People, including many Europeans, make a lot of assumptions about Europe.
Americans in particular seem to assume that issues fall along the same political Dem/Rep divide as in the US. That gives them bad ideas. European countries have more solid social safety nets, more accessible and cheaper health care and education, more developed and usable public transport systems, …
On other issues like immigration or racism, they are on a MAGA-level. There is no big controversy because it is widely taken for granted that European nations are ethno-states. This is less so in the former colonial powers Britain and France. But they have their own baggage that gnaws at them from within, just like the history of racial segregation undermines the USA.
Another area where Europe is just different from the US is freedom of information. It’s just not respected in the same way. Intellectual property, on the other hand, is held in much higher regard. That’s how it has been for a long time.
Now that the copyright industry is waging an all-out lobby battle against citizens, you can expect much more like this.
On other issues like immigration or racism, they are on a MAGA-level. There is no big controversy because it is widely taken for granted that European nations are ethno-states. This is less so in the former colonial powers Britain and France. But they have their own baggage that gnaws at them from within, just like the history of racial segregation undermines the USA.
My passing understanding is that they’d really prefer if the people from their former colonies remained an ocean or two away. Portugal recently passed a new law that made it harder for immigrants (the vast majority are Brazilians) to get a worker visa and full citizenship
(I didn’t mean for that to be read as a leading question, BTW. I wasn’t necessarily expecting Spain or Portugal to be different from Britain and France; I just asked about them because they were the other major colonial powers but weren’t mentioned.)
Classic waffles are way better than those belgium giant ass ridges cant even hold the melted butter and high fructose corn syrup aunt jemima in one bite .
You say this as if the problem isn’t American corporations and pooled special interests bribing, blackmail and rig elections in every country they can until they get what they want.
The copyright lobby in the EU is homegrown. For example, the football league in Italy has achieved sweeping laws that can be used to block pirated live streams without much ado. Expect that to be rolled out across the EU.
It’s true that these EU corporations are in league with the US copyright lobby. After all, Europeans read American books, watch American movies, listen to American music. The books are usually badly translated and published by a European corporation, which gives Europeans a cut. European agencies, often government-sponsored monopolies, collect money and send much of it to the US. But a lot is doled out to European corporations. And the collecting agencies have a good thing going, as well.
Yeah, it was Europe’s fault for getting the US to replace its utilitarian “to promote the progress of science and the useful arts” basis for copyright with ‘droite d’arteur’ moral rights (via the Berne Convention treaty) in the first place.
It’s bizzare, you started off by saying “No” in a willful display of poor social skills but then went on to say very little that I’ve disagreed with.
I mean, I didn’t say that each country didn’t have their own lobby, now did I?
The pressure and the money to actually change things and control your country’s entire online media narrative is controlled by a very small number of US companies. They use this power to rig elections and force law like the above through. I understand that wi be difficult reading for some Americans who don’t like that they’re now the colonising Empire but, that doesn’t change that the main problem with sorting our own digital data laws hasn’t been meddling by American business interests.
Have you got anything more than “I don’t like this. So, it isn’t true?”
Wow Belgium, I thought you were a bit cooler than that
People, including many Europeans, make a lot of assumptions about Europe.
Americans in particular seem to assume that issues fall along the same political Dem/Rep divide as in the US. That gives them bad ideas. European countries have more solid social safety nets, more accessible and cheaper health care and education, more developed and usable public transport systems, …
On other issues like immigration or racism, they are on a MAGA-level. There is no big controversy because it is widely taken for granted that European nations are ethno-states. This is less so in the former colonial powers Britain and France. But they have their own baggage that gnaws at them from within, just like the history of racial segregation undermines the USA.
Another area where Europe is just different from the US is freedom of information. It’s just not respected in the same way. Intellectual property, on the other hand, is held in much higher regard. That’s how it has been for a long time.
Now that the copyright industry is waging an all-out lobby battle against citizens, you can expect much more like this.
What about Spain and Portugal?
My passing understanding is that they’d really prefer if the people from their former colonies remained an ocean or two away. Portugal recently passed a new law that made it harder for immigrants (the vast majority are Brazilians) to get a worker visa and full citizenship
Exceptions that prove the rule. Also, just like Greece, tons of migration over millennia because of the Mediterranean sea.
Are they exceptions?
(I didn’t mean for that to be read as a leading question, BTW. I wasn’t necessarily expecting Spain or Portugal to be different from Britain and France; I just asked about them because they were the other major colonial powers but weren’t mentioned.)
In short: IDK.
Why?
That does it, I’m not having waffles anymore
I’ll still eat as many Freedom Waffles as I please.
Classic waffles are way better than those belgium giant ass ridges cant even hold the melted butter and high fructose corn syrup aunt jemima in one bite .
You say this as if the problem isn’t American corporations and pooled special interests bribing, blackmail and rig elections in every country they can until they get what they want.
No.
The copyright lobby in the EU is homegrown. For example, the football league in Italy has achieved sweeping laws that can be used to block pirated live streams without much ado. Expect that to be rolled out across the EU.
It’s true that these EU corporations are in league with the US copyright lobby. After all, Europeans read American books, watch American movies, listen to American music. The books are usually badly translated and published by a European corporation, which gives Europeans a cut. European agencies, often government-sponsored monopolies, collect money and send much of it to the US. But a lot is doled out to European corporations. And the collecting agencies have a good thing going, as well.
Yeah, it was Europe’s fault for getting the US to replace its utilitarian “to promote the progress of science and the useful arts” basis for copyright with ‘droite d’arteur’ moral rights (via the Berne Convention treaty) in the first place.
It’s bizzare, you started off by saying “No” in a willful display of poor social skills but then went on to say very little that I’ve disagreed with.
I mean, I didn’t say that each country didn’t have their own lobby, now did I?
The pressure and the money to actually change things and control your country’s entire online media narrative is controlled by a very small number of US companies. They use this power to rig elections and force law like the above through. I understand that wi be difficult reading for some Americans who don’t like that they’re now the colonising Empire but, that doesn’t change that the main problem with sorting our own digital data laws hasn’t been meddling by American business interests.
Have you got anything more than “I don’t like this. So, it isn’t true?”