserved sector out of revenues from services in the reserved sector shall be prohibited except to the extent to which it is shown to be strictly necessary to fulfil specific universal service obligations imposed in the competitive area; except in Member States where there are no reserved services, rules shall be adopted to this effect by the national regulatory authorities who shall inform the Commission of such measures.";
3. the first and second subparagraphs of Article 19 shall be replaced by the following: "Member States shall ensure that transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures are drawn up for dealing with users' complaints, particularly in cases involving loss, theft, damage or non-compliance with service quality standards (including procedures for determining where responsibility lies in cases where more than one operator is involved).
Member States may provide that this principle is also applied to beneficiaries of services which are:
- outside the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3, and
- within the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3, but which are not provided by the universal service provider.
Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that the procedures referred to in the first subparagraph enable disputes to be settled fairly and promptly with provision, where warranted, for a system of reimbursement and/or compensation.";
4. the third subparagraph of Article 22 shall be replaced by the following: "The national regulatory authorities shall have as a particular task ensuring compliance with the obligations arising from this Directive and shall, where appropriate, establish controls and specific procedures to ensure that the reserved services are respected. They may also be charged with ensuring compliance with competition rules in the postal sector."
5. Article 23 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 23
Without prejudice to Article 7, every two years, on the first occasion no later than 31 December 2004, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive, including the appropriate information about developments in the sector, particularly concerning economic, social, employment and technological aspects, as well as about quality of service. The report shall be accompanied where appropriate by proposals to the European Parliament and the Council.";
6. Article 27 shall be replaced by the following: "Article 27
The provisions of this Directive, with the exception of Article 26, shall expire on 31 December 2008 unless otherwise decided in accordance with Article 7(3). The authorisation procedures described in Article 9 shall not be affected by this date."
Article 2
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 31 December 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 3
This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 4
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 10 June 2002.
. . ."
The extension of the exclusive license granted to the Deutsche Post in Germany from 2002 to 2007 was unsuccessfully challenged as unconstitutional in the German Constitutional Court. (See the court's Press Release, and Decision: BVerfG, 1 BvR 1712/01 vom 7.10.2003, Absatz-Nr. (1 - 129), http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20031007_1bvr171201.html.)
The German Justices apparently saw no harm in the extension for another five years of the exclusive monopoly license which was originally granted to the Deutsche Post to cover the interim period - from monopoly to liberalization - under the rationale that such a monopolistic exception was required to guarantee full postal service to the public in the interim period.
The German Constitutional Court was unconvinced by the argument that the intent of the exclusive license was not to protect the public and its right to postal services but rather to reinforce the financial status of the Deutsche Post (which continues to bring in record monopoly profits).
Here is the text of what the German Constitutional Court issued as part of its press release on its judicial decision:
"§ 51 Abs. 1 Satz 1 PostG enthielt eine bis 31. Dezember 2002 befristete gesetzliche Exklusivlizenz für die Deutsche Post AG für die Beförderung von Briefsendungen und adressierten Katalogen bei einem bestimmten Einzelgewicht und Einzelpreis. Diese Befristung wurde im Jahr 2001 durch das Erste Gesetz zur Änderung des Postgesetzes bis zum 31. Dezember 2007 verlängert. Das Zweite Gesetz zur Änderung des Postgesetzes aus dem Jahr 2002 verpflichtet die Deutsche Post AG für den Zeitraum der gesetzlichen Exklusivlizenz zur Erbringung von Universaldienstleistungen. Darunter versteht das Postgesetz ein Mindestangebot an Postdienstleistungen wie insbesondere die Beförderung von Briefsendungen und adressierten Paketen eines bestimmten Maximalgewichts, die flächendeckend in einer bestimmten Qualität und zu einem erschwinglichen Preis erbracht werden. Das Dritte Änderungsgesetz aus dem Jahr 2002 sieht bis zum 31. Dezember 2005 die gesetzliche Exklusivlizenz für Sendungen bei einem Einzelgewicht bis 100 Gramm bei einem bestimmten Einzelpreis vor und reduziert die Exklusivlizenz für die anschließende Zeit bis 31. Dezember 2007 auf Sendungen eines Einzelgewichts bis 50 Gramm bei einem bestimmten Einzelpreis."
The German postal rates which have changed effective January 1, 2006 involve increases as large as 27% for standard letters sent from Germany to other European Union countries. These increases seem contrary to the entire mandate of the liberalization of the German postal service and are also contrary to the idea of a European Union in which postal rates should be equal for all, as they are e.g. among the several States in the USA.
