The US is a Common Law country, for the most part, and almost all European countries use Civil Law/Roman Law [with the exception of England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland]. The systems are very different in all aspects. From the power of judges to the nature of precedents.
The EU is very active with regards to competition law due to the nature of the institution. The European Union is NOT a federal government, and each member country is still a sovereign country.
The EU and associated institutions legislate, monitor and adjudicate only on matters that are of importance to the whole community. Trade is centrally regulated with the goal of creating one large market for products, services and employees/employers. These are implemented locally within in each national system of law.
However due to the fact that each country may have different or other sets of laws and regulations related to products, take food safety as an example, if these laws stop/hinder products from other EU countries they may be in conflict with central EU treaties. Each country is looking to protect its own industries and jobs while at the same time hoping to win in other markets.
So because each member country is always looking for an advantage, they all work to make sure they are not getting treated unfairly. The result is an army of watchers intent on keeping the playing field *exactly* equal for all regardless of origin.
-----
Branches of American companies in Europe are not treated any different than European companies, the EU and it's member states don't care about the origins of a company - only the jobs, taxes and advances it makes possible in *their* country. That's why it's extra amusing to see angry Americans crying over the treatment so called "American" companies get in Europe.
Actually "every government" is not having economic problems, unlike the US some European countries have come out of the recession.
Some Europeans countries are actually "in the black" with surpluses, and little or no unemployment. The US media is not very good at informing the public about the situation around the world.
Oh, and 40 million USD is not the real cost to European countries since it's obviously payed for in local currencies (Swiss Franc, Euros). The exchange rate inflates the numbers.
And it is a tiny amount for a continent with over 700 million people (twice that of the US) and a much bigger economy than the US! Even the EU has a larger GNP than the US, and the EU does not include all of Europe at all.
P.S. The project straddles the Swiss and French borders on the *outskirts* of Geneva (and quite a few kilometers).
They are hardly related. I have read about the Kievan Rus. There is a connection, however it does not make the country Scandinavian.
The present British royal family is full of Danes and Germans, that does not make the country Danish or German!
The United States is ruled by a man of Kenyan ancestry, that does not make the US an African country!
Russia did indeed receive a number of mostly Swedish vikings in the past, that does not make Russia Scandinavian! The people of Russia past and present are not Germanic:)
While there are all kinds of peoples in the Russian Federation, from the Volga-Germans to Finns in Karelia, it is still mostly a Slavic nation (in the Russian republic).
Actually, Finland is not Scandinavian, they're just a Nordic nation. The reason is exactly as you stated, they're not of Germanic origin.
The three Scandinavian Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden share a common origin, people, languages and history. Finland does not.
While the Scandinavians speak Germanic languages and have shared genetic origins, the Finns do not share either with us. The Finns came from Russian territory, Scandinavians came from somewhere in Northern Europe/Germany.
Finns speak a non-Indo-European language related to Hungarian, Scandinavians speak Germanic languages related to English, German and Dutch.
I don't usually bother to explain the difference, but many Finns feel they are "Scandinavian" despite the fact that they lack a claim to that name!
The Vikings came from Scandinavia proper, Finland not included.
The very name Scandinavia comes from the Scania region in southern Sweden, between Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The centre of the three kingdoms that became a united Scandinavia under the Kalmar Union!
Russians are NOT related to us Scandinavians in ANY way. Russians are Slavs, Scandinavians are Germanic people(s).
I doubt you Americans think of Scandinavia as part of North America? Did you not understand I was a non-Russian, Scandinavian? It says so clearly at the end of my message.
The last Czar did indeed have some Danish blood, that does not make the country, people or history Scandinavian. Unless you think the US is now part of Kenya due to Obama?
The ESA is not a part of the European Union and includes member nations outside of the EU and even Europe! Norway and Switzerland are members of ESA but not the EU. And Canada is a member but is not a European country!
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states.
A guy dies and ends up in hell. Before his punishment is due, he's shown around to know what is awaiting for him. At one moment, he and his demonic guide pass by three large foul-smelling pits full of dung.
