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France is so far left that not even the US will buy their failing industry.
Maurice Taylor
"I have visited that factory a couple of times. The French workforce gets paid high wages but only works three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three. I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that's the French way! How stupid do you think we are?"
This is an image problem the French face globally, and Comrade Hollande can only make it worse.
Mr. Taylor's comments are interesting to say the least. Whilst I believe they do not apply to the French laborer as a whole there is no denying that the CGT is the thorn in the side of French industrial production. Wherever they are there are are industrial problems. Add to that the RTT (often 12 days) time, vacation time, 5 weeks and national holidays that makes over a whopping 8 + weeks of paid vacation for the French in general or in other words, 10 months of work payed 12 months and often 13. This is what the successive French governments have wanted especially the socialist governments. It translates into inadaptability in times of economic difficulty. This certainly does make for stereotypes but with a certain veracity. France is aware of this but is unable to react by simple inability to make the hard decisions necessary to make the economy competitive. It's certainly not the French model that will govern the world in the future and rightly so.
Why does so much that this newspaper has to say about Hollande sound so much like what one might say about the current US president -- except that part about "veering towards the center"? The American president has about as much familiarity with and fondness for (European) liberalism as Hollande; for both "debt" and "deficit" seem to have little relevance; both tiptoe softly around their labor unions; both seem to find solutions to all fiscal problems in tax hikes; both are hooked on social program spending. Yet while TE never has had kind words for Hollande, its leaders and Lexington have only sweet things to say about our president, whom they actually endorsed (!). France to the USA: As you are I once was, as I am so will you be....
But another decade of the slow decline will add up to something close to a disaster.
France in its current form is not a going concern, period. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the deep structural reforms needed are possible in a relatively wealthy country where cultural exceptionalism is entrenched. It will take creative destruction to force change.
France is heading towards a major crisis. Between the extreme right and the extreme left you have 30-35% of total votes, and this in a country where state expenses are over 50% GDP (and increasing), which in practical terms means that even with an overgenerous state that buys popular support by overspending you have 1/3 of the population that is positively pissed off.
With debt over 90% GDP and taxes sky-high there is no way that this system may continue. In fact France hasn´t still collapsed because the current interest on their bonds are quite low (thanks to the Euro and Germany)... In let´s say 5-8 years the french will be forced to reduce their social spending, which will surely result politically in 40-45% votes for extreme left&right. At this point the country will become politically very unstable and french politicians will find an useful scapegoat on Europe...
If you have read french history the next chapter is quite predictable. France will not reform but you will get a revolution and the french will do in 3 years what they haven´t done in the last 30. The only problem is that the last revolution was headed in 1958 by de Gaulle who created the V Republique, got out of the algerian swamp and modernized the economy but there is no de Gaulle this time... In a best case scenario the next revolution will create a new France (as it happened in 1789, 1871 or 1958). In a worst case it will mean the end of the European Union.
Dam,n the German damn the Greeks - Increase the budget . More subsidies to preserve jobs. let the Euro drop. Let the Germans export more . France can always milk them.
Start with steele mills.
Nationalise the Ports.Might as well nationalise the car Industry as the UK did many years ago. More subsidy to the farms.
The French can learn a lot from the UK
Why should France bother ??
"The French can learn a lot from the UK"
no thank you !
with your sour liberal free-market policies, with your deregulations, with your BoE that can create money...
your Growth is -3% not better than France, and in Germany it's -6%
France desperately needs its "1979 Moment" a la Britain, when economic reality finally became so dire as to force a majority of people to realize tired old socialist ideas were not merely irrelevant but actively harmful to everyone's well-being. Perhaps France will reach this point sometime around 2020 but until then nothing is going to change and the decline will continue inexorably - just think Britain in 1975.
As if Britain were much better off today. Pleae, spare us your "1979 moment", M. Thatcher did more harm that good to the UK.
Britain's not an economic model for France, it never was. Maybe Germany or the Nordic countries, though.
BANKER SPEAK: "The G-20 also put off plans for new debt-cutting goals in a move to stoke economic growth." UNDERSTANDABLE SPEAK: Kicking the can down the road and dealing with it at a much later time. Or, extend the time when issue will be dealt with and pretend that it is manageable when in reality, it is NOT! It is the same old, same old. TODAY, WE WILL MAKE PLANS TO BORROW FROM TOMORROW TO PAY YESTERDAY'S BILLS. The great clubs have little except the drinks on the best of the table and chi chats on the Samsun or Nokia ' my son just bought one" That I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA
While language is a significant factor, there are other deep, significant reasons why the EU will get no closer politically. Cultural, religious, and historic rivalries play a huge role. Look at the break-up of Yugoslavia. The people had been forced into a single country for decades, and spoke a common language. When they had an ounce of freedom they went for each others throats. I don't think the Italians would ever tolerate a leader that was German, or the Germans a Frenchman. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA
I guess the Germans would accept a democratically elected French (or Italian) leader, but they wouldn't accept French 'politique dirigiste'.
don't try to be so sympathetic, no German would accept a french leader, whatever, whoever he is !
you want an exemple? EADS and its many heads quarrels
The 'leader' of their currency is Italian and Airbus boss was for many years Louis René Fernand Gallois.
in Airbus France, but in Airbus Germany, it's german leaders
First thing first, let us clear the horse meat dynamic stories we have . It has left EURO on one side . How will USA look at the EURO now I thank you FirozaliA.Mulla DBA
Sorry to admit it,but France is more and more resembling economically to Italy,rather than the light years far Germany.The economy is shrinking here,too,while car sales are down two digit compared with the previous years,and the banlieues are continuously approaching a new explosion.And Hollande finds no new solutions:a costly war and more taxes,the answer to this mess.Very sad and depressing
so what, it's the EU design to make France a region and the euro is the definitive tool to make it
Hope that Hollande will have some divine impulsion to get rid of the euro
So Hilde
Would you like Bernasconi as your next President? You are almost there any way
BTW on your earlier remark about no subsidies for the car industry
'The French government is also planning to provide a €600 million loan package for small and medium-size companies in the automotive industry. The subsidies come after France's largest automotive manufacturer, PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, previously announced it would shut down a large assembly plant north of Paris and lay off 8% of its domestic workforce.'
It seems that Citroen is slowly going broke - But not if they get subsidized.
Then the fat cats will sit around for their paycheck from 'Hollande'
And even they will not be able to compete against Volks Wagen or maybe Mercedes.
You are 20 years behind the English - and no banking industry to boot.
What are you going to do??
You don't even have enough money to subsidise the steel industry, and stop them closing down a few mills.
so what? it's Peugeot !
didn't the US bail out Ford?
oh don't talk of the Brit cars industry, it's all owned by german and french companies
We have neough money to buy Arcelor Mittal, but the EU laws forbid it, I wonder why they support a globalist shareholder that fires out people to make more money at the stockhouse, and this, when the enterprise makes benefits !
watch out for UK, your policy will make you going to the Salvation army soup !
The UK has far lower unemployment than France, so the French no doubt have far more knowledge of those soup kitchens.
The company in the UK making the most of the car industry is JLR, owned by Tata, an Indian company. The few indigenous high end car makers do not seems to be having any real problems either.
France has no real competence in the service sector, has nothing that comes close to the UK's aviation sector, and is far behind on global innovation scores.
In short, France is heading towards 'second world' status, and will find itself unable to afford to keep anything running via the state.
hmm, far lower? try to make your stats on the same basis as the french stats first !
"France has no real competence in the service secto"
yeah, that's why the majority of the City traders are french :lol:
and you wouldn't believe it but it's with "services" that France makes "surpluses"
"UK's aviation sector" and what is it? Airbus LMAO
take your head out of your glass of beer !
The main task for Mr Hollande is to educate French citizens about the way a market economy works so they are better informed and less hostile.
say, the French aren't easy to manipulate by the neo liberal elite that wants communism for the richs and capitalism for the poors
That would be like getting Hitler to teach about liberal democracy.
DO we have enough money for this? I thank you FirozaliA.Mulla DBA
And I thought this time socialism would finally work?!
BTW not only does the French government tax its own citizens heavily, it also taxes the EU heavily as with massive net transfers from the EU.
The good old canard that keeps on giving.
France is a net contributor to the EU budget, *including CAP transfers*.
I will hammer at France's misguided ways till the cows come home (pun intended), but the idea that France is living off EU generosity has to be eradicated once and for all. It is just plain ridiculously wrong, especially when clear and abundant information on the topic is readily available.
For what it is worth, the EU's budget, *including the CAP* is minuscule compared to national budgets. So grandstanding about the alleged outrageousness of the CAP, and the fact that it accounts for 40% of the Union's spending, is nothing more than screaming bloody murder about 0.4% of the EU's GDP. The CAP is the *only* federal programme of any significance, so of course it gobbles up a big chunk of a tiny cake.
I would prefer a much larger EU budget, drafted by the Commission and voted/amended by the Parliament, based on EU-wide taxes, without petty national interests parasiting the process. Then we could develop all sorts of much better programmes than the CAP, focusing on education, R&D, infrastructure, regulatory harmonisation, defence, etc.