Comments by others to the new postal rates can be read at:
Editor Bill at the Britboard
DDBug at ToytownMunich
.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
New Food and Feed Rules in the EU as of January 1, 2006
In the EU, new food and feed legislation goes into effect on January 1, 2006. As written at the Brussels CTA Weblog on December 23, 2005:
"The first of January 2006 marks a significant milestone for food safety in the EU, with the entry into application of a large updated body of food and feed legislation. The Food “Hygiene Package”, the Regulation on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, the Regulation on official feed and food controls, and the Feed Hygiene Regulation, constitute a complementary set of rules to tighten and harmonise EU food safety measures. These laws will apply at every point in the food chain, in line with the EU’s “farm to fork” approach. A key aspect of the new legislation is that all food and feed operators, from farmers and processors to retailers and caterers, will have primary responsibility for ensuring that food put on the EU market meets the required safety standards."
Questions and Answers on the new EU rules on food and feed hygiene and controls at the EU website here.
.
"The first of January 2006 marks a significant milestone for food safety in the EU, with the entry into application of a large updated body of food and feed legislation. The Food “Hygiene Package”, the Regulation on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, the Regulation on official feed and food controls, and the Feed Hygiene Regulation, constitute a complementary set of rules to tighten and harmonise EU food safety measures. These laws will apply at every point in the food chain, in line with the EU’s “farm to fork” approach. A key aspect of the new legislation is that all food and feed operators, from farmers and processors to retailers and caterers, will have primary responsibility for ensuring that food put on the EU market meets the required safety standards."
Questions and Answers on the new EU rules on food and feed hygiene and controls at the EU website here.
.
Friday, December 23, 2005
New Ajax Technology - EU Law as an Example Page
Via CaryGEE, who always has his finger on the trigger of tomorrow, this is a vestige of things to come....
Take a look at ProtoPage.com which offers "Free AJAX start pages now with RSS news feeds, sticky notes and bookmarks".
The user need not register, but if no registration is made, the created page expires in 48 hours. Registration is free, so it is definitely worth the experiment.
We have created an AJAX page for links and RSS to the law of the European Union at http://www.protopage.com/orcimtfos. This kind of a page can be created in a very short period of time for almost any topic - the applications are immense.
AJAX viz. Ajax is the acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML.
As written by Jesse James Garrett on February 18, 2005 in Ajax: A New Approach to Web Application, Ajax "represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible on the Web".
Garrett writes further that:
"An Ajax application eliminates the start-stop-start-stop nature of interaction on the Web by introducing an intermediary — an Ajax engine — between the user and the server. It seems like adding a layer to the application would make it less responsive, but the opposite is true.
Instead of loading a webpage, at the start of the session, the browser loads an Ajax engine — written in JavaScript and usually tucked away in a hidden frame. This engine is responsible for both rendering the interface the user sees and communicating with the server on the user’s behalf. The Ajax engine allows the user’s interaction with the application to happen asynchronously — independent of communication with the server. So the user is never staring at a blank browser window and an hourglass icon, waiting around for the server to do something...."
No more waiting around? Terrific. The promise of this technology is immense, and that is why Google is using it. Garrett writes further:
"Google is making a huge investment in developing the Ajax approach.... Others are following ... Flickr ... Amazon’s A9.com search ...."
AJAX is going to be a blockbuster. Take a look at Garrett's Q&A.
Crossposted to LawPundit.
.
Take a look at ProtoPage.com which offers "Free AJAX start pages now with RSS news feeds, sticky notes and bookmarks".
The user need not register, but if no registration is made, the created page expires in 48 hours. Registration is free, so it is definitely worth the experiment.
We have created an AJAX page for links and RSS to the law of the European Union at http://www.protopage.com/orcimtfos. This kind of a page can be created in a very short period of time for almost any topic - the applications are immense.
AJAX viz. Ajax is the acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML.
As written by Jesse James Garrett on February 18, 2005 in Ajax: A New Approach to Web Application, Ajax "represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible on the Web".
Garrett writes further that:
"An Ajax application eliminates the start-stop-start-stop nature of interaction on the Web by introducing an intermediary — an Ajax engine — between the user and the server. It seems like adding a layer to the application would make it less responsive, but the opposite is true.
Instead of loading a webpage, at the start of the session, the browser loads an Ajax engine — written in JavaScript and usually tucked away in a hidden frame. This engine is responsible for both rendering the interface the user sees and communicating with the server on the user’s behalf. The Ajax engine allows the user’s interaction with the application to happen asynchronously — independent of communication with the server. So the user is never staring at a blank browser window and an hourglass icon, waiting around for the server to do something...."