One pit is bustling with activity - people climb out there every minute or so in large groups, and there are several demons with pitchforks running around the pit pushing the climbers down. The demons are sweaty and obviously tired. The second pit is mostly quiet, but occasionally a single guy pokes his head outside, and immediately gets pushed down by a young lone demon, who is otherwise standing there yawning. The third pit is absolutely quiet. There is a very old demon with chipped horns lying near the edge snoring and cuddling his pitchfork in the sleep. However, no-one climbs out of the pit.
The guy looks at all this for some time, and then asks what it is all about. His guide explains:
"The first pit is for Jews. They always stick together and help each other, and as soon as one climbs one step above the others, he stops and helps them get up to his level. The second pit is for Europeans. They're hardworking, but individualist and way too proud of themselves, so they all climb alone, each on his own. The third pit is for Russians. As soon as one of them climbs even a little bit higher than the rest, those below him pull him down by the legs into the dung so that he knows his place."
Have you even been to Europe? Of course we consider Russians Europeans! There is no doubt about that! People from the Soviet Republics however are a different matter, and even within the present Russian Federation there are many ethnic peoples!
We sometimes make the distinction because they are so large and have gone through a tough time lately (from Soviet times to Putin). Imperial Russia was at the heart of Europe, and only the Soviet era changed that. St Petersburg was the crown of Russias European identity!
Slavs are Europeans no matter what country in Europe they come from. Slavs are not limited to Russia you know, from Serbia to Russia Eastern Europe is full of Slavic people(s).
I'm a European, specifically a Scandinavian, and we absolutely see Russians as Europeans.
Heck, I have Russian ancestors and I've have been back to St. Petersburg to explore them. I have also been to Serbia and Hungary. In fact I have traveled all of Europe and parts of Asia.
Magyarorszag is a bad example. The far right movement you linked to is extremist, you have your own in Russia too. The people of Hungary are very liberal compared with large groups of Russians and Serbs. I know people from both cultures. I have friends in Hungary too, not just in Budapest, and I know their attitudes as well. They're not anti-gay, they could not care less.
And are you serious? People don't get that upset about traffic problems! And who is forcing them to watch it? Your claims are absurd! I don't want to see gay people dance, and I haven't because I DON'T go to the parade in Oslo!
My main point was that both Russia and Serbia have a different culture to that of ultra-liberal Netherlands. And that they are NOT members of the EU. I didn't really care what their attitudes were, just that the example was utterly flawed!
Truth be told, we should really talk about Western and Eastern Europe within the EU too. It's a long way from Warsaw to Barcelona! In general I would say Eastern European countries are far less accepting of gays. Not that I really care about the subject myself, I'm just pointing out that there are real differences between the countries and cultures.
Actually, no European feels "European" first, or thinks it's one country, only Americans seem to think Europe is a country!
The EU is also not synonymous with Europe, it only counts 27 out of 49 countries in Europe as members. You have to be clueless to claim Europeans think of themselves as Europeans, EU citizens or citizens of one country.
We actually like our "big" governments, they keep things working and safe. If you don't believe me my European country has barely noticed the so called "financial crisis" largely because of a huge public sector (according to the OECD, UN, Forbes and Bloomberg). Of course it helps being Europe's second wealthiest country and a huge oil exporter.
Apple also hosts and continues to support CUPS, the Open Source printing system, a project they bought from the developer that owned it. http://www.cups.org/
Touch typing has been obligatory in public schools since at least 1994 in my Northern European country. Of course we also had to demonstrate Microsoft Office skills from word processing to Excel formulas. I remember getting graded on the words per minute scale!
Another issue that may have led the Europeans to take more time over the case is the way that Oracle has handled regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Oracle notified E.U. regulators of its deal in late July, more than two months after it had informed U.S. officials.
European merger watchdogs can take a dim view if companies spread out their notifications between jurisdictions over long periods of time, and they have said in the past that such tactics might be designed to pressure the Europeans to give the green light to takeovers already approved in the United States.