But short of that, actually, a long way short of that, the CAP is the only meaningful budget that exists at supranational level. To which France is a net contributor.
"I would prefer a much larger EU budget . . .".
A first step should be a separate EZ budget, as long as this is democratically fully legitimized. This is what I would support if I lived in Euroland.
"But short of that, actually, a long way short of that, the CAP is the only meaningful budget that exists at supranational level. To which France is a net contributor."
I wish that TE, as a way of improving netiquette, would ban the liberal use of statistics in these forums unless they are clearly marked as the writer's own.
A good article, with some surprising inconsistencies thrown in for good measure. TE cannot say that the rich got "soaked" by the 75% tax at the beginning of the column, and then, a couple of paragraphs down, mention that this (crazy) new tax was (thankfully) struck down by the constitutional court. Daily reading of French newspapers indicates that there is no appetite to bring this farcical bit of tax law back on the table, which I guess is a way of losing face by sweeping said face under the carpet. Or maybe the crushing weight of economic reality, which would be a silver lining.
I agree with the gist of the article, though. Hollande has so far been a perfect example of the political class that has led the country, with the people's blessing, for the past 40 years. Someone who will do just enough to avoid outright collapse, but nothing more, and certainly nothing to reverse course.
More importantly, the "just enough" will always be presented as an imposition from outside (people who have the temerity to not be French or not to see things the way we, the enlightened, do, in a sense), a grudging, temporary (remember the "parenthesis" on the road to socialism in 1983?) acceptance of arithmetics dictated by "globalisation" or "the Anglo-Saxons" or who-knows-what-else. Instead of having leaders who have the integrity and election-losing spine to embrace a new course, and to tell voters exactly that, before the elections, and while in power, we are stuck with Mitterrand's curse: he who clarifies an ambiguous position does so at his peril.
This capitulating, sneaking duplicity feeds political extremisms, and a general mistrust of our democracy. This is shameful, and a harbinger of bad things to come.
But the truth is that all our misery is entirely self-inflicted. *We* voted for those clowns, because *we* liked what they said, even if quite a few of us knew it was all BS. We are exactly where those who pay attention to reality said, 15 years ago, we would be by now. No surprise. French voters have systematically plumped for the bigger of two (or three) demagogues at each election. Picking Mitterrand and Chirac over Barre in 1988, Chirac and Jospin over Balladur in 1995, Chirac (see a theme here?) and Le Pen (ugh) over Bayrou and Madellin in 2002, Sarko et Ségo over Bayrou in 2007, and well, last year's debacle...
It probably all started with picking Mitterrand over Rocard for the PS's candidacy in 1981, and then giving the cynical master the keys to the Elysée. I was not even 12 months old then, so...
It is not the Chinese's, the Germans', the EU's, the UK's or anyone else's fault if we constantly and collectively stuff up. We did this to ourselves. The 35 hours, retirement at 60 (well, for the private sector, at least), mass extra-EU immigration, epochal failure of the eduction system, etc. We chose that. We wanted it. Now we have it. Long live democracy.
don't worry, politicians are the same everywhere, they don't tell the truth otherwise they wouldn't be elected
only knights had some honnor sense !
While I understand your point, the problem is not the politicians, in my opinion. In a democracy, ultimate responsibility for, and ownership of, public affairs is in the hands of *voters*. Us. If we wanted truth-telling politicians, or at least less nakedly lying ones, we would vote for them. My point is that we have knowingly backed the wrong horses for nigh on 40 years, and that therefore we should not be surprised that we do not fare well in the race.
Last week's issue of TE had a brilliant yet hardly groundbreaking briefing on Scandinavia and Finland. One of the key messages was "accountability". Voters hold their elected representatives accountable, election after election.
*We* have a foreign minister who was prime minister nearly 30 years ago, and involved in what arguably was the Vth Republic's biggest scandal (AIDS-infected blood tranfusions). I pick him at unfortunate random, since he his hardly an exception. Such a terrible record would terminate the career of just about any Scandinavian, Finnish or Rhineland politician. *We* just forget and repeat. Our parliament boasts the highest average age in the whole of Europe, because we have complacently allowed our political class to calcify and weld itself into place for 30 years.
I worry when I hear that a large majority of French people are basically awaiting a strong man to lead the country out of its misery. What a shameful abdication of our civic duties.
" worry when I hear that a large majority of French people are basically awaiting a strong man to lead the country out of its misery."
if you mean a second de Gaulle, and or a Mitterrand, probably, strong men don't mean fashists, but persons with a strong personality, especially when it comes to not let our sovereignity being snacked by Brussels and or Berlin
Fabius, like Kouchner are "grandes gueules", they aren't really fitting the Diplomacy deontology, one needs to be discret !
I suspect that Hollande preferred having him under control in the government as having him outside and demolishing his policy
Enough of the Scandinavian model, the german model, before it was the british model... see where it is now !
uh what about the french model? that allowed us to survive since more than a millenarium !
This is why Schroeder was voted out of office. He knew it but pushed the reforms through anyway. He was a patriot who put the nation's long-term interests above his own. His Agenda 2010 is one of the reasons why Germany is envied today.
yeah, he knew that Putin would put him on a golden bridge, too much for a german patriot, unless that the hidden agenda is to renew the Molotov-Ribbentrop alliance
Why are you so furious and jealous tonight, MC? Unfulfilled sex life?
BTW, Schroeder could pick and choose, he had more offers than he could handle upon retirement, and Nord Stream was already his political baby as chancellor. This is probably why he picked it after he had retired from politics. BTW, I think that Nord Stream is a great project which makes lots of sense. Whole Europe now profits from it.
why do you still think of sex?
No, I am lucid, and don't buy into your fawning discourse
Nord Stream that avoided Poland, for good reasons that Poland could block the russian supplies if Putin would try some harming policy, Nord Stream that is owned up to 40% by German shareholders, that also lobbied Brussels to get the necessary authorisations for directing its gas supplies in EU
Schöder isn't the Choir child that you want us to swallow, he is embedded into a big sheme
A naive choir boy couldn't become a successful political leader. That's neither an expected nor a desirable quality for a man of Schroeder's standing.
The pipeline is not against friendly Poland. Poland is rather benefiting, since the Nord Stream pipeline allows gas supply to bypass precarious transit states through an underwater route.
Running under the Baltic Sea, the pipeline specifically circumvents Ukraine and Belarus, two transit states for Europe-bound natural gas that were already in the past (and can be in future) problematic for a steady supply.
The project was considered before, but to a large degree the pipeline was finally constructed in response to the European energy crises of 2006, 2008 and 2009, when Russia and Ukraine had arguments over gas payments and supply to Europe was, as a result, interrupted.
The supply interruptions affected all downstream European customers, foremost Poland, Rumania and Bulgaria, who previously relied on Ukraine to transit Russian natural gas.
To ensure stable supplies, amid potential future disputes with Ukraine or Belarus, Russian and German companies financed and constructed Nord Stream, creating a direct export avenue into Europe. This is why I wrote earlier that "Nord Stream is a great project which makes lots of sense. Whole Europe now profits from it."
blah blah blah !
dunno what 'blah' means. Is it kinda marieclaudian gobbledygook?
If Germany and Russia stand in close alliance it is nothing but a matter of natural affair as both countries have more in common as any other European nation.
In regard of their mentality, outlook on life as well as in regard of their culture Germany and Russia are quite like twins.
To all other European countries Germany stands in an utmost and extreme contrast by tradition and by history over centuries.
Germans since ever had the hardest life in Europe being rejected and mostly hated by the rest of Europe.
So it has been the basics of German politics since 1989 having a very special and close strategic alliance with Russia.
It was nobody else as Russia and Bush senior who were enforcing the re-unification of Germany against the most extreme resistance of all West European countries especially of France, the UK and Italy.
Nobody ever will forget in Germany the shabby attempt of Mr. Mitterand trying to stabilize the communist system in East Germany and the shabby attempts of the British government against the German re-unification.
So France can no longer count on Germany and German politics just was drawing the right conclusions in regard of France.
Poland is meanwhile much more a partner of Germany as France ever has been.
I think the so-called Franco-German friendship, which in reality never has been honest from the French side, now comes to its very end.
German politics is concentrating now on its real partners and France is getting more and more out of German political interest.
May be if Berlusconi will win this week-end the same will happen to Italy:)
France can do very well without Germany and vice versa.
Both countries therefore should go their own way and so finally the language barrier has been a bless for the Germans as we can see now:)
I don't want Schröder's "deep reforms" as you call them. The German economy may be doing better than most other European countries', but the poverty rate is higher than in France (even though Germany's jobless rate is much lower), the income gap is increasing rapidly, fewer and fewer people can affort health care. This is not the kind of society I want to live in. I'd rather follow the Nordic example than the German (counter-)example (low corporate rate, public and private sector working hand in hand, more transparency, flexicurity, relatively high taxation, generous and effective spending).
"Confronting vested interests"...why not ? The thing is, why does TE never - or rarely - talk about vested interests in the financial sector ? They are far more dangerous for the world economy than the vested interests you love to hate. Talk about "realism"...