No more waiting around? Terrific. The promise of this technology is immense, and that is why Google is using it. Garrett writes further:
"Google is making a huge investment in developing the Ajax approach.... Others are following ... Flickr ... Amazon’s A9.com search ...."
AJAX is going to be a blockbuster. Take a look at Garrett's Q&A.
Crossposted to LawPundit.
.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
European Union Realities - Baltic, Ireland, United Kingdom
Did you know that the world's first decorated Christmas tree was made in Riga, Latvia? in the year 1510.
And what about now? As stated at InspirationRiga.com: "Today Riga is one of Europe’s most dynamic and rapidly developing cities."
What about the rest of Latvia and the Modern Baltic?
Mark Landler in Tallinn, Estonia, (hat tip to CaryGEE) sends us a December 21, 2005 Letter From Estonia to the New York Times titled A Land of Northern Lights, Cybercafes and the Flat Tax which touches upon many of the difficult issues currently facing the Baltic, and also the European Union.
As Landler writes about neighboring Estonia: "Estonia, one realizes after a few days in the abiding twilight of a Baltic winter, is not like other European countries".
Landler writes further that "Estonia's economic growth was nearly 11 percent in the last quarter - the second fastest in Europe, after Latvia, and an increase more reminiscent of China or India than Germany or France."
The Old Europe vs. The New Europe
In Europe, we sometimes find two previously opposed worlds, the now increasingly dynamic "New Europe" of the East (predominantly in urban areas) and the sometimes all too encrusted "Old Europe" of the West (often in rural areas).
Part of the problem in the European Union is that some of the established nations of Western Europe do not want to move forward, whereas the economic demands of the times, driven by the globalization of the world, really give them no choice. In the longer term, they must move forward if they want to survive. This is a basic rule of life, "grow or die".
The Model of Ireland
The country of Ireland is the outstanding example of a country which is adapting well to the ever-changing demands of the world. A December 20, 2005 article by Teresa Küchler at EUobserver.com is titled "Irish most happy, Brits most unhappy with EU" and reports on a recent "Eurobarometer" poll taken by the European Commission, in which 86% of the Irish think that they have benefitted from EU membership, as compared to only 37% in Britain.
Ireland and the UK
So what distinguishes Ireland from the United Kingdom as far as the EU is concerned? Are these differences real - or merely differences in the way things are viewed?
Ireland, as far as we have been able to determine from news reports and analyses, has moved unfailingly toward modernity and toward European integration. See e.g. The Celtic Tiger. Take a look at Ireland's ComReg website. Fast, Comprehensive, Intuitive. Remarkably good. There you find an immediate link, e.g. to the "New EU Framework". Ireland is on the move.
By comparison, when I went to the UK telecommunications site, I was confronted with the statement that "The Oftel website is now closed" and was redirected, but not automatically, from Oftel to Ofcom. Try to find something at that website about the telecommunications framework of the European Union.
Indeed, compare both websites for the amount of informational content contained on all kinds of issues. The Irish website wins hands down, both in content and design. Why is that?
In November 2004, according to the BBC, the Economist judged Ireland the best country in the world to live in, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain. The United Kingdom ranked 29th. As the BBC writes:
"The researchers said although the UK achieved high income per head, it had high levels of social and family breakdown."
Does anyone really think that this high level of social and family breakdown has anything to do with the European Union? Or are there other factors of the past which have not been satisfactorily resolved? There is surely no sense in blaming the EU for these problems, which would exist even if the UK were not a member of the EU. Indeed, it might be suggested here that eurosceptics in the UK try to remove such non-EU-related problems from their political equation. Perhaps the role of the EU might then look different in their eyes.
Insularity is No Solution
One common denominator for those unhappy with the EU seems to be the desire for insularity, i.e. the attempt to reject the economic and political realities of the modern world and to live in the past, a past long gone. As suggested by Phil Kirk: "Forget the past and look to the future."
The possibility that EU problems are more ones of attitude and less problems of substance is manifested by two nations at opposite geographic ends of the EU, the United Kingdom and Latvia. The citizens of both nations are among the unhappiest with the EU (this in spite of the fact that Latvia currently has the fastest growing economy in Europe).
Latvian Rural Areas Emptying
In order not to offend the people in the UK, I will talk about my own ancestral nation. I was in Latvia last month and was again - as I was last year - as amazed at the dynamism in Riga as I was amazed at the lack of dynamism in rural areas, and, it is precisely from these rural areas that most of the opposition to the EU comes, just as in the French "no" vote to the Constitution, which was centered around farmers and workers.