What a bunch of nonsense. The "West" is not exactly lagging in broadband, however the US is. The West is not synonymous with the US. Europe is doing quite well in the broadband ratings, especially Western Europe [or Northern Europe].
Furthermore Asia as a whole is not exactly leading the broadband race either. While Japan and Korea are of course very well developed, try making the same comparison with India or other large nations such as Indonesia.
The MS Office 2010 videos put out by MS a couple of days ago include Firefox accessing Sharepoint and the narrator emphasizing the "full experience." Your need for IE may be short-lived,
If you find the Sharepoint video, look at the 10 or 11 minute mark.
Actually I have already seen the video and know what you mean. However I'm not sure it will work as it should without Internet Explorer. They even claim that the web edition of Word will work with Firefox/Safari.
However you are forgetting something very important, you don't upgrade Sharepoint servers on a whim. Whole applications (sites and webparts etc) might have to be rewritten to upgrade to 2010. And our clients would have to pay for that, I don't know if they would see the need. So I would have to continue to use Internet Explorer to work with/on those servers.
Sharepoint 2010 server also requires Windows Server 2008 (x64) or better. So now you have to upgrade servers and possibly hardware etc.
But, I too will, have to install the Microsoft Website Explorer. I still need to get bugfixes from the Microsoft website after all.
Why do you say that? Since Windows Vista updates come from the built-in Windows Update application and not their website. You don't need Internet Explorer for those updates.
And Microsoft.com has actually become more standards compliant and accessible with other browsers lately, so any other patches should be available with Firefox etc.
I'm more worried about Microsoft Office and Sharepoint tie-ins, where I need both the Office applications and Internet Explorer to work with files/data.
According to the new Microsoft Office 2010 videos the new suite is actually compatible with both Firefox and Safari, so there is some hope...
I don't think I've made a broad statement; rather, I gave a specific counter-example to the broad statement that 'a separate legislative power makes people less likely to be abused by the legal system' by showing that France, at least, was a case with a separate legislative power *and* abusive laws passed by this power.
While I understand your argument I don't see that your one example of it happening in France disproves the wider theory. I see France as the exception to the rule.
It was this statement I found too broad, it did not prove that it was common in states such as ours. However it's not my specialty so I will leave it at that:)
Perhaps Microsoft's hope is that EU users will simply grab the upgrade from bittorrent in the states to save themselves the hassle and in the process get IE, helping to keep it ubiquitous.
I doubt Microsoft wants anyone to download a pirated copy for any reason. It's not really going to be a problem for Microsoft the way I see it.
After all it's the applications that require Internet Explorer that ties users to Windows and Internet Explorer.
European users/admins will just have to download and install Internet Explorer after installing Windows. I know I will have to.
If I was moved to install windows 7 (which I'm not) I would would be investigating how I could get a European Edition. So That I could install without IE
Well, if I have to use Windows at all it's because I need Internet Explorer for work (see Office and Sharepoint integration). I might as well get the best Windows version they have to host it.
As a European I doubt this will be a major problem for my employer or me. I'll just have to download Internet Explorer after having installed Windows 7 (physically or virtually).
My personal PCs will continue to use UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X thank you very much:)
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The US is a Common Law country, for the most part, and almost all European countries use Civil Law/Roman Law [with the exception of England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland]. The systems are very different in all aspects. From the power of judges to the nature of precedents.
The EU is very active with regards to competition law due to the nature of the institution. The European Union is NOT a federal government, and each member country is still a sovereign country.
The EU and associated institutions legislate, monitor and adjudicate only on matters that are of importance to the whole community. Trade is centrally regulated with the goal of creating one large market for products, services and employees/employers. These are implemented locally within in each national system of law.
However due to the fact that each country may have different or other sets of laws and regulations related to products, take food safety as an example, if these laws stop/hinder products from other EU countries they may be in conflict with central EU treaties. Each country is looking to protect its own industries and jobs while at the same time hoping to win in other markets.
