Why the French will vote no to the EU constituion

From the mass disbelief over the prospect of a French vote against the European constitution, a document that many claim would strengthen the French position within the European Union, comes this explanation from the Guardian newspaper:

- They feel that when the president, the government and the mainstream opposition combine to trumpet the merits of something and to implicitly denounce its opponents as half-wits who have understood nothing, it is their moral duty to revolt-

They feel ditto, but even more strongly, when virtually every newspaper, TV and radio commentator more or less explicitly backs the constitution and expresses amazement at the very possibility of a no vote-

They are worried about the expanded (and expanding) union and about its impact on their lives, particularly the arrival in France en masse of the key bogeyman of this debate, the Polish plumber (don’t even mention the Turkish taxi-driver)

The Guardian: Why the French are saying non

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The Pickup

It was wednesday night and all across Europe there was a football evening going on: Liverpool were playing AC Milan in the Champions league. It went to extra time and then to penalties after Milan scored 3 goals against Liverpool in the first half, with Liverpool taking back nothing. However, after the start of the second half, all within 6 minutes, Liverpool came back with 3 goals of their own. What was interesting was the tension developing from that time on. Kristin and I had headed down to the pub for the second half after being unable to get out of the building beforehand.

We didn’t go crazy like some people did, but when Liverpool eventually won, we still enjoyed it, laughing all the way into our pints.

a frogOn the mile-long walk back home, one of my Dutch friends, Anne, took her shoes off because her red ruby slippers were hurting so much. I thought it was a stupid idea because there’s always bits of broken glass lying around and getting into ones shoes, so what might happen with bare feet?! She said she’d be fine, just paying attention to where she was walking.
As she was looking down she saw, to our great surprise, a little shape moving across the ground, which turned out to be a tiny frog. To everyone’s great disgust, I picked it up and showed it to them. The French were disgusted, the English were disgusted and the Dutch were alarmed. I thought it was cool; I love wildlife.

Wel, I should qualify that; I love wildlife as long as it loves me. I loved the frog a little less after it peed on me. I thought at first that it had started raining and then realized. No rain about, I just had a sopping wet frog in my hands which I promptly put down in some long grass. I wasn’t carrying it after that!

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I’m all wet, and not in THAT way

The Mo and the Fiz and the Walker all took me out tonight. We were having a massive water fight in one of the Victorian houses around here and, for some strange reason they all turned on me. I was shocked. In the middle of trying to plan an impromptu attack on one of the boys, I open a door to find three jugs full of water being sprayed across me. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I weren’t fully dressed, but I was in full length jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. The girls with breasts out and still somehow not getting hit, me with clothes on and getting soaked.

We started out by watching R being chased around the building by ad guy with two jugs full of water. That was hilarious, not able to run as fast as him she was always going to be at a disadvantage, but he was carrying water at the same time, trying to to spill it, so that definitely slowed him down. To see a a poor defenceless girl being chased by a big guy with water jugs was just taking the piss. After we four started targeting him the whole situation got rather out of hand and we had to, just had to get back at one another with jugs, Coke bottles, and garbage cans full of water. The whole building is soaked.
I don’t know how it’s going to dry out but there are going to be a lot of open windows tomorrow, and tumble dryers running on full blast.

Later stoners!

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Cosco for the people, don’t screw the people

costco warehouse
Why is it that Costco can treat it’s employees so well whilst Wal-Mart pays them a barely living wage. Why is it that Costco can sell quality products without screwing the supplier? Is the basis a funamental difference in markets exploited by the two groups or is it simply a different way of doing business, a method that says it’s best to take care of employees because then they’ll take care of your store; they’ll actually care? The Seattle Weekly asks the questions:

Given the overpowering influence of Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer and the world’s largest retailer, at times there has seemed no way out from the downward competitive pressure it exerts. Which is why Costco’s defiantly different approach has grabbed the attention of the folks who study these things. Annette Bernhardt, a policy analyst at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, says she and her colleagues frequently bring up the Costco/Wal-Mart dichotomy in order to illustrate high- and low-wage business models. “It has really given researchers and activists a language to talk to the American public about these issues,” she says. Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at the Wharton School, plans to analyze the differences between the two companies for an upcoming study. Rutgers University labor economist Eileen Appelbaum pronounces Costco a company that “shows that you can compete without having to drive down the wages of employees.”

Seattle Weekly: Company for the People

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