Yet, while the eurosceptics in Latvia laud the good old days and the blessings of rural life, the younger generations continue to stream to Riga and elsewhere (particularly as workers to Ireland) to seek the blessings and wages of "modern life", leaving behind an impoverished "rural paradise" populated by the elderly. As my father (otherwise a great patriot who married on the Latvian Day of Independence) used to say about the good old days in Latvia, his teeth hurt down on the farm when he was a boy in Latvia and there were no dentists around to correct the problem nor money to pay them had they been there. Romanticism should not replace reality in politics.
My father left the Latvian countryside for Riga as a boy to support his family and ultimately emigrated to the United States after WWII to - rightly - seek his fortune. What has changed? Apparently very little.
See e.g.:
OECD Agriculture and Rural Development in Baltic Countries: Seminar held in Tallinn, Estonia, 10-12 June 2003
Basic skills in Latvia - A pessimistic outlook
Baltic Blacks among Celts (this title is provocative because "Balt" in Latvian means "white" and there is some indication that the "Baltic" name derived from that appellation)
Dan Bilefsky, Migration's flip side: All roads lead out, International Herald Tribune
As Slugger O'Toole writes:
"While there has been much talk about how Ireland has had to adjust to the more than 130,000 East Europeans from the new EU member states who registered to work here from May 2004 to date, Dan Bilefsky in the International Herald Tribune (paper copy only) reports how Latvia is emptying, where now “there is hardly a family left who hasn’t lost a son or daughter or mother or father to the mushroom farms of Ireland”."
That is the reality. Those who wish to perpetuate an antiquated traditional rural culture which is being abandonded by those who live there simply do not see the writing on the wall.
The Great Divide
The problems facing the UK are of course different, but, as in Latvia, there is still a great divide between economic realities and the utopian politico-economic theories of the eurosceptics and traditionalists, who long for some romantic perfect world in the past, which never existed.
The European Union may have its faults, but it is far better than any alternative that otherwise exists to guarantee the economic and political survival of Europe and its nations. Without the EU, the future of Europe would be fairly bleak, because relatively small, independent and individually weak nations would face global competition at all levels - and, more significantly - from bigger and stronger competitors. Indeed, the political dominance of large political unions such as the United States, Russia or China is comparable to the economic dominance exerted on the world economy by large multi-national corporations. One can either be dominated - or not wishing to be dominated - can form competing dominant political and economic unions. There is no other alternative in the long term.
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And what about now? As stated at InspirationRiga.com: "Today Riga is one of Europe’s most dynamic and rapidly developing cities."
What about the rest of Latvia and the Modern Baltic?
Mark Landler in Tallinn, Estonia, (hat tip to CaryGEE) sends us a December 21, 2005 Letter From Estonia to the New York Times titled A Land of Northern Lights, Cybercafes and the Flat Tax which touches upon many of the difficult issues currently facing the Baltic, and also the European Union.
As Landler writes about neighboring Estonia: "Estonia, one realizes after a few days in the abiding twilight of a Baltic winter, is not like other European countries".
Landler writes further that "Estonia's economic growth was nearly 11 percent in the last quarter - the second fastest in Europe, after Latvia, and an increase more reminiscent of China or India than Germany or France."
The Old Europe vs. The New Europe
In Europe, we sometimes find two previously opposed worlds, the now increasingly dynamic "New Europe" of the East (predominantly in urban areas) and the sometimes all too encrusted "Old Europe" of the West (often in rural areas).
Part of the problem in the European Union is that some of the established nations of Western Europe do not want to move forward, whereas the economic demands of the times, driven by the globalization of the world, really give them no choice. In the longer term, they must move forward if they want to survive. This is a basic rule of life, "grow or die".
The Model of Ireland
The country of Ireland is the outstanding example of a country which is adapting well to the ever-changing demands of the world. A December 20, 2005 article by Teresa Küchler at EUobserver.com is titled "Irish most happy, Brits most unhappy with EU" and reports on a recent "Eurobarometer" poll taken by the European Commission, in which 86% of the Irish think that they have benefitted from EU membership, as compared to only 37% in Britain.
Ireland and the UK
So what distinguishes Ireland from the United Kingdom as far as the EU is concerned? Are these differences real - or merely differences in the way things are viewed?