So because each member country is always looking for an advantage, they all work to make sure they are not getting treated unfairly. The result is an army of watchers intent on keeping the playing field *exactly* equal for all regardless of origin.
-----
Branches of American companies in Europe are not treated any different than European companies, the EU and it's member states don't care about the origins of a company - only the jobs, taxes and advances it makes possible in *their* country. That's why it's extra amusing to see angry Americans crying over the treatment so called "American" companies get in Europe.
What? How on Earth did you end up with 17.5 cents?
$40 000 000 / 700 000 000 = 0.06 (0.057) cents
Oh, wait you screwed up the numbers! You did it the other way around! You divided 700m people by 40m USD! That would give you 17.5 cents.
Actually "every government" is not having economic problems, unlike the US some European countries have come out of the recession.
Some Europeans countries are actually "in the black" with surpluses, and little or no unemployment. The US media is not very good at informing the public about the situation around the world.
Oh, and 40 million USD is not the real cost to European countries since it's obviously payed for in local currencies (Swiss Franc, Euros). The exchange rate inflates the numbers.
And it is a tiny amount for a continent with over 700 million people (twice that of the US) and a much bigger economy than the US! Even the EU has a larger GNP than the US, and the EU does not include all of Europe at all.
P.S. The project straddles the Swiss and French borders on the *outskirts* of Geneva (and quite a few kilometers).
The Swedish alphabet does not have the letter "ø", it's written "ö" in Swedish. The letter "ø" is found in Danish and Norwegian.
The letter is NOT a ligature or a diacritical variant of the letter o! The vowel it sounds most like is the vowel in "bird" or "hurt".
They are hardly related. I have read about the Kievan Rus. There is a connection, however it does not make the country Scandinavian.
The present British royal family is full of Danes and Germans, that does not make the country Danish or German!
The United States is ruled by a man of Kenyan ancestry, that does not make the US an African country!
Russia did indeed receive a number of mostly Swedish vikings in the past, that does not make Russia Scandinavian! The people of Russia past and present are not Germanic :)
While there are all kinds of peoples in the Russian Federation, from the Volga-Germans to Finns in Karelia, it is still mostly a Slavic nation (in the Russian republic).
Actually, Finland is not Scandinavian, they're just a Nordic nation. The reason is exactly as you stated, they're not of Germanic origin.
The three Scandinavian Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden share a common origin, people, languages and history. Finland does not.
While the Scandinavians speak Germanic languages and have shared genetic origins, the Finns do not share either with us. The Finns came from Russian territory, Scandinavians came from somewhere in Northern Europe/Germany.
Finns speak a non-Indo-European language related to Hungarian, Scandinavians speak Germanic languages related to English, German and Dutch.
I don't usually bother to explain the difference, but many Finns feel they are "Scandinavian" despite the fact that they lack a claim to that name!
The Vikings came from Scandinavia proper, Finland not included.
The very name Scandinavia comes from the Scania region in southern Sweden, between Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The centre of the three kingdoms that became a united Scandinavia under the Kalmar Union!
That is indeed true, and well known here in Scandinavia.
However that was a tiny group of people in a huge empire of many, many ethnic groups! The ruling class was after all a tiny portion of society.
Drops of blood from a few Vikings in the vast genetic pool of millions of people does not make Russians Scandinavian or Germanic.
Or is America now partially "Kenyan" due to the "ruler" Obama having both Anglo-Saxon and Kenyan blood? :)
It is even more reasonable to describe it as Europe's space program.
The EU is not synonymous with Europe!
I highly doubt you are "Swedish". Russians have always been Europeans. You sound too stupid to be Swedish, and you would know better. Go away, troll!
Russians are NOT related to us Scandinavians in ANY way. Russians are Slavs, Scandinavians are Germanic people(s).
I doubt you Americans think of Scandinavia as part of North America? Did you not understand I was a non-Russian, Scandinavian? It says so clearly at the end of my message.
The last Czar did indeed have some Danish blood, that does not make the country, people or history Scandinavian. Unless you think the US is now part of Kenya due to Obama?
