2005.9.15=4[#258]:8.12=#(60x3+39)[US#39] Drive mom to ultrasound on neck, mom & aBi to Long's on feet skin & knee. #0. EU: Ger<>Fra.

Cloudy cool to fair mild: Up 6:55, quickly drive Jun to BART, then to o.h. 8:30, breakfast, aBi has knee "water" problem stays home, ultrasound exam of mom's neck at Washington Vascular Diagnostics should be 10am, but cannot find Dr. Cheng's prescription, tel Dr. Cheng, and to Washington Clinic w/o ultrasound, then to Washington Hospital, then tel again to the same lady w correct answer this time, and she has pres. faxed already. Quick exam, then to Yung-ho, I buy fruits and vege also, to o.h. for aBi cooked miso & vege, and Yung-ho duck meat, amils, sleep, aBi back already, so 3 of us to Bk of Am for mom cash, then to Long's for pharmacist to examine aBi's knee and also mom's itchy feet, no drug for them but to wait tommorow for Dr. Cheng, get mercuroclear, late home, w/o Mei, quick supper, and [I] w 4 answers: "#1-0. Law & Order #100" to #100-3: discussing Geneva Convention, etc. 1:30 bed!! #0. "In the Heart of Europe: Social Models and Geopolitics", PINR, 16 September 2005: http://www.pinr.com/ "" In an interview with the French daily Le Monde, E.U. Commission Vice President Guenther Verheugen from Germany said on September 3 that a unique "European social model" -- so often mentioned by observers -- simply does not exist. National legacies in Europe, Verheugen explained, are visible in social and public policies, and different approaches to the welfare state, industrial policy and labor markets are evident throughout the old continent's main states. "" "" Conclusion Social models and labor policies are not just the result of economic ideologies. They are also the effect of history and geopolitical constraints. In Europe, economic liberalism triumphed in Great Britain for several reasons, not simply due to the persuasion of certain influential individuals. France and Germany have gradually absorbed some "Anglo-Saxon liberalism" prerogatives due to American power and influence, and thanks to the post-WWII world configuration, at a time when they needed strong relationships with the U.S. and Britain. However, they have also retained some of their respective traditions of strong state intervention in the economy, and often perceive economic globalization as an American strategy to impose U.S. economic power. Both countries still maintain their most enduring foreign policy goals -- i.e. controlling the heart of Europe and projecting their power globally after having securitized their original geopolitical environment. A balanced multipolar world is what they perceive as in their global interest. In this sense, they oppose Anglo-American hegemony over the West, but their ruling classes are split between those who believe it is necessary to copy the current British social model in order to compete more effectively, and those who maintain that their country can effectively compete only if it can revive its own specific national model. This internal battle among Paris' and Berlin's decision-makers will be one of Europe's most delicate issues in the next decade and one that will prove once again the power of history and geography. Report Drafted By: Federico Bordonaro ""