Ireland, as far as we have been able to determine from news reports and analyses, has moved unfailingly toward modernity and toward European integration. See e.g. The Celtic Tiger. Take a look at Ireland's ComReg website. Fast, Comprehensive, Intuitive. Remarkably good. There you find an immediate link, e.g. to the "New EU Framework". Ireland is on the move.
By comparison, when I went to the UK telecommunications site, I was confronted with the statement that "The Oftel website is now closed" and was redirected, but not automatically, from Oftel to Ofcom. Try to find something at that website about the telecommunications framework of the European Union.
Indeed, compare both websites for the amount of informational content contained on all kinds of issues. The Irish website wins hands down, both in content and design. Why is that?
In November 2004, according to the BBC, the Economist judged Ireland the best country in the world to live in, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain. The United Kingdom ranked 29th. As the BBC writes:
"The researchers said although the UK achieved high income per head, it had high levels of social and family breakdown."
Does anyone really think that this high level of social and family breakdown has anything to do with the European Union? Or are there other factors of the past which have not been satisfactorily resolved? There is surely no sense in blaming the EU for these problems, which would exist even if the UK were not a member of the EU. Indeed, it might be suggested here that eurosceptics in the UK try to remove such non-EU-related problems from their political equation. Perhaps the role of the EU might then look different in their eyes.
Insularity is No Solution
One common denominator for those unhappy with the EU seems to be the desire for insularity, i.e. the attempt to reject the economic and political realities of the modern world and to live in the past, a past long gone. As suggested by Phil Kirk: "Forget the past and look to the future."
The possibility that EU problems are more ones of attitude and less problems of substance is manifested by two nations at opposite geographic ends of the EU, the United Kingdom and Latvia. The citizens of both nations are among the unhappiest with the EU (this in spite of the fact that Latvia currently has the fastest growing economy in Europe).
Latvian Rural Areas Emptying
In order not to offend the people in the UK, I will talk about my own ancestral nation. I was in Latvia last month and was again - as I was last year - as amazed at the dynamism in Riga as I was amazed at the lack of dynamism in rural areas, and, it is precisely from these rural areas that most of the opposition to the EU comes, just as in the French "no" vote to the Constitution, which was centered around farmers and workers.
Yet, while the eurosceptics in Latvia laud the good old days and the blessings of rural life, the younger generations continue to stream to Riga and elsewhere (particularly as workers to Ireland) to seek the blessings and wages of "modern life", leaving behind an impoverished "rural paradise" populated by the elderly. As my father (otherwise a great patriot who married on the Latvian Day of Independence) used to say about the good old days in Latvia, his teeth hurt down on the farm when he was a boy in Latvia and there were no dentists around to correct the problem nor money to pay them had they been there. Romanticism should not replace reality in politics.
My father left the Latvian countryside for Riga as a boy to support his family and ultimately emigrated to the United States after WWII to - rightly - seek his fortune. What has changed? Apparently very little.
See e.g.:
OECD Agriculture and Rural Development in Baltic Countries: Seminar held in Tallinn, Estonia, 10-12 June 2003
Basic skills in Latvia - A pessimistic outlook
Baltic Blacks among Celts (this title is provocative because "Balt" in Latvian means "white" and there is some indication that the "Baltic" name derived from that appellation)
Dan Bilefsky, Migration's flip side: All roads lead out, International Herald Tribune
As Slugger O'Toole writes:
"While there has been much talk about how Ireland has had to adjust to the more than 130,000 East Europeans from the new EU member states who registered to work here from May 2004 to date, Dan Bilefsky in the International Herald Tribune (paper copy only) reports how Latvia is emptying, where now “there is hardly a family left who hasn’t lost a son or daughter or mother or father to the mushroom farms of Ireland”."
That is the reality. Those who wish to perpetuate an antiquated traditional rural culture which is being abandonded by those who live there simply do not see the writing on the wall.
The Great Divide
The problems facing the UK are of course different, but, as in Latvia, there is still a great divide between economic realities and the utopian politico-economic theories of the eurosceptics and traditionalists, who long for some romantic perfect world in the past, which never existed.
The European Union may have its faults, but it is far better than any alternative that otherwise exists to guarantee the economic and political survival of Europe and its nations. Without the EU, the future of Europe would be fairly bleak, because relatively small, independent and individually weak nations would face global competition at all levels - and, more significantly - from bigger and stronger competitors. Indeed, the political dominance of large political unions such as the United States, Russia or China is comparable to the economic dominance exerted on the world economy by large multi-national corporations. One can either be dominated - or not wishing to be dominated - can form competing dominant political and economic unions. There is no other alternative in the long term.
.
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