Everybody in Germany can afford healthcare - state cover is universal. It's also worth noting that Germany has a much lower GINI coefficient than France - France is a far less egalitarian place than Germany.
I would also advocate a more Nordic or Dutch model more generally, but there are still many areas where France could learn from German experience (and vice versa, regarding promotion of gender equality and attaining higher birth rates).
you don't know of what you're talking about
Germany used to be a very egalitarian place, but things are going unfortunately in France's direction as far as equality is concerned.
I should have been more specific about health care. 6 years after the 2007 reform, about 2% of Germans are still uninsured (which is low - especially by US standards - but unthinkable in Germany say 15 years ago). A growing number of Germans who work can't afford a private insurance, putting off the treatment of health problems that will be much harder to tackle several years later.
High birth rates may be good for the economy, I'm not sure they are good for the planet. Governments - especially in the industrialized world - should encourage individuals to have one (two maximum) kid in their life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a Chinese-like one-child policy here. It's difficult to find a balanced approach and to make people understand what is at stake without "playing" with their guilt. But it's necessary and we need to think about it and adapt our economies.
Schröder's "deep reforms" were largely the answer to the socioeconomic pains of reunification. Neither the Scandinavian countries nor France were faced with similar challenges. Bringing a backwards ex-communist economy to the level of the western part, Germany resembled nation-spanning "communicating vessels", whereby the 'liquid economy' was balanced out to the same level in both territorial entities regardless of the shape, history and volume of the territories.
Yes, I do.
In Germany healthcare access is universal - fact. Nobody can be denied necessary treatment (or drugs) because of ability (or otherwise) to pay. Everybody is automatically covered by state insurance if they do not have private insurance. The only points of charge for individuals (the 10 euro fee per original access to primary care, and charges for drugs) are all billed on credit (with no interest charges applied) - nobody can be denied access based on their ability to pay (repayment is waived where individuals have modest incomes).
On GINI coefficients, check it out yourself:
France is far more unequal than Germany. France has greater poverty than Germany. (The statistics say that - but you will see it with your own eyes if you have travelled in both countries. France has real ghettos on a scale that don't exist even in East Germany.)
France does many things far better than Germany (e.g. competent & pragmatic management of nuclear power, promotion of higher fertility & support for child rearing, etc). But Germany does many things better than France (lower tax rates, lower salaries for public employees, a more sustainable pension system, public spending which is targeted better at reducing inequality, higher investment in education, higher investment in R&D, higher investment in infrastructure, etc).
On the whole however, I definitely agree with Waterloo34's remark that Nordic countries (and I would include the Netherlands in that group as following roughly the same model) present a yet better example as to where France needs to reform.
Did you mean: A growing number of Germans who work SELF-EMPLOYED can't afford a private insurance, putting off the treatment . . .
People who work in employment must have compulsory health insurance; that's law. This was at least the case when I did business in Germany.
I wouldn't advocate "high" birth rates, but I would advocate birth rates near replacement level (say, in the 1.9-2.0 range, so far as governments have any acceptable influence in targeting this).
With Germany's present fertility rate (1.39 per woman), the number of live births in the whole of Germany will be less than in the Netherlands today within just 4 generations, and will be less than Switzerland, Austria or even Ireland today within 7 generations.
The present pace of population collapse in Germany is not merely hard economically - it will also be devastating socially, scientifically, etc. For the good of humanity, Germans really need to have more kids - something approaching replacement level. A slow & steady decline is just fine; outright collapse is unbearable (and this deserves far more political attention than it's getting). Likewise for most of Southern & Eastern Europe.
As long as Germany's family courtrooms, social-work agencies and youth offices are 'powered' by feminist ideologies, with a divorce rate of almost 50% intelligent young men will avoid like the plague having children of their own . . . .
Learn from the USA, where most states meanwhile passed family laws giving custody to the parent who guarantees children's visiting rights with the other parent at best.
I think that poverty is more heavily concentrated in certain areas in France (especially in the suburbs of France's big and middle-size cities and on the coutryside) and hence more visible. Besides, racism is more institutionalized in France and ordinary racism runs deep (more so than in Germany).
But France does fare better than Germany in terms of overall poverty rate (13.5 in France, 15.6 in Germany), though not in terms of child poverty (slightly higher in France than in Germany).
You're absolutely right, but I wish "Hartz IV", for instance, hadn't been so harsh.
These are more accurate numbers after transfers France beats Germany by a hair, before transfers america beats Germany.
" Bringing a backwards ex-communist economy to the level of the western part"
which was still viable as Eastern Germany was the "model" for the Soviet Union, but that was ruined with its annexion by Western Germany, who de facto removed the eastern DM, for the western DM, hence making the enterprises obsolete and not enough productive there. Had Kohl let the Eastern Germany still using their currency, and let her progressively adapting, this problem wouldn't have been so accurate. Still today, Eastern Germany hasn't recover its pre-annexion economical level.
Regardless of that, the EU cohesion and structural funds were generously poured in Eastern Germany, also higher interests for the EMU countries were ment to help too.
yeah, you're really supplied by ravens as far as infos !
Check the OCDE stats for poverty in EU, Germany has at least more than a couple of points above France, and check the wages scale, from the lowest to the highest wages there too
Ghettos? where? don't tell me that the London and or Dublin ghettos are different, it's where the multicultures meet !
you're a fool !
"I definitely agree with Waterloo34's remark that Nordic countries (and I would include the Netherlands in that group as following roughly the same model) present a yet better example as to where France needs to reform."
Except that the Nordic countries have not many people to feed, (almost all less than 10 millions inhabitants), like for Zwitzerland, it's easier to organise reforms and to govern.
Besides of that any system that succeed in a country, it's because it's adapted to its cultural background, I doubt that a nordic system would succeed in France, we are different people of very different cultures, some nordic some eastern, some mediterranean, some atlantic, some celtic...
We don't need a foreign model ours was all right until the euro !
If we have to make reforms they must be made from the insiders, at their own speed and needs !
woah, racism isn't specifically French, ever heard of Sarazin's book in Germany, he said that the muslims were lowering the german IQ, and the book made a "tabac" there.
You find racism where immigration is concentratred, in suburbs, but it's not one way, racism come also from these immigrants, try to make a walk in suburbs if you aren't protected by a "grand frère" !
Is this why so many Polish workers commute every day to jobs in East Germany? LOL!
Why is it not the other way around? Is it because Poland is using its own currency, and could progressively adapt its economy, as you suggest for East Germany?
You haven't even read Sarrazin's book. This is why you talk nonsense. He was suggesting a selective immigration policy a la America or Canada, where immigrants with good language skills and higher education are given preference. He rightly stated that it was a mistake to let those come who were the most uneducated in their home countries as well. In the case of Germany, this group came mainly from Turkey as guest workers, who happen to be Muslims. Iranian immigrants are doing well in Germany, above the county's average. They are also Muslims.
you perfectly know that polish workers in Germany, even if they get higher wages than in Poland, are paid less than a normal german worker in Germany (at lest before the generalisation of low wages, but then again, they'd better stay in Poland), anyways they make work that no German makes (wether because the German don't want such jobs, wether there's a lack of manpower in certain profession), plumbers? they work in farms... mines...
Poland, BTW has one of the biggest Growth ratings of the western world
I haven't read his book, but the many articles on it, especially on TE where it made one of the biggest comment numbers.
Don't try to drown the fish, Sarrazin ment what I wrote above
True, but my point was that for the people in Germany's East unification with one currency was better than struggling on their own. They don't work in Poland because even Hartz IV pays more than they could earn in Poland. Skilled professionals are in high demand in Germany and therefore well paid. It's unskilled jobs that don't pay good. But this is the case in all developed countries sooner or later. The key to that problem is education and qualification. Both are provided for free in Germany, also for Hartz IV recipients.
No he didn't mean what you wrote. He has many friends among educated Turks in Germany. He advocates compulsory kindergartens for immigrants to acquire the necessary language skills. And he is a Social Democrat, far off being a racist. He might be a culturist, an advocate of culture, but he's no racist.
How can a Frenchman ever understand a German book.
I agree with you Sarrazin did not even make a racist remark in his book.
But for the French anything is good if they only can create an anti-German rant of it:)
So the opinion of a Frenchman is always useless as Mrs.Merkel and the German gvt had to learn.
"And he is a Social Democrat, far off being a racist."
Since when is being a social democrat incompatible with being a racist?
I'm not saying Sarrazin is one, I don't know if he is, but to suggest he can't be because he's a social democrat is absurd.
Rarely you find racism among Social Democrats. I've personally never met one. But you're right, it can't be excluded either.
"No he didn't mean what you wrote."
hmm never saw a article that advocated that he was such a tolerant man, besides why was fired off from the bank where he used to work ?
"Rarely you find racism among Social Democrats"
LMAO, and what was national socialism?
The National Socialists weren't democrats. They threw leading Social Democrats in concentration camps.
Aren't gender-inequality and the truncated school-day rather inextricably linked? Plus, I wonder what the hidden and explicit costs involved in the widespread recourse to creches, child-care ['nounous']and other forms of upbringing for the under-sixes.