The ESA is not a part of the European Union and includes member nations outside of the EU and even Europe! Norway and Switzerland are members of ESA but not the EU. And Canada is a member but is not a European country!
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states.
There is an old Russian joke that goes like this:
A guy dies and ends up in hell. Before his punishment is due, he's shown around to know what is awaiting for him. At one moment, he and his demonic guide pass by three large foul-smelling pits full of dung.
One pit is bustling with activity - people climb out there every minute or so in large groups, and there are several demons with pitchforks running around the pit pushing the climbers down. The demons are sweaty and obviously tired.
The second pit is mostly quiet, but occasionally a single guy pokes his head outside, and immediately gets pushed down by a young lone demon, who is otherwise standing there yawning.
The third pit is absolutely quiet. There is a very old demon with chipped horns lying near the edge snoring and cuddling his pitchfork in the sleep. However, no-one climbs out of the pit.
The guy looks at all this for some time, and then asks what it is all about. His guide explains:
"The first pit is for Jews. They always stick together and help each other, and as soon as one climbs one step above the others, he stops and helps them get up to his level.
The second pit is for Europeans. They're hardworking, but individualist and way too proud of themselves, so they all climb alone, each on his own.
The third pit is for Russians. As soon as one of them climbs even a little bit higher than the rest, those below him pull him down by the legs into the dung so that he knows his place."
Have you even been to Europe? Of course we consider Russians Europeans! There is no doubt about that! People from the Soviet Republics however are a different matter, and even within the present Russian Federation there are many ethnic peoples!
We sometimes make the distinction because they are so large and have gone through a tough time lately (from Soviet times to Putin). Imperial Russia was at the heart of Europe, and only the Soviet era changed that. St Petersburg was the crown of Russias European identity!
Slavs are Europeans no matter what country in Europe they come from. Slavs are not limited to Russia you know, from Serbia to Russia Eastern Europe is full of Slavic people(s).
I'm a European, specifically a Scandinavian, and we absolutely see Russians as Europeans.
Juri, I'm not American, I'm from Norway.
Heck, I have Russian ancestors and I've have been back to St. Petersburg to explore them. I have also been to Serbia and Hungary. In fact I have traveled all of Europe and parts of Asia.
Magyarorszag is a bad example. The far right movement you linked to is extremist, you have your own in Russia too. The people of Hungary are very liberal compared with large groups of Russians and Serbs. I know people from both cultures. I have friends in Hungary too, not just in Budapest, and I know their attitudes as well. They're not anti-gay, they could not care less.
And are you serious? People don't get that upset about traffic problems! And who is forcing them to watch it? Your claims are absurd! I don't want to see gay people dance, and I haven't because I DON'T go to the parade in Oslo!
My main point was that both Russia and Serbia have a different culture to that of ultra-liberal Netherlands. And that they are NOT members of the EU. I didn't really care what their attitudes were, just that the example was utterly flawed!
Truth be told, we should really talk about Western and Eastern Europe within the EU too. It's a long way from Warsaw to Barcelona! In general I would say Eastern European countries are far less accepting of gays. Not that I really care about the subject myself, I'm just pointing out that there are real differences between the countries and cultures.
Actually, no European feels "European" first, or thinks it's one country, only Americans seem to think Europe is a country!
The EU is also not synonymous with Europe, it only counts 27 out of 49 countries in Europe as members. You have to be clueless to claim Europeans think of themselves as Europeans, EU citizens or citizens of one country.
We actually like our "big" governments, they keep things working and safe. If you don't believe me my European country has barely noticed the so called "financial crisis" largely because of a huge public sector (according to the OECD, UN, Forbes and Bloomberg). Of course it helps being Europe's second wealthiest country and a huge oil exporter.
Your example is flawed.
The Netherlands clearly illustrates what is *normal* for EU countries. Or did you forget that the Netherlands *is* a member of the EU?
Serbia and Russia are both Slavic non-EU countries with a bit of anti-gay attitudes in general.
