Art show sees Europe as 'new Roman Empire'

Telegraph ^ | 09/14/04 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[Pikamax]

Art show sees Europe as 'new Roman Empire' By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels (Filed: 14/09/2004)

The European Union is poised to overtake America to become the premier superpower, according to an EU exhibition launched yesterday in the heart of Brussels.

The pop-art collage mounted in a tent outside the European Commission narrates 50 years of EU history and projects events into the future in an unusually frank display of European ambition.

Segments sketched across 80 yards of canvas predict that the 21st century will be the "European Century" as the EU pushes its borders deep into Eurasia, North Africa, and the Middle East and comes to dominate world affairs through its vast "legal and moral reach".

Under the heading the "Roman Empire returns", it says the EU will be renamed "The Union" once it grows to 50 states over the next three decades.

The United Nations headquarters will be moved to Gibraltar as the EU defends the international order against the "American onslaught".

The euro will break the "overbearing monopoly of the dollar" by 2010 as China and India switch their reserves to punish America for its "stratospheric deficit".

Casting the United States as the villain of modern times, it says: "The lonely superpower can bribe, bully or impose its will almost anywhere in the world, but when its back is turned, its policy is weakened."

Entitled "The Image of Europe", the display is not a formal expression of EU policy but it captures views that can be heard every day in the corridors and canteens of the Union's institutions.

The exhibit was co-ordinated by the European Commission and sponsored by the European Council. The EU's Dutch presidency said yesterday it was designed to narrow Europe's "iconographic deficit" by conjuring up forceful images.

[UltraKonservativen]

...to narrow Europe's "iconographic deficit" by conjuring up forceful images...

Does Iconographic mean?
PRODUCTIVITY DEFICIT
INOVATION DEFICIT
TECHNOLOGICAL DEFICIT
STANDARD OF LIVING DEFICIT
COMFORT OF LIVING DEFICIT
HOME OWNERSHIP DEFICIT
HEALTH CARE QUALITY DEFICIT
and also ALL THINGS MILITARY DEFICIT

Lived there and after the museums, the castles and the restaurants, it sucked and will continue to suck as long as they focus their effort on fixing their "ICONOGRAPHIC" deficiencies.
They should be focusing on the risk of becoming the CALIPHATE rather than the mean ol'USA power.

[denydenydeny]

The euro will break the "overbearing monopoly of the dollar" by 2010 as China and India switch their reserves to punish America for its "stratospheric deficit".

They're kidding, right? The EU's enormous entitlement liability dwarfs America's.

[YOUGOTIT]

Having lived in Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Italy) for over 11 years and, after leaving going back for vacation every year or so for some time, I find the claim of a new Roman Empire a big joke. Let us look at some of the latest studies done about the OLD EUROPE:

First in a study done by a Swedish think tank (Timbro): The following was found:

If Europe was part of the United States only Luxembourg could rival the best states in the US. The rest of Europe would rank below the U.S. average.

Low Income in the U.S; 25% of the population (1999) were considered to be in the low-income area (annual income of less that $25,000). In Europe between 35% and 50% of the population would be considered low income. The disparity between the poverty level in the U.S. and Europe would be even greater.

Productivity; Because of the interference of government in private enterprise, the productivity in Europe is such that 10% to 16% of the population is unemployed because no new jobs have been created in years.

Health care; WHO: European Health Care Fails Elderly. Providing care for people with terminal illnesses regardless of age or income has become "a neglected topic in most countries," said Dr. Agis Tsouros of the WHO's Copenhagen-based Europe office. And from experience I can tell you that those people that have the money do not go to the state health care organizations.

Taxes; In Europe tax revenues are 40% to 50% of GDP (Study by Timbro); in the U.S. it is less that 30%. The high tax rates are driving Europeans to nongovernmental authorized work or businesses that do not pay taxes.

Living Space: In the U.S. poor Americans live in an average of 1,200 Sq feet of space. In Europe the average for all households (Timbro Study) is 1,000 sq feet. In the U.S. a large number of “poor” people own their own homes (45.9%). Plus in America the "poor" have cars, multiple entertainment systems and a very good chance to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and become well off. Not is Europe if you are not of the higher class it is almost impossible to gain status.

The Timbro study concludes; ”Most Americans have a standard of living which a majority of Europeans will never come anywhere near.”

Enough said.

[LincolnLover]

"The European Union is poised to overtake America to become the premier superpower."

Kinda hard to to that if your militaries can't fight their way out of a paper bag.