To be provocative (for once!) is the French inclination to normative, conformist behaviours a consequence of this early handing over to others' keeping? This last could be called confident sociability, I suppose... before Hildegaarde gets too cross.
your number for German birth rate is not correct: As a Max Planck Institut has shown in a interesting academic dispute three years ago the number of kids per woman is underestimated by the federal agencies due to fawlty methodology which gives much too low value for older mothers.
The good news is we have around 1.6 kid per woman, and the difference occurs in families with highly educated women who have their first and second kid at higher age (> 30 years), i.e. the additional kids are in a "pool position" for good education and from a economic point of view valuable assets. :-)
The second aspect is that Germany has a positive net immigrationsince 2010, +400000 in 2012, and until 2020 we will see at least an increase of 5 million people, many will stay, so the Netherland scenario is highly unlikely. :-)
Perhaps German fertility is 1.6 (your account certainly seems plausible - World Bank numbers may be wrong). 1.6 is still far too low (1.9 to 2.05 probably is probably the optimal range for sustainability).
Net immigration from Eastern Europe may support 5 years or more of population growth in Germany. But remember:
- fertility rates in Eastern Europe are also very low (Poland: 1.38, Czech Republic: 1.49, Russia: 1.54, Ukraine: 1.44, Serbia: 1.4, Belarus: 1.44, Romania: 1.38, Hungary: 1.25, Slovakia: 1.4, Croatia: 1.46). Even Turkey's fertility rate is now at roughly replacement level (2.09 and falling). Given these numbers, any immigration to Germany means even more rapid population collapse in the source countries, and is inherently unsustainable.
- with economic convergence and with deeper integration of European markets, Germans are likely to emigrate in large numbers too - to sunny Canary Islands/ Cyprus/ Balkans, to cheaper cities in Eastern Europe, to job opportunities in Scandinavia, Switzerland or Russia. Even if immigration remains high for a decade, emigration from Germany is likely to surge (a euro-pension can buy far greater luxury & quality in Bulgaria than in Bavaria).
Certainly, a high quality of education for the next generation is important. It is also important to actually have a next generation, if we want to see continued scientific, technical, social, environmental and economic progress. Southern, Central & Eastern Europe (Germany, Austria & Switzerland included) is failing.
it is more and more obvious that until western leaders start to base their economic programs on greater equality and a smaller ecological footprint, which means shrinking the overall size of the economy, they are going to continue to struggle. In the face of ecological collapse and climate change it is the expectation of growth that is making all the plans unworkable. Use less, share more.
The average carbon footprint of a frenchman is already pretty low thanks to nuclear power.
You advise Montebourg's décroissance but that would automatically mean a lower standard of living. You worry about the future generation, with your plan there won't be one
There is no evidence that above a certain level (about $10,000 per capita per year) that increased consumption increases happiness or longevity. We could dramatically shrink economies in the west without harming our communities.
it is more and more obvious that until western leaders start to base their economic programs on greater equality and a smaller ecological footprint, which means shrinking the overall size of the economy, they are going to continue to struggle. In the face of ecological collapse and climate change it is the expectation of growth that is making all the plans unworkable. Use less, share more.
it is more and more obvious that until western leaders start to base their economic programs on greater equality and a smaller ecological footprint, which means shrinking the overall size of the economy, they are going to continue to struggle. In the face of ecological collapse and climate change it is the expectation of growth that is making all the plans unworkable. Use less, share more.
yeah global warming... wouarf !
hey, in Germany they replaced their nuclear sites by gas and coal sites, for a papesse of the combat against global warming Merkel is fortiche de café !
According to BEE, a renewable energy think tank, renewable energy could fill the void left behind if the German government really decides to make its current shutdown of seven plants in the country permanent (of which I wouldn't be so sure about).
"Renewables could be ready to provide 47 percent of German power supply up to 2020. This way they would not just compensate for the nuclear withdrawal (meant to happen by 2021 at the latest), but in addition offer affordable and sustainable power," a BEE spokesperson told Reuters.
in 2020 good luck, your entrepreneurs can't wait that the winds blow all the time !
The problem with renewable and clean energies is their intermittence.
I do not disagree that on average, renewables could provide nearly 50% of Germany power supply but it is a grave error to deal with averages. Power supply and power consumption must be matched at all times (or nearly enough) as a consequence you need extra capacity e.g gas/coal burning power plants to produce electricity when renewable sources don't.
What renewables need is a way to store massive amounts of electricity with excellent efficiency. Yet we are nowhere close to find it (and it's not a question of cost, we haven't come up with a viable and expensive solution yet).
Until then, thanks to their beloved Green Party, Germany's carbon footprint will continue to increase.
In the opinion of a majority nuclear is no option. This conviction runs through all parties in Germany. It's not only the Greens anymore. And I agree. For a densely populated country, nuclear would be only an option when it is totally desperate; but this is not the situation in Germany. In 2007, up to six nuclear reactors were out of action at one stage (due to summer heat), but Germany still had one of its biggest power export surpluses that year.
The malthusan in me finds your arguments of "greater equality" and "smaller econological footprint" to be in conflict with one another.
The only way Franc will change is when they stop all those heavy subsidies to Industry.
And when they stop the Unions dictating the whole agenda.
Whatever you guys do - you seem to think that competing against the Asians should be off the radar.
In fact - come to think of it - being anti competitive was the main reason why France joined the EU
and what do you gain if France stop to subsidy her industry, in admitting that she does that? imagine what France does, it's also what does any other country, with different clothes !
and what do you gain if France stop to subsidy her industry,
Ah !
if France stops subsidizing her industries - especially her cars and steel, then the budget deficit will not be so bad. Then - maybe you will get a better credit rating and perhaps they will not charge you such a high interest rate.
Imagine all those Rich fat cats sitting in the Renault offices - They would never understand how to compete against Mercedes.
And now if you stop the subsidies they will go down very fast.
Of course you could do what the German Government does - NO subsidies.
Or what the UK government eventually did - stop all the subsidies.
Otherwise the Government might as well employ all those people - and damn the budget
Ah, you're mixing dish towels with napkins
Mercedes and Renault aren't playing in the same yard, at least for the category of custumers and for the prices. Mercedes also gets some disguised subsidies, (low cost labor force paid by the state, companies are forced to provide a german car to their frames... )
in fact the Renault fat cat delocated all the low costs cars to low cost labour force countries, Romania, Turkey, Spain, Marroco, and now Algeria too ! So no subsidies there, or you might find that these delocations are subsidies, then 90% of the "german made" is done outside Germany's borders, especially in eastern Republics.
UK has no more enterprises that are owned by the British
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Don't miss Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite in Winnipeg this summer at the 41st annual Winnipeg Folk Festival! Tickets for the event, which takes place from July 9-13, are on sale now.
Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite will be bringing the blues to Ottawa with performances from their GRAMMY®-winning album Get Up! on June 27 at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
Ben's take on the Jackson Browne classic "Jamaica Say You Will" comes out April 1 on Looking Into You: A Tribute To Jackson Browne. Pre-order and listen to song clips at iTunes and Amazon.

subset: commoncrawl


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Unless otherwise indicated, events are scheduled for Sunday afternoons at 2:00 in the Bradford Auditorium—Room 125, in the Kirner-Johnson Building
F.I.L.M.'s old friend J. P. Sniadecki returns to Hamilton with his brand-new film, The Iron Ministry, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival this past August and will have its official American premiere at the New York Film Festival in October. A veteran of Harvard's Sensory Ethnography Lab (he is now teaching filmmaking at Cornell University), Sniadecki has visited Hamilton three times, first with Songhua (2007), then with Foreign Parts (2010, co-made with Véréna Paravel) and again, in 2013, with People's Park (2012, co-made with Libbie Cohn).
Iron Ministry is the official name of the Chinese national railroad system, which Sniadecki has traveled for many years, filming on many different trains in a wide variety of situations. He's ready to take us on a journey through time and across China. The train boards at 2:00, don't be late!
During the silent era, Japanese films were often accompanied not only by music, but by "benshi performers," who lectured, narrated, and performed dialogue alongside films in movie theaters. For years, Hamilton's Professor Kyoko Omori has been researching the benshi phenomenon, and today will present a two-part "benshi event."
First, Ichiro Kataoka, Gabriel Thibaudeau, and the assembled musicians will perform a couple of scenes from their accompaniment-in-progress for Buntarō Futagawa's Orochi (1925), a short Japanese feature, starring Tsumasaburō Bandō, famous for its influential samurai fight sequences.
After an intermission, Omori will present a short documentary made by Hamilton students and faculty about ESL students at Utica's Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, taking English/Art classes at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The screening will be accompanied by Hamilton students' benshi narration and music provided by the international ensemble.
If you've seen a home-owner lighting his water spigot on fire, you've been impacted by Josh Fox's filmmaking. A political-activist, Fox played a role in building the resistance to hydraulic fracturing in Gasland, which was nominated for an Academy Award, and continues to update his concern about the environmental impacts of fracking.
