Ray, At 14:38 04/02/03 -0500, you wrote: <<<< And most of all, European countries have to understand that to compete with the US they have to begin to think like a United States of Europe. The US could turn their programs on a dime because they are one country. You guys are so split that you can't move without spending years talking about it. That was how the Indian people lost the war when we were in a majority. Soon it was too late. Europe has the greatest potential in the world and the smallest mindset. Next to Europe China is nothing but we can still simply decide in one election to turn all of this around just as it happened in thirty short years with the conservatives. So I'm not optimistic about Europe. >>>>
Nor am I. We haven't a common language and that's an essential lynchpin in any successful culture. All of the larger countries of Europe are at odds with one another at different times in different permutations. Maybe it could all come together under the English and its language. But pigs might fly. China will succeed. Despite the fact that it has many dialects it has only one written language and, as it has done three times in the past two millenia, it is now re-establishing its power and pride after what has been, historically, a momentary lapse. America is in great danger, though. I understand that American English is fast losing ground to Spanish and America will be a two-language nation within the next decade or so. It will lose whatever distinctive culture it now has and acquire the Spanish sense of urgency about important things. And I think that Asian-born scientists, who've been vital to America's success in science and business in the last 20 years, will now longer be attracted to America and will be more likely to stay at home or go next door to China. Japan has a chance. This is a highly intelligent nation with a rigorous immigration-prevention, language-retention policy. Unfortunately, it remains under the control of Ministry of Finance bureaucrats just at the moment, and wallows in inefficiency. When the politicians finally have the courage to throw the bureaucrats off their backs then I think that the Japanese will revive quite vigorously and frighten the Americans again. Keith Hudson ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