Apple also hosts and continues to support CUPS, the Open Source printing system, a project they bought from the developer that owned it. http://www.cups.org/
Touch typing has been obligatory in public schools since at least 1994 in my Northern European country. Of course we also had to demonstrate Microsoft Office skills from word processing to Excel formulas. I remember getting graded on the words per minute scale!
The New York Times says:
Another issue that may have led the Europeans to take more time over the case is the way that Oracle has handled regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Oracle notified E.U. regulators of its deal in late July, more than two months after it had informed U.S. officials.
European merger watchdogs can take a dim view if companies spread out their notifications between jurisdictions over long periods of time, and they have said in the past that such tactics might be designed to pressure the Europeans to give the green light to takeovers already approved in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/technology/companies/04oracle.html?_r=1&hp
What a bunch of nonsense. The "West" is not exactly lagging in broadband, however the US is. The West is not synonymous with the US. Europe is doing quite well in the broadband ratings, especially Western Europe [or Northern Europe].
Furthermore Asia as a whole is not exactly leading the broadband race either. While Japan and Korea are of course very well developed, try making the same comparison with India or other large nations such as Indonesia.
The MS Office 2010 videos put out by MS a couple of days ago include Firefox accessing Sharepoint and the narrator emphasizing the "full experience." Your need for IE may be short-lived,
If you find the Sharepoint video, look at the 10 or 11 minute mark.
Actually I have already seen the video and know what you mean. However I'm not sure it will work as it should without Internet Explorer. They even claim that the web edition of Word will work with Firefox/Safari.
However you are forgetting something very important, you don't upgrade Sharepoint servers on a whim. Whole applications (sites and webparts etc) might have to be rewritten to upgrade to 2010. And our clients would have to pay for that, I don't know if they would see the need. So I would have to continue to use Internet Explorer to work with/on those servers.
Sharepoint 2010 server also requires Windows Server 2008 (x64) or better. So now you have to upgrade servers and possibly hardware etc.
But, I too will, have to install the Microsoft Website Explorer. I still need to get bugfixes from the Microsoft website after all.
Why do you say that? Since Windows Vista updates come from the built-in Windows Update application and not their website. You don't need Internet Explorer for those updates.
And Microsoft.com has actually become more standards compliant and accessible with other browsers lately, so any other patches should be available with Firefox etc.
I'm more worried about Microsoft Office and Sharepoint tie-ins, where I need both the Office applications and Internet Explorer to work with files/data.
According to the new Microsoft Office 2010 videos the new suite is actually compatible with both Firefox and Safari, so there is some hope...
I don't think I've made a broad statement; rather, I gave a specific counter-example to the broad statement that 'a separate legislative power makes people less likely to be abused by the legal system' by showing that France, at least, was a case with a separate legislative power *and* abusive laws passed by this power.
While I understand your argument I don't see that your one example of it happening in France disproves the wider theory. I see France as the exception to the rule.
It was this statement I found too broad, it did not prove that it was common in states such as ours. However it's not my specialty so I will leave it at that :)
Perhaps Microsoft's hope is that EU users will simply grab the upgrade from bittorrent in the states to save themselves the hassle and in the process get IE, helping to keep it ubiquitous.
I doubt Microsoft wants anyone to download a pirated copy for any reason. It's not really going to be a problem for Microsoft the way I see it.
After all it's the applications that require Internet Explorer that ties users to Windows and Internet Explorer.
European users/admins will just have to download and install Internet Explorer after installing Windows. I know I will have to.
If I was moved to install windows 7 (which I'm not) I would would be investigating how I could get a European Edition. So That I could install without IE
Well, if I have to use Windows at all it's because I need Internet Explorer for work (see Office and Sharepoint integration). I might as well get the best Windows version they have to host it.
As a European I doubt this will be a major problem for my employer or me. I'll just have to download Internet Explorer after having installed Windows 7 (physically or virtually).
My personal PCs will continue to use UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X thank you very much :)