The expansion of the shale gas industry in the wake of the G. W. Bush administration's deregulation of big oil and President Obama's confirmation of Bush/Cheney's claim that shale gas extraction will make the US "energy independent" has made fracking the most crucial environmental issue facing New York State, which has not yet allowed the fracking industry to gain a foothold. Gasland II is one man's understanding of the various reasons why he believes New York State is on the right side of this issue.
This event is co-sponsored by Environmental Studies.
Between 1966 and 1969 Ken Brown produced motion-picture imagery to be projected with the Road Show Light Show at the Boston Teaparty, the Boston area's premiere rock club at the time. The films illuminated the stage for Jimi Hendrix, BB King, and The Grateful Dead.
Brown's remarkable imagery (for a sample see vimeo.com/93166266) has been revived by Ken Winokur (of the Alloy Orchestra) and his colleagues Jonathan LaMaster (Cul de Sac) and Dana Coley (Morphine), who have designed a brand new soundtrack for Brown's work. A cine-feast for the eye and ear.
A cine-feast for the eye and ear, and a window on another time.
On April 11, 1961, Adolf Eichman went on trial in Jerusalem for his role in the Holocaust. The trial lasted the better part of a year, and was broadcast on TV—many bought televisions for the first time to follow the trial. Inspired by Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem; A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963), a book based on Arendt's controversial New Yorker articles on the trial, Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan decided to research the video records of the trial and was the first person in 37 years to see the coverage of Eichmann during the trial (the television broadcast focused almost entirely on survivor stories).
In The Specialist, the focus is not on victims but on an important perpetrator as he responds to the charges against him. Sivan: "My point in focusing on Eichmann was to break with the conventional way Nazis are portrayed. . .the Hollywood image of the Nazi may be the biggest success of Leni Riefenstahl and the Nazis." An edited transcript of a recent discussion with Sivan about The Specialist at the 2013 Flaherty Film Seminar will be available at the screening. 128 minutes.
Canadian filmmaker and cinematographer, Marielle Nitoslawska has made a film with and about pioneering painter, performance artist, body artist, collagist, installation artist, book artist and filmmaker Carolee Schneemann (Fuses, 1967), who has been "breaking frames" and shattering taboos for half a century. Schneemann work has been strong enough to survive both patronizing film critics and puritanical feminists during the 1960s and 1970s, to become recognized as one of the canonical contibution to the visual arts.
After receiving an MFA in cinematography, Nitoslawska remained in Poland for ten years, filming the upheavals that led to the fall of Poland's communist government. In more recent years she has made a variety of documentaries and cine-essays and has shot for many directors; she teaches film production at Concordia University in Montreal, where she is an award-winning teacher.
Thanks to the Kirkland Endowment for supporting this event.
When filmmaker Ed Pincus discovered in 2012 that he had a virulent form of leukemia (in addition to Parkinson's), he did what he always did in order to face up to challenge: he committed himself to the making of a film. Pincus first made a name for himself with Black Natchez (1967), an observational documentary about the struggle within the Mississippi civil rights movement for an effective strategy to combat American apartheid; then, with a pioneering personal documentary, Diaries (1971-1976) (1980), about his open marriage with Jane Pincus (one of the founding members of the Our Bodies Ourselves Collective). Diaries inspired a generation of filmmakers.
In One Cut, One Life Lucia Small and Pincus explore the complexities of family and the difficulties and excitements of being creative artists as mortality looms.
Black Natchez will be shown in Scott MacDonald's History of Documentary class on 9/30 (Tuesday) at 2:30; Diaries (1971-1976) will be screened on 11/3 (Monday) at 7:00. You are welcome to join the class for these screenings.
Unless otherwise indicated, events are scheduled for Sunday afternoons at 2 in the Bradford Auditorium—Room 125, in the Kirner-Johnson Building. Events run between one and three hours.
This series is made possible by the office of the Dean of the Faculty, by the generous support of the Kirkland Endowment, and by the Experimental Television Center re-grant program.
Events are curated by Scott MacDonald, with help from Heather Johnsen and Bret Olsen.


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Follow WSU Baseball Camps on Twitter for all the latest camp news and updates @WSUBaseballCamp.
WSU Elite Pitcher Throwing Camp
Date: Monday, December 22, 2014
Location: Centralia, WA. NW Sports Hub.
Ages: open to any all boys ages 13-18.
Cost: $199
Join Washington State Pitching Coach Gregg Swenson for a one-day camp focusing on the total preparation aspects of being an elite pitcher.
The Elite Pitcher Throwing Camp will duplicate the exact techniques used by the Cougar Baseball pitching staff on a daily basis in preparation for the upcoming season/game, utilizing effective learning principles and established motor skills leaning models.
Also included each camper will receive a T-shirt, Jaeger Band, Green Tap Series Ball and a Connection Ball.
Finally, mental skill design and development will be introduced, allowing the pitcher to walk away from the camp with a complete game plan, both physically and mentally, for the upcoming season.
Camp Itinerary:
- 10:00am - Introductions
- 10:15am - Dynamic Warm-up
- 10:30am - Shoulder Warm-up
- 11:15am - Pre-Throwing Program.
- Pronation Drills
- Connection Drills
- Lunch
- 1:30pm - Throwing Program.
- Long Toss Program
- Pitcher Catch, Bullpen
- Velocity Drills
- Game Plan Talk
- 3:30pm - The Mental Game
- 4:30pm - Camp Dismissed
We are sorry but the WSU Elite Pitchers Throwing Camp on December 22nd in Centralia has reached max capacity. Please take a look at other camp options this winter if you'd like to attend a WSU camp. You can email Coach Swenson at firstname.lastname@example.com if you'd like to be placed on a waiting list should campers cancel prior to camp. Thank you for your interest in WSU Baseball Camps. Go Cougs!
2015 Junior Winter Baseball Camp
Date: January 10-11 2015
Location: Hitting Barn Bailey Brayton Pullman, WA
Ages: Open to all and any boys ages 7-13
Cost: Hitter Session I - $75, Hitter Session 2 - $75, Hitter Session 3 - $75 Defense Session 4 - $75, Hitter Session 4 - $75, Saturday Session 1 and 2 - $150 Sunday Session 3 and 4 - $150 All Sessions - $250
- Join the Washington State Cougar Staff and Players for two days to get ready for the 2015 baseball season.
- Campers will learn and execute the same drills the WSU hitters execute on a daily basis. Training will include video in a classroom setting.
- Also, campers will have the opportunity to work on throwing mechanics, catching, infield, and outfield skills on Sunday.
- Campers can expect a fun and highly energetic atmosphere.
- All Campers will receive a Nike T-shirt
Camp Itinerary:
Saturday January 10, 2015
10:00am – 1:00pm Session 1 Hitting
2:00pm – 5:00pm Session 2 Hitting
Sunday January 11, 2015
10:00am – 1:00pm Session 3 Defense
2:00pm – 5:00pm Session 4 Hitting
2015 Ultimate Winter Prospect Camp
Date: January 17-19 2015
Location: Hitting Barn Bailey Brayton Pullman, WA
Ages: Open at all and any boys ages 14-18
Cost: $199 - Pitcher Only, $250 - Hitter Only, $399 - Infield and Hitting, $399 – Catching and Hitting, $399 - Pitching and Hitting, $499 – Pitching, Infield and Hitting, $499 – Catching, Infield and Hitting
- Join our Cougar Baseball Staff and Players for three days to kick off the 2015 Baseball Season.
- Campers can expect a highly energetic atmosphere while learning and executing the same fundamentals the WSU players execute on a daily basis.
- There are four hitting sessions consisting of drills, classroom video study, and instruction with a focus on developing a successful hitting plan and approach for game play.
- Campers have their choice to learn and execute the fundamentals of Catching and Infield.
- Finally, campers participating in the Pitching sessions will duplicate the training methods of the WSU Pitching staff.
- All Campers will receive a Nike T-shirt
Camp Itinerary:
Saturday January 17, 2015
10:00am – 1:00pm Session 1 Hitting
1:30pm – 3:30pm Session 1 Pitching and Catching
4:00pm – 6:00pm Session 1 Infield
Sunday January 18, 2015
10:00am – 1:00pm Session 2 Hitting
2:00pm – 4:00pm Session 2 Pitching and Catching
4:00pm – 6:00pm Session 2 Infield
6:30pm – 9:30pm Session 3 Hitting
Monday January 19, 2015
9:00am – 12:00pm Session 4 Hitting
Camp Locations
Area Accomodations
Cougar Land Motel:
Holiday Inn Express:
(509) 334-4437
Hilltop Inn:
(509) 332-0928
La Quinta Inn & Suites (Moscow):
(208) 882-5365.
Quality Inn:
(509) 332-0500
University Inn (Moscow):
(208) 882-0550
Wheatland Inn (Colfax):
(509) 397-0397
Driving Directions
From Seattle
- Head east on I-90 E
- Take exit 137 to merge onto WA-26 E toward Othello/Pullman
- Turn right onto Main St in Colfax
- Main St becomes US-195 S
- Continue to follow US-195 S
- After 14 miles turn left onto WA-270 E
- Immediately turn right onto WA-270 E/Davis Way
- Turn left onto N Grand Ave
- At second light, turn right onto NE Stadium Way
- At Beasley Coliseum, turn right onto NE Colorado St and Bohler Gym will be on your left just past Mooberry Track.