[Owl558]

"All Gaul is divided into three parts; Antiamericium, Appeasementium, and Arrogantium."

Brilliant! Simply brilliant!

[LexBaird]

...the EU defends the international order against the "American onslaught".

Yeah? You and what army?

[Gingersnap]

"Pride before the fall"

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

I say they first fall over and then get destroyed. Of course, either way....

[mdmathis6]

Well when the Euroweenies decide they want to rule the world, there won't be any more Stratospheric US deficit....Do the Math...our deficits generally equal the amount of our foreign aid and foreign defense committments....get rid of them an voila! No more deficits. And that is the dirty little secret that Europe will not acknowldge (but certain German localities are just realizing it now as we pull our bases out of their midst)!

[Owl558]

”Most Americans have a standard of living which a majority of Europeans will never come anywhere near.”

A recent visitor of mine from Europe in the US for the first time struggled to say, "You...have...so...much...compared...to...us" to me in a conversation about disparities in wealth between the US and EU.

He came to visit believing all the things about America that EU propaganda tells its people - like art shows depicting the EU as the Roman Empire. What he got utterly destroyed his Euro-notions of America. From the the hospitals (everything is so new and you don't have to wait), to the supermarkets (we don't have that in stores over there), to the tax rates (lower here than there), his whole worldview changed radically in the time he was here.

He came as a strutting, arrogent Euro-fied, EU true believer and left wanting to come back to live in the US permenently. So much for the new Roman Empire.

I told him, you better be ready to work hard or you're better off staying home!

[Junior]

Fifteen posts before the first "end times" reference. We're getting better. These folks usually show up within the first half dozen or so.

[aquila48]

As someone I don't remember once said: "BRING IT ON!!"

[general_re]

LOL - some things truly are eternal, though ;)

[nkycincinnatikid]

The catalyst and glue of the EU has been the transfer of largely German wealth into the associates economies, their ability to freely compete in their benefactors market, and in the case of France huge bribes, in the form of subsidies, to powerful political interests. This is demonstably not sustainable, the German economy is hemoraging, even as the former Eastern block lines up with their empty pails.

[chilepepper]

I think a far better analogy for Europe is the Hellenic empire of the Greeks, not the Roman Empire...

[rrrod]

" but when its back is turned, its policy is weakened." ...stab in the back time..again.
EU...enjoy your little fantasy while your world collapses.
As long as America can keep the RATS in line and out of power we will keep going about our merry way while Europe rots....pass the popcorn.

[american spirit]

Your post seems to more aptly describe what's happening in this country. We're bringing in foreign servants (illegals)to do the work for folks who want to sit around on welfare or collective fat butts watching their own bread and circuses (football) while sucking down a 12 pack to keep them in a relative stupor. Add to that the incessant Scott Peterson/MJ/Martha Stewart/ horse manure which helps to keep the masses distracted while this collection of shyster lawyers and scumbag politicans work overtime to sell us out.

[wideawake]

Your post seems to more aptly describe what's happening in this country.

Not really.

There are two main differences between Europe and America - Americans see no shame in working hard for a living and are contemptuous of lazy people; and America allows for social mobility. For example, there are millions of Turks that have been living in Germany for three generations, who have full access to the same universities that Germans do, yet the number of Turks in positions of economic or political responsibility are almost zero.

The CEO of America's second largest microprocessor company is a legal Mexican immigrant who worked his way through American schools to an engineering degree. In Europe that kind accomplishment is nonexistent. The only foreign captains of industry in Europe are those who came from immense wealth elsewhere.

[american spirit]

I can't disagree with any of your points I just have a very strong belief that with illegal immigration (soon to increase with the FTAA), the extraordinary amount of focus on the most inane subjects (MJ, rap stars, football, American Idol,etc.), the absolutely absurd amounts of lawyers/politicians creating a multitude of codes, rules, regulations ( a la Roman law) for the purpose of extracting more $ and exerting more control over the population it's obvious we're following a slow, methodical path of self destruction.

[Tribune7]

through its vast "legal and moral reach".

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

The United Nations headquarters will be moved to Gibraltar . . .

Super cool. Need help packing?

[longtermmemmory]

and the world will outlaw english and require french.

It is no secret the EU created the euro as a threat to the dollar.

If you talk to any banker they will openly tell you the euro was created to topple the dollar.

The problem is that the euro is kept important by accounting tricks. The only reason the euro is up at its origin price is that the USA wants it there as a virtual tarrif on euro goods.