We are getting massively out of topic but as John (kilopascal) said there is nothing to talk about that would be on topic.
Yes Jim, I don't like his prediction and I don't like any apocaliptic predictions for that matter. I know very well who MF is. I once admired his theories until I felt the practical portion of them on my own skin. I don't wish the EU nor the US to desintegrate or any other society. I want the world to find the way to peace and prosperity and not to distruction. I do admire a lot what the western Europeans did and I consider that it takes (took) a lot of guts and self discipline to build the EU out of countries who share centuries of quarrels to say the least. I hope they manage to pave the way for other unions which are logical and imminent (Africa, SA, Middle East) So you can better understand what I mean just look at the Canadian-US relationships: Although the two people share the same language (mostly) and have similar cultures and an almost common economy the two countries have still not managed to dissolve their borders like the Europeans did. I do believe in the EU and the Euro and I sincerely hope it manages to become a world strength (not power! that is negative). Europe has far more to offer than many countries or federations in the world in terms of culture, history, tourism. If they manage to create a common economical policy with stable institutions and competitive industries (their Steel industry is already the most competitive in the world) they will really become a second "pillar or pole" in the world. And I do believe that the world is in dire need of a second pillar as the current situation where the US's military budget surpasses the sum of the military budgets of the following top 15 countries is unacceptable. The unbalance is too big, and I hope you agree. Finally, to return to Mr. Friedman. If he had voiced his opinion like: If the EU fails to do...this or that, than it may face disruptions or even desintegration, I would have said nothing as this is what I consider constructive criticism. Instead he chose a prophet's language which I find arrogant. Does it surprise me? Yes. I expected more of him. And what worries me the most is that this seems to be the general attitude in the US political circles towards the EU. This confrontational attitude is also what drives the US policy on metrication but that is the least of my worries. Sincerely, Adrian ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Elwell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 16:12:21 -0600 To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [USMA:20934] Re: Unbelievable arogance > > Just because you don't like his prediction about the EU and the euro, don't > presume things to which he made no reference. > > I rather doubt that Milton Friedman would extend his prediction to the > metric system, for many reasons: metric is used in many times more > countries as the euro, metric has been around far, far longer, countries > may fight over tariffs and trade wars and currency policies, but (metric) > countries don't fight over measurement systems. Etc., etc., etc. > > Wizard, Milton Friedman is one of the most famous (or infamous, depending > on your beliefs) Nobel-prize winners in the field of economics of the 20th > century. Yes, he is also an American. > > > Jim Elwell, CAMS > Electrical Engineer > Industrial manufacturing manager > Salt Lake City, Utah, USA > www.qsicorp.com > > -- __________________________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup Save up to $160 by signing up for NetZero Platinum Internet service. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=N2P0602NEP8