From Spokane
- Head west on I-90 W
- Take exit 279 to merge onto US-195 S toward Colfax/Pullman
- In Colfax US-195 S becomes Main St
- Continue to follow US-195 S
- 14 miles past Colfax, turn left onto WA-270 E
- Immediately turn right onto WA-270 E/Davis Way
- Turn left onto N Grand Ave
- At second light, turn right onto NE Stadium Way
- At Beasley Coliseum, turn right onto NE Colorado St and Bohler Gym will be on your left just past Mooberry Track.


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Subject: Fifth delay puts pressure on Mars rover launch
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From spyware designed to catch students misbehaving to police tracking rioters by phone, we are spied on as never before, reveals a book by Bruce Schneier
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War isn't just for the history books. Bombs, munitions testing and chemical weapons dumps have left an indelible legacy on geology
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Keith Cantrell of McPherson was named to the fall 2012 Dean's List at Taylor University.
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Curtis Legal – Specialist Personal Injury & Medical Negligence Solicitors
Curtis Legal Limited are leading claimant personal injury solicitors who have recovered tens of millions of pounds of compensation for over 10,000 accident victims throughout England & Wales.
Curtis Legal has achieved its excellent reputation by ensuring all our clients can obtain access to justice with total peace of mind. Our commitment to every client is to maximise compensation and make the claim process as quick and simple as possible. We are extremely proud of our reputation and the fact that a large proportion of our work comes as a result of recommendation from existing clients.
Our main services include:
Why people choose Curtis Legal
- Honest No Win, No Fee Service
- Specialist & Experienced Injury Lawyers
- Law Society Accredited
For further information or for a free, no obligation discussion, call our free helpline on 08000 845 048.
This firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Registration Number: 450129
We are also members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and accredited by Lexcel with recognised standards of excellence.
Client Testimonials
Miss O from Bridgend was involved in rear-end shunt accident in July 2011. She sustained whiplash injuries to her neck and back and received ��2200 these injuries. In addition she received private physiotherapy treatment and received damages for other losses and expenses.
Miss O from Bridgend received ��2200 compensation
Mrs J from Porth was involved in a rear-end shunt accident in June 2011.She sustained whiplash injuries to her neck and some tingling of her right arm. She received ��2,300 for these injuries and also had her private physiotherapy costs paid by the defendant���s insurers
Mrs J from Porth received ��2,300 Compensation for Whiplash Injuries
Mrs M from Mid Glamorgan was involved in a rear-end collision in January 2010. She sustained whiplash type injuries to her neck and shoulder and a worsening of a pre-existing back condition. She received ��8,500 for her injuries and medical treatment.
Mrs M from Mid Glamorgan received ��8,500 Compensation for her Injury Claim
Mr O from Cardiff was involved in an accident in a car park in May 2010. He sustained whiplash injuries to his neck and received ��3,000 for these injuries. In addition he received private physiotherapy treatment and received damages for other losses and expenses.
Mr O from Cardiff awarded ��3,000 for her Compensation Claim for Whiplash
Mr. M was involved in a road accident in Nantgarw. He was travelling as a passenger, when the vehicle in which he was travelling, collided with the rear of the vehicle in front. He sustained injuries to his neck and right shoulder. The defendant���s insurance company awarded a 100% payout to Mr. M totalling ��2,500.00.
Mr. M from Pentre awarded ��2,500 for Whiplash injury to the neck and his shoulder
Client is a minor and was a passenger in a friend���s vehicle. On the M5/M50 coming from Birmingham when the driver lost control and hit a barrier in the centre and then went back to the hard shoulder and down a bank. They rolled over a number of times. The police and air ambulance were in attendance. The client suffered neck injuries including her shoulders. A medical report was obtained from Dr Rahman and a 6 month prognosis period was given from the date of accident. No treatment was recommended. The client was awarded ��1600 for her general damages; there were no special damages claimed.
Miss C was awarded ��1600 for her neck injury
Mr P Was the driver/owner of his vehicle when involved in a rear end shunt, the accident was a concertina collision and Mr P's vehicle was the middle car. He was forced into the vehicle in front by the defendant driver behind. We received an early admission of liability. Mr P's main injuries were whiplash to neck and shoulders. he also sustained whiplash to lower back with stiffness in both legs. My client���s general damages were received in the amount of ��2,600.
Mr P was awarded ��2,600 for his whiplash injury claim
Mrs D's vehicle was stationary in traffic. The Defendant hit the vehicle behind her in the rear of the vehicle; thereby pushing that vehicle into the rear of our client's car and causing injury and loss. The accident occurred in Ebbw Vale on the 4/03/2011. Mrs D suffered with back pain/anxiety and depression. For her back pain the client was given a 14 month prognosis from the date of accident. Damages for her whiplash accident were agreed at ��2496.
Mrs P was awarded ��1400 for her Whiplash accident in Ebbw Vale
Mrs J was involved in a road accident in Trellech. She was a passenger in a vehicle, which collided head on with another car. She sustained whiplash to her neck. The defendant���s insurance company awarded a 100% payout in whiplash compensation to Mrs J totalling ��1,900.00.
Mrs J from Chepstow awarded ��1,900 In whiplash compensation
Mr D from Mid Glamorgan was involved in a road traffic accident in September 2011. He sustained whiplash injuries to his neck and received whiplash compensation at the sum of ��1,600 for these injuries. In addition he received damages for the loss of his vehicle, travel and medical expenses.
Mr D from Mid Glamorgan awarded ��1,600 In whiplash compensation
At the moment of impact the Mrs L's car was stationary on a minor road when struck by a 4x4 at low speed. The impact came from the front, and its force sufficient to cause moderate damage to the car. The accident occurred on Old Lane in Abersychan. Mrs L had whiplash injuries to her neck and shoulder to resolve within 7 months post accident and headaches to resolve within 6 months. We successfully concluded the clients claim in the amount of ��1,700 for her damages.
Mrs L was awarded ��1,700 In whiplash compensation
Mr M from Cheltenham was involved in a road traffic accident in May 2009. He sustained soft tissue injuries to his neck and back for which he received ��1,100.
Mr M from Cheltenham received ��1100 in whiplash compensation
Mrs K was on her way to work. When indicating to turn right someone walked in front of her. Mrs K stopped to let the person pass but at the same time a car that was in a disabled bay reversed directly into Mrs K's vehicle. Mrs K sustained whiplash injuries to her neck and shoulders. Mrs K received ��1,300 in whiplash compensation.
Mrs K received ��1,300 in whiplash compensation for her whiplash accident
Mr M was a rear seat passenger when his whiplash road accident occurred. He received the amount of ��1,500 for his physical injuries and received physiotherapy for his whiplash injuries.
Mr M received ��1,500 for his whiplash injuries


text:
The SU Advantage
The Program
Graduate Faculty
Course Descriptions
Financial Aid
Frequently Asked Questions
The History Department
The Edward H. Nabb Research Center for the Study of Delmarva History and Culture
Céline Carayon, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor and Director, Graduate Program in History
(410) 677-3251
Salisbury University
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
The Admissions Office will then forward the application and the
transcripts to the History Department.
Request three letters of recommendation
(SU forms available on the History Department
website) from individuals qualified to judge the applicant's ability to pursue
graduate studies in history, to be sent directly to
the History Department.
Submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
scores directly to the department at the time of application.
Complete the equivalent of an
undergraduate major in history with at least 15 semester hours in
history at the junior-senior level or above, including a course in
research and writing, and achieve a grade-point-average of 3.0 or better
in all history courses.
Students lacking this preparation must make
up the deficiency and may only be admitted on a provisional basis by
taking History 201, 202, 330 or 601 when appropriate.
Provisionally-admitted students may take maximum of nine semester hours
and maintain a cumulative grade-point-average of at least 3.0 with no
grade less than "C".
Acceptance letter is generated by the Graduate Director (History)
after review by Graduate History Faculty and a preliminary program of
study is planned with the Graduate Director.
Upon admission to the Graduate Program,
each graduate student should meet with the Graduate
Director to select tentatively the student's preferred
major and minor (a second minor is optional)
concentration areas. These areas will provide the
basis for the written and oral examinations. The four
broad concentration areas are: Chesapeake Studies;
Colonial and Revolutionary America; 19th and 20th
Century United States; and European/World (which
includes Ancient). A graduate student may not receive
credit for a 500-level course in history and/or
anthropology at Salisbury University that corresponds to
the 400-level course or topics course (same title) that
was taken for undergraduate credit at Salisbury
University. In addition, each graduate student must
complete History 601, Methods of Historical Research.
admitted on probation, after completing nine hours of
course work (three hours of which must be at the
600-level), will have their performance reviewed by the
Graduate Director to determine if the student will be
allowed to continue in the Graduate Program. By
the end of the semester in which twelve hours are
the student must review the preliminary program of
study and present any changes to the Graduate Director
for approval.
