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Politics : Bush-The Mastermind behind 9/11? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (8675)	10/26/2004 12:00:35 PM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20039

Kyoto: a stopgap to stall Europe's decline: Prodi says European efforts to catch US 'a failure' By George Parker and Tony Barber in Brussels Published: October 25 2004 Romano Prodi, the outgoing European Commission president, has labelled Europe's efforts to overtake the US as the world's most competitive economy "a big failure". His comments came as Wim Kok, the former Dutch prime minister, prepared to deliver a scathing report on Europe's economic reforms, in which he will criticise a lack of commitment and political will and warn they risk becoming "a synonym for missed objectives and failed promises". Mr Kok's report - seen by the Financial Times - warns that Europe has fallen further behind the US since launching its ambitious target to raise Europe's growth potential at Lisbon in 2000. It proposes the European Union concentrate on 14 indicators to measure progress towards the goals it set at the Lisbon summit, focusing on jobs and growth. Mr Prodi said the widespread use of the national veto had allowed member states to block progress, in spite of Commission prompting. "You can't have unanimity in all economic areas, or if you do, you must accept the failure of Lisbon," he told the FT. "Lisbon is a big failure." He highlighted the failure to agree on a common European patent - a proposal on the drawing board for almost 15 years - as symptomatic of the problem. Mr Prodi's Commission has sometimes been viewed in Paris and Berlin as being too liberal in trying to push reform, particularly in cracking down on state aid and protectionism. But he feels let down by Tony Blair, the prime minister. Asked whether he had received the support he expected from Mr Blair, he said: "No." José Manuel Barroso, Mr Prodi's designated successor, will put economic reform at the top of his agenda when - or if - he takes office on November 1. First, his 24-member team must be approved by the European parliament on Wednesday, with Socialists, Liberals and Greens threatening to vote against. Mr Prodi said he was already packing to leave Brussels to return to Italian politics but was ready to serve as a caretaker if Mr Barroso's team was rejected. "It would be a real problem, but if there was some delay I would have no choice," he said. "But I'm convinced and I wish there will be a new Commission." Mr Prodi listed the enlargement of the EU and the internal reform of the Commission among his team's greatest achievements. Mr Prodi expects next week to be back in Italy preparing to do battle with his rival, Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, as head of the centre-left opposition. He accused Mr Berlusconi of running a "ceremonial" foreign policy. "I find Italian policy more and more on the periphery," he said. "I've not seen any case in which Italy was leading, either with France or Germany or the UK." news.ft.com

To: sea_urchin who wrote (8675)	10/26/2004 4:23:08 PM
From: sea_urchin	Respond to of 20039

> how convenient it is for the ruling class to bamboozle the masses with all these Bible fantasies (2) buzzflash.com

To: sea_urchin who wrote (8675)	10/27/2004 4:28:16 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20039

OT OT OT Searle, Re: I would have thought that Americans were different -- The American corporate media has assiduously worked to dim down the public for the past 20-30 years. In a race to the bottom (line), the media has created a pernicious and pervasive blurring of the lines between current events information and entertainment. And more recently, an even more ugly conflation of religion with network propaganda has continued the rotting of the American mind. The public generally are too busy, distracted, ill-informed and unconcerned to actually take any steps toward self-education. The great bulk of the American public have been trained to be obsequious followers, and they're doing a damn good job of it. * I'm wondering what you might make of this? Seems like a hoax site to me: yesbushcan.com * The first three arguments here in favor of altering Oregon's constitution to declare marriage to be only between men and women are clearly wonderful satires that somehow slipped past the censors at the Voter Guide section here in Oregon: sos.state.or.us Or maybe the editors of the Voter Guide have a real sense of humor? Cheerio!