Hm.
Regarding French politicians....
I'm going to go out on a limb here (REALLY out on a limb, since we have a Turkish poster here...All I Want, is that you?
..and PLEASE don't flame me, I'm just making a neutral observation... ).
France not only has by far the highest ethnic Armenian population in Europe, but it is, to my knowledge, the only country in the West (and possibly the world, I really don't know) whose government has passed a resolution offically recognizing the Armenian Genocide...as such. Now, maybe the media have been lax in reporting it, but don't tell me that France's Armenian communities didn't firebomb their local reps on this issue. Especially since they just had the offical 90th anniversary remembrance activities in late April, with the Turksih gov't STILL not decisively addressing the issue by opening up and officially declassifying the early 20th century Ottoman archives for public scrutiny. (If whatever happened, for whatever reason, occurred under a different gov't, then why the stalling on declassiying the archives? Surely the present-day democratic Turkey has nothing to hide.And it would be the only way to prove Armenians were lying and settle the issue once and for all. IF the Armenians were lying, or if they really were collusion with Russia, proving that it was anational emergency and the Ottomans had to take decisive steps to save the country, then why not open the archives and tell the world this? the gov't should be eager to prove this and should be rushing to settle the issue once and for all. The stalling only would make on outside observer think they had something to hide. It' s the way Bush does things. )
Some of them may indeed want Turkey excluded....on grounds of "they don't deserve it, not when they've never apologized....for even Ottoman atrocities....the way the new, non-Nazi-government aplogozied for the Nazi legacy" etc. And from what I know of Armenian communities here in the U.S, politically speaking, you don't have to fall into one particular party to feel this way. A lot of Armenian Americans are conservsative..the ratio probably skews 55-45 here....but on any issue regarding Turkey, conservative or liberal, that's the ONE thing they can agree on. I know. So you can't say everyone was afar right winger who opposes Turkey....
Personally, I find this curious, that they stick up for Armenians (well..not a surprise, really, since the last independent king of medivial Armenia died in Paris in 13-something and is buried in a cathedral there) and yet they have a rep for anti-Semitism. The lingering legacy of the Dreyfus affiar and such. Not all French, of coure, but there's a sizable bunch of looney tunes. Sometimes. The Germans, irnoically, have Far more tolerance it seems in some things...with its high Turkish population.
OK..I may have offended about 6 different ethnic groups and hence, posters, with this....I have to say that is NOT my intention. And to our "Turkish friend"....I repeat, I was NOT trying to say anything negative aobut you. Or your country...I was just trying to step into the mind of a French politican that's all. I will shut up about 1915 of course. I knowit;s a touchy issue.for both sides. I realy hope and pray someday that it won't have to be an issue anymore. I'd love to have you for a "friend" after all...FORGIVE ME?? To tell you the truth, I wish to God I had a Turkish friend or acquaintance I could have aconstructive dialogue about this with....because my heart aches for you people as much as for us, sometimes. Talking..its the omly way out, the only way to healing. "We're one but we're not the same, we get to carry each other"...
Now, I confess to an American's ignorance about the forming EU. I have read so much about the EU (from a variety of sources; if you could live here and experience daily what passes for the MEDIA in this country you'd wonder how we ever could function....you'd also find that ignorance serves many politicans well....*COUGH*) and I confess to still being confused about some things.
1)I still don't understand how the possible non-ratification of the Constituion could affect the outcome. How could the integration of Europe still be on-track politically, but not economically? If Europe is unable to devise a political union, wouldn't this be mirrored by economic disarray? I have always thought that political power is bolstered--indeed, upheld..by economic hegomeny and strength. How can you have a cohesive polical entity without a cohesive economic one?
2) How will this affect pending membership of other countries, or the applications of new countries to join in the future? Can new countries be added economicaly without being added politcally? It seems unlikely to me. Many media outlets in the US are discussing a sort of future "Franco-German bloc", patterned after old alliances, which, ironically, would mirror the derisive "Old Europe" Bush scoffs at, with newer members loosely on the outside.
I find this supremely ironic, because Bush did everything he could to isolate these 2 countires politically, and against him, they wer eunfied. But in the matterof the EU< they disagree, aparently.
3)The Brits are now saying that their EU vote is going to be postponed indefinitely. Which I find ironic too, since they were the ones expected to vote now months ago, they were seen as the big problem, not France, which pioneered it. IN efect, Blair and Snow don't want to have the distinction of being the ones who killed the EU. Do you think Blair will really call the idea dead in June, at the conference, or do you think he may try to create a meida blitz to saway pulbic opinion and take a chance with holding another refrendum next year, it the polls prove more favorable, thus paving the way and providing a formula to "save" the charter by proving that the French and Dutch can do the same thing and sway their voters too, for a positive repeat vote?
ehm,...i voted also yes.