Completion of the program requires
a total of 30 semester hours
of graduate course work and satisfactory performances on
oral and written examinations. Each student must
1) At least five
seminar courses (15 semester hours) at the
600-level, including History 601, Methods of Historical
Research. The aim of these classes is to develop
skills in historical research, analysis, and writing.
Furthermore, the aim of these classes is to master the
historical scholarship extant in the student's chosen
areas of concentration.
The remainder of the credit hours may be earned in
the following ways:
Completion of a thesis (up to
6 non-seminar semester hours: History 630,
Completion of additional graduate seminars (3 semester
hours each);
Completion of 500-level courses at the graduate level (3
semester hours each;
students must discuss additional
requirements with the instructor at the
beginning of the
Up to six semester hours of graduate work in history may
be transferred from other institutions.
Students must maintain a cumulative grade point
average of 3.0; earning two grades of "C" or one grade
below "C" is grounds for dismissal from the program.
During the Master's Examinations, the student completes
the written examination first; these responses are used
as the basis for discussion in the oral examination.
Any student who fails the written or oral examinations
may retake the examination once, but must do so within
one year of the date of the original examination.
By the beginning of the semester in which the
student plans to graduate, the student must meet with faculty members in
the major and minor concentration areas to develop a reading list,
receive a reading list, or receive any other guidance regarding
preparation for the written or oral exams at the end of that semester.
The graduate student also completes the application for diploma form
through the Registrar's Office (in accordance with its stated
deadlines), and contacts the University Bookstore concerning
commencement regalia, in accordance with its ordering deadlines.


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I would like to get my son (boy Scout) something scouts oriented for Christmas. Any original ideas?
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Don't know how original these ideas are but here is some I did over the years.
Stocking stuffers - hand warmer packs, (Eastern Mountain had ideas over the years like) animal track cards, straps (to tie to backpacks), stuff sacks, pocket knifes
Larger gifts have been normal stuff like sleeping bags, backpack tents, backpack stoves, water purifiers
"scouts" oriented
Well, you want to get your boy oriented? Get him a nice compass!
If the boy is a little older. A map set of his favorite hiking areas might be a good investment.
A lightweight multi-tool is a great idea for hikers. Or a pen knife.
Some of our boys are really proud of their one-man tents.
Whatever you get, engrave or otherwise label it with his name.
It is too late for you for this year, but each Christmas, I give a 8 x 10 picture to each 1st yr. scout that went on the Northern Ontario trip with me, during the summer. Sometime it is a group picture, but usually it is an individual picture of the scout playing in a waterfall, etc. Sometime I get a real good picture of the scout with his father. On the picture, I put in the writting "Scouting, enjoy the journey".
The scouts do not know they are getting the picture. I wrap them up, and have another scout leader deliver them to the scouts at the last troop meeting, before Christmas. I spent the winters in Florida, so I can not hand them out myself. Several scouts (and several dads) told me, it was the best present!
I scout some of the military surplus sites and have got some good ideas there. Boys tend to get a lot of stuff at first and pare down to the good (and costlier) basics as they progress and physically grow.
Hard to go wrong with a knife or multi-tool. Compass is good. If it is a big gift maybe one of the "big 3" - sleeping bag, backpack, or tent. I got my boy some military type poly long johns one year and that was pretty popular as was an old UK style camo jacket. They always seem to go on the trips as well as an (expensive)Hennesy Hammock.
Stuff sacks and animal cards are great ideas. They may need to get them anyway. I would go for a simpler and better quality knife. Note if your boys is a lefty--mine is and he has a hard time with a think swiss type knife. A knife with something that makes it easy to get the blade out may get used more.
SM uses the opportunity to upgrade something for his son -- a lighter-weight sleeping bag or tent, a backpacking stove, etc. Last year, I gave my sons "stocking stuffers" consisting of small things for their survival kits. Haven't thought much about this year yet.
Is you son likely to ever attend a high adventure base? Philmont, Northern Tier, Sea Base, Bethel.
Each of those require you to pare down your gear to small, lightweight, essential. A good knife, a good water bottle, a good compass, a lightweight sleeping bag that compresses significantly, a thermorest, a good rain jacket, a small LED headlight, sock liners, wicking T-shirts, 50 ft of 1/8 braided nylon cord.
I have and use the backpack I took to Philmont in 1976. Still have the water bottle. My son went to Philmont last summer and the only thing he bought was a new thermorest and new boots. All the other gear he had been graduly upgrading over the last 5 years. Sure helped lower the total overall cost.
Similarly went he went to Northern Tier he had to buy differnt boots and a waterproof stuff sack.
Buy good quality essential gear. It makes camping so much easier and lasts for years.
Extra scout socks
Extra uniform shirt
Nice leather belt http://www.newcreationleathercraft.com/boy_scouts.htm
A campaign hat
Some really nice hiking boots
A nice backpack
A top of the line thermarest pad
A top of the line down sleeping bag
A leatherman wave multitool
1000' of paracord
A red wool scout jack-shirt (ebay has them all the time)
Make him a really nice hiking stick.
A sterling silver eagle medal from yonder days on ebay for him to receive one day in the future (do this anyway and stash it)
Good stuff, especially like BSA24's idea of an old-school Eagle medal.
Made of sterling silver till '80 or so, the old medals can be picked up quite reasonably on ebay these days. Seems many come and go without a single bid.
A cool and unique way to pass on scouting heritage.
Tampa Turtle -
What kind of knife did you get for your lefty? My 13 year old is my only lefty and he's about ready for a good knife.
As for other gifts, depending on your climate -
fingerless gloves
scout belt
homemade fire starter kit
cook kit
headlight lantern
hanging lantern for tent
attachable reading light (my youngest even reads in his sleeping bag)


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That sounds very promising!
Here's to r600g optimisations which are hopefully coming in the future
Not to mention what a win it would be for bridgman and AMD because it would mean that they fulfilled their promise (up to r500 at least).
For Marek, Corbin Dave and Tom (and everybody I forgot to include) it would be an even greater success if their driver performed _better_ than fglrx. Not as if I would be saying that their achievement so far is not remarkable. Because it is. Corbin and Marek are the real open source heroes in my eyes.
Point is a phoronix article is needed!
@Michael: What do you think?
That sounds very promising!
Here's to r600g optimisations which are hopefully coming in the future
I might add that I also use r600g...
But the thing is if r300g can be as fast as fglrx then it should be possible for r600g, too. Although I don't really think that any of them could be faster.
r600c was about (or even less than) half of the r600g performance and had some display corruption problems.
The fact that r300g might be catching up with fglrx is just incredible. I was really not expecting it (not this soon anyway).
I've just retested OpenArena with r600g + colour tiling. There are some visual artefacts, and I had one crash, but I get a solid 60 fps (capped to monitor refresh) at 1920x1080 now.
This is really impressive improvement.
I'm sure that a few of us can chip in if you need a r600/r700 card to work with!
BTW, the amount and frequency of your commits significantly decreased in the past few weeks.
If you don't mind me asking, is there a specific reason for that?
- Do you have less time?
- Are you implementing something in a separate branch?
- Are the current problems so difficult that it simply takes this much time to solve?
Of course I might be totally off...
On a sightly separate note:
What can we still expect from r300g? Will it have some more features like page flipping, hyper z, msaa which has not yet been completely implemented?


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Latest update : 2011-05-24
Saudi woman arrested after defying local driving ban
Saudi women continue their campaign for the right to drive. Fierce debate in Brazil over proposed reforms to the forest code. And YouTube has launched a platform for political debates in the US.
Saudi woman arrested after defying local driving ban
32 year old Saudi woman Manal al-Sharif, was arrested on Sunday for defying the local driving ban for women. Last Friday, she had uploaded a video of herself driving through the streets of Khobar in eastern Saudi Arabia.
This computer security consultant learnt to drive in the US and is behind the campaign mounted on social networks urging Saudi women to get behind the steering wheel on the 17th of June. The movement is called "Women 2 Drive" and is focusing notably on the fact that although the authorities do not issue women with driving licenses, there is actually no law in place which forbids them from driving.
The campaign's Facebook page, which had near to 12 000 members, was deactivated the day after Manal al-Sharif was arrested. And whilst cyber activists are campaigning for her release, her combat for the right to drive continues to be relayed via the net.
Other substitute pages like this one were set up shortly afterwards and increasing numbers of videos of Saudi women driving have emerged on sharing sites over the past few days, to encourage women to fight for the right to drive.
This video blogger of French origin claims to have driven for several months, in the hope she would not be seen by police. She lives alone with her children in Jeddah and cannot afford a taxi to take them to school every day or to go shopping. For this woman, driving is a daily necessity.
Fierce debate in Brazil over forestry protection
Proposed reforms to a law regulating forestry have sparked lively debate in Brazil. A group of deputies in Congress want to relax the current legislation, in order to increase the amount of land it can use. Environmentalists are fiercely opposing this proposition and are using the web to gain citizens' support.
Numerous environmental organizations have joined the campaign and denounce the proposed changes, which in their opinion, would have catastrophic consequences on the environment. A site called "SOS Florestas", meaning "SOS Forests" has been set up, to inform people on the dangers of changing national environmental law, which is presented as one of the most developed in the world.
