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| Europe |
| The face that launched 1,000 Eurosceptic quips |
| 2005-03-07 |
| Totally OT, but it made me laugh. There are some familiar names amongst the 'hijackers'. It was meant to bring the European Union closer to its citizens, putting an appealing face on what often appears to be a distant bureaucracy. But the personal blog, or internet diary, of a European Commissioner has been hijacked by British eurosceptics. They are using it, instead, to attack the EU and to pour scorn on those who lead it. 'Hijacked' is somewhat OTT - she's just getting a lot of critical comments... Margot Wallström, the Vice- President of the European Commission, was handed the job of boosting support before the wave of referendums on the EU constitution and she started her blog on the Commission website after the new year, mixing the personal and political to emphasise the benefits of Europe. Her efforts have been engulfed in a cyber-war, however, with British Eurosceptics leaving hundreds of messages attacking the Commission for destroying British industry and Britain's democratic traditions. The row has got so bitter that Ms Wallström replied recently: "The EU-negative crowd in the UK or elsewhere seem very happy to have found in me another object of hatred — help yourselves!" In the very first entry in her blog, Ms Wallström emphasises her concern about the Asian tsunami, before turning to the problem of the long lunches that she has to have for her job. Worrying about the weight that she has put on over Christmas, the Swedish commissioner wrote: "The official meetings don't last that long, but the lunches are three or four or even more hours from now on." A man named Sean replied: "At least you are making an attempt to communicate with the great European public. But I'm afraid there is no getting around the fact that you represent an elitist, corrupt, and unelected politburo, which for some reason exercises enormous power over the lives of millions. Why? Why do you have this power? Who voted for you?" An entry on the benefits of recycling, in which the commissioner mentioned that she had been sent a bag from India made from used newspapers, prompted a round of derisive comments. She replied: "The one I liked the most was the guy who wanted my recycled bag to throw up in! Funny!" Detailing the benefits of new EU legislation on hazardous chemicals, she recounted that a doctor once found 28 "chemicals" in her blood and said that she was worried about passing them on to her children through breastfeeding. "This is not the stuff that I want my boys to inherit first thing!" she wrote. Richard North, a prominent Eurosceptic, replied: "That, I am afraid, is the classic cry of the charlatan and the snake oil salesman throughout the ages. Tugging on the heartstrings may be all right for the tabloid newspapers, but it is not something that politicians should indulge in." A reader called John Coles suggested: "She should be locked in a room and told to read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations before being allowed out." The arguments are so onesided that one reader asked for someone to agree with Ms Wallström to add balance. "It's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel otherwise." Sometimes the comments descend into English nationalism. A contributor called Kissingengland listed triumphs from the Magna Carta to the defeat of Fascism, adding: "This free, unconquered nation of mine, which has nourished, defended and preserved its institutions and liberties through eight centuries of continental despotism and warmongering, has nothing to gain from suborning itself to the inferior political structures of the EU." That constitutes 'English nationalism'? Looks like a rational observation to me. The 10 Downing Street website quickly closed down its public message board because it was exploited as a platform to attack government policy, but Ms Wallström's spokesman said that she had no plans to follow suit. He added: "It's true a lot of it comes from the UK. It's a pity we get so many comments from people who seem to be very eurosceptic. It proves those in favour are the silent majority." Uh. Yeah. Of course. Sounds as though someone else needs to be locked in a room with a copy of A Child's Guide to Venn Diagrams. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #23 Goodnight, lying coward. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-03-07 9:42:39 PM |
| #22 Lent is the answer. Subjudgation and exlicit? I don't know about. Nite |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 9:41:03 PM |
| #21 how could your "Lent" reference be so cryptic? Well, the exlicit question was "Since when?" and the implicit question was "Have you no shame being such a hypocrite?" The answer was "Lent." I with my limited knowledge of English don't quite understand the meaning thereof. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-03-07 9:36:27 PM |
| #20 when they unify their foreign policy! Which is what, 20 or 50 years away, if ever? Frank G. seemed to be referring to a specific "agreement of lies and subjudgation", not one yet in the distant future. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-03-07 9:32:01 PM |
| #19 Pappy: good question; Tom: don't know either... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 9:17:34 PM |
| #18 Not only is that perplexing, but how could your "Lent" reference be so cryptic? Perhaps the Murat-imposter has surfaced again under a new name. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-03-07 9:14:34 PM |
| #17 Surely the members of the EU cannot expect to retain multiple Security Council seats or even multiple General Assembly seats when they unify their foreign policy! For that matter, they can close quite a few embassies and consulates too. But they will still be allowed to field separate Olympic teams? Y'know - like Puerto Rico? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-03-07 9:13:01 PM |
| #16 :-) does "should" mean something new? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 9:05:54 PM |
| #15 Y'all are *welcome*, brother Frank. Pshaw, dude, twern't nothin'. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-03-07 9:03:54 PM |
| #14 'zactly. Nuff said, thx Tom |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 8:52:08 PM |
| #13 Surely the members of the EU cannot expect to retain multiple Security Council seats or even multiple General Assembly seats when they unify their foreign policy! For that matter, they can close quite a few embassies and consulates too. And Giscard d'Estang, chief Euro-bureaucrat, shall bravely lead the European Union's masses into the Chirac multi-polar world, to one day be united with Turkey and the Middle East under the banner of Islam... |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-03-07 8:49:11 PM |
| #12 If you intentionally just fed misinformation into the forum, just to troll me into correcting it, then admit yourself a liar and be done with it, Frank. No cryptic "Lent" remarks. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-03-07 8:30:49 PM |
| #11 Lent. Have a nice day :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 8:27:23 PM |
| #10 Remember, once in, only one seat for the EU on the UN Security Council Really? Since when? It's amusing that Frank G's among the chief persons who keep on insisting I'm utterly ignorant about the United States and thus should not comment on it, ever. Somehow I fail to remember ever speaking anything nearly as ignorant as what you just said, Frank. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-03-07 8:20:23 PM |
| #9 there's still time to reject this agreement of lies and subjugation, BD. Remember, once in, only one seat for the EU on the UN Security Council....Britain, France should lose theirs. Would you really want some unelected pussified belgian (i.e.: french puppet) creating economic hurdles for the UK, while letting the French and Germans skirt debt ceilings and letting Greece lie about their economy? As an American mutt with a considerable dash of English in me, I would hope not! Civil disobedience is not out of the order (and a damn good moment of confusion to take care of bothersome sheikhs, mullahs, and miscreants - wink wink)! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-03-07 7:36:49 PM |
| #8 That is exactly what I had on mind in #4. :-) It resds like someone just built a French version of Chimpskybot. |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-03-07 7:26:34 PM |
| #7 I didn't say I understand it, Raptor ;) . |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2005-03-07 8:23:37 AM |
| #6 Man,I had a tough time following that,Bulldog.Must be cause I'm just a simplimse cowboy. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2005-03-07 7:35:37 AM |
| #5 Improved it for me - someone whose French has lapsed considerably in the twelve years or so since I stopped studying it ;) . It's an English language blog, which they read in English, so why are some of the commentators responding in strange tongues? All a bit rude, I say, especially considering that English is the lingua franca of Europe... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2005-03-07 7:07:17 AM |
| #4 Why I have a feeling that Babelfish did not help to improve the French speaker's post in any way? |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-03-07 6:51:53 AM |
| #3 Heh. Reading a few other entries, it seems there are still plenty of angry comments. The censorship isn't complete. I don't think I've ever read so many vapidly fawning contributions to a blog before though. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2005-03-07 6:51:24 AM |
#2 Despite what she's reported to have said about not censoring her blog, it does seem she's removed at least some, if not most or all, of the non-complimentary comments, including the one about the recycled bag she though amusing. The only two remaining contributions at that post are non-English, one of which being this from a French-speaker (translated courtesy of Babelfish):dear madam, all my congratulations to integrate in your responsibility and working method interactivity. I hope that you will make school. Concerning recycling... It has all gained circulation and data processing. First of all because the traceability, the follow-up of the responsibility are largely facilitated by data-processing progress. Then, because the speed of the communication, the possibility of binding the individuals according to their interest, their profession represent a fantastic advisability of changing the relation between the producer, his missions and the consumer. Of course like any change, it encounters many resistances, from where the need for courage political like yours for example, but so inevitable because one cannot stop technological progress Shame on those barbaric British eurosceptics for lowering the tone! |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2005-03-07 6:43:15 AM |
| #1 So much! Where to start? Only a few percentage points of the population participates in online forums. This is just the begining. Anglophones are disproportionately represented but thats a combination of culture and being the first movers. I Just don't believe somehow the French and Germans are different to the Brits, They just haven't caught up with the online everyone can choose who they listen to dynamic. They will, just wait. Otherwise, the Magna Carta was the seminal event in world history. For the first time enforceable rights were written down. The written word became more important than any person, no matter how powerful. Our entire modern society stems from that single event in a small field that still exists. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-03-07 6:31:11 AM |