The campaign to protect nature is also taking place on Twitter where web users can use the key words "#SOSFlorestas" and "#SOSCodigoFlorestal" when coordinating activities to convince the authorities to leave the current forest code unchanged. They are circulating a link redirecting users of the micro blogging site to an online petition, signed by over 50 000 citizens, demanding the government continues to protect the forests.
And evidence that the message is reaching the people: numerous rallies have been organized in various cities across the country. The participants want to show Congress how committed they are to the current environmental policy.
Supporters of the proposed forest code reforms are also busy campaigning, and have set up this Twitter thread to convince locals of the legitimacy of their requests. The deputy Katia Abreu for example is stressing the important impact reforms will have on economy and farming in Brazil.
YouTube Town Hall
YouTube has launched a new platform called Town Hall, on which web users can watch virtual debates between members of US Congress on different political issues. This new service is particularly simple. Users just have to choose a question on a given theme, watch the replies from two politicians and then support the one they agree with the most. The aim of this interesting tool is to inform citizens in an objective manner, by providing competing ideas and a variety of political positions on one given issue.
British cup final fans to be tagged in giant panoramic photo
On Saturday the 14th of May during the FA Cup Final between Stoke and Manchester City, the photographer Jeffrey Martin shot a giant panoramic photo of London's Wembley Stadium. The 360 ° picture was assembled from the one thousand photos he took during the football match. The 90 000 spectators present that day can tag themselves in this giant 10 giga pixel photograph via their Facebook profiles.
Video of the day
Sit down to a gourmet meal prepared by a quality chef … in the subway. Some of New York's public transport users were lucky enough to be in the right carriage at the right time, as we can see here. A 6 course meal was served up by a team of professionals each time the train stopped in a station. The guests were no doubt won over by this original idea.


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HPV Vaccine PSA (:30)
In this 30 second public service announcement, a mother talks about the importance of protecting 11-12 year-old boys and girls with HPV vaccination. (Una madre habla sobre la importancia de proteger a los niños y las niñas de 11 a 12 años con la vacuna contra el VPH.). Created: 1/15/2014 by National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). Date Released: 1/15/2014. Series Name: CDC Radio.
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Textured Tubular Tank Dress
Style # 220980
Turn heads in this bebe bodycon dress, featuring a lightweight stretch that contours to hug your body and a textured stripe detail. Try yours with a moto jacket and a pair of strappy heels for a night out.
- 100% nylon
- Center back to hem: 28" (71 cm)
- Machine wash according to care label
- Made in USA
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Rated 5 out of 5�by 3 reviewers.
Rated 5 out of 5�by Seabreeze2013 Very Flattering !! The material of this dress is great, just as others have said, it's not too thin, or too thick. The color is hot and it looks great with curves. I love it!! June 20, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5�by KalikaSlg18 Red Hot Must Have I was debating on purchasing this dress since the regular bodycon dresses that bebe have unfortuantely are see through unless you get a dark color like blue or black and I loved the orange and pink. So I tried this dress at the store after looking online since they have it and it looks amazing. Luv the color and fit. Not too thick but thick enought that everything is not showing. This item is red hot! I love it. Thank you bebe!!! June 1, 2013
Rated 5 out of 5�by EA8851 Great dress! Great fit and great color. Fits true to Bebe sizes. Not too thick or too thin of a material. Definitely recommend. May 30, 2013
1-3 of 3


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Smoked & Flavored
Quick View
Caciotta di Capra con PepeA goat in sheep's clothing. This caciotta, or "little cheese," hails from the land of sheep's milk Pecorino but has a flavor all its own—preserved lemons, brown butter, and the spice of whole black peppercorns. Read More
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Queso IdiazabalI love your animal nature, you gamy raw sheep milk cheese. Traditionally made in the Basque country, young wheels were hung in fireplaces to pick up a little smokiness. Read More
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Cabra RomeroWhat happens when you take a young and springy Spanish goat cheese and add a thick layer of Rosemary to the rind? You end up with the herbaceous treat that is Cabra Romero! Read More


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Neil Diamond tribute at the Elks
Saturday, February 2, 2013
ROCHESTER — The Rochester Elks is sponsoring a special event. The Mike Livingston Band will perform a Neil Diamond Tribute on Saturday, March 2. Gather your friends and bring them to the Elks for an entertaining evening. Cocktails will be served from 6-8 p.m. There will be hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and music by DJ John Cox prior to the feature band and also during intermissions.


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Ken Hardekopf steadies the envelope of the Greenpeace hot air balloon as it is inflated for its inaugural flight in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Oct. 3, 2008. The balloon was designed to call attention to global warming and its threat to life on earth.
© Greenpeace/Robert Meyers
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Want to learn more about tax-deductible giving, donating stock and estate planning? Visit Greenpeace Fund, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable entity created to increase public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through research, the media and educational programs.


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- About Bard
- Admission
- Academics
- Campus Life
- News & Events
Bard Center for Environmental Policy presents
Register for Bard CEP J-term short courses now!
Courses run 9am - 4:15pm starting January 21, 2013. Register by Friday, Jan 18th.
Course Options:
Private Land Conservation: A Primer, and The Role of Agriculture
Instructor: Judy Anderson
Dates and Times: 1/22/13 - 1/31/13 from 9am - 4:15pm
Energy and Environment in Asia
Instructors: Monique Segarra and Eban Goodstein
Dates and Times: 1/21/13 - 2/2/13 9am - 4:15pm (includes conference)
More information and registration here.
Location: Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY


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Zu Online
UPDATE: This game has been shutdown and is no longer available
Zu Online is a 3D fantasy MMORPG with cell shaded character models. Set in an ancient oriental landscape, Zu Online offers a unique setting and graphic style. Players level up rapidly in Zu Online but with a level cap of 259 there is plenty of content to keep them going.
Publisher: IGG
Playerbase: Low
Graphics: Medium Quality
Type: MMORPG
EXP Rate: High
PvP: Duels
Filesize: 1040 MB
Pros: +Fast leveling. +Rewarding quests. +Great navigation, auto move to objectives. +Optional PvP. +Plenty of skills and talents.
Cons: -No challenge during early levels. -Must rely on quests for exp and equipment. -Gender specific classes.
Zu Online Overview
Zu Online is a stylish MMORPG based on a historic Chinese novel and is therefor set in an oriental fantasy world than a typical western one. Zu Online has 5 different classes or 'clans', each with its own unique play style. Sadly, there is no gender selection so if you want to play a mage or rogue, you'll have to play as a female. The 5 classes are:
Swordsman - Main tanking class. Swordsman use melee weapons and skill in combat.
Bead Fairy - Mages who posses offensive and supportive spells.
Sun Warrior - Large, brutish warriors who excel in close combat but suffers from a lack of speed.
Moon Maiden - Fast, agile rogue class.
Summoner - Specialize in dark magic and summoning demons to assist them in combat.
Additionally, players must join one of three warring factions during character creation but can chose to keep PvP mode deactivated.
Zu Online Screenshots
Zu Online Feature Video
Zu Online Full Review
By Erhan Altay
Zu Online is one of IGG's more graphically advanced MMORPGs. The graphics are not as impressive as Voyage Century's but leave games like Tales of Pirates, Angels Online, Wonderland Online, Myth War 2 Online, and Godswar Online in the dust. Zu Online tries to be a little original with an opening cinematic that explains the game's plot. All I understood from it was that there was an evil Demon on the loose messing everything up. Check the video tab to see it for yourself.
Moon Maiden or Sun Warrior?
Character creation in Zu Online is a bit different than in other MMORPGs, players start by selecting one of 12 mascots. These mascots are small animals that represent the 12 hours of the Chinese clock. You've probably heard of them before; Rat, Dragon, Bull and so on. The only effect these mascots seem to have is doubling your experience rate each day during the hour each represents. If you plan to play Zu Online for an extended amount of time, it may be worth picking a mascot that represents the hours of the day you're most likely to be online. The next step is selecting your nationality and state of residence. This may seem strange but Zu Online lets players chat globally to members of their own country and state from anywhere in the game. The information you chose can be changed later by using a 'nationality reversal' purchased in game. Before choosing their class, players must decide which of the three warring factions they wish to join; Wu, Tai, or Xun. Each faction is at war with the other two so your decision here will determine who you'll be fighting if you decide to participate in PvP later on. With all that out of the way, the final step is selecting your class. The five choices are; Swordsman, Bead Fairy, Moon Maiden, Sun Warrior, and Summoner. The Bead Fairy and Moon Maiden are female while the other three are male. There is no gender switch option, instead each class has 5-7 hair and face styles along with a sliding hair color selection tool. Overall, character creation in Zu Online is acceptable, all the unique things make up for the lack of gender selection.
Quest, do not Grind
What ever else you do in Zu Online, just make sure you talk to all the NPCs with red exclamation marks over their head. Questing is by far the best way to level up in this game and by following the beginning quest line, you'll be at least level 15 within an hour. There are two starting locations based on which of the classes you chose but both have a similar enough beginner areas. Zu Online offers both keyboard (W A S D) and mouse (point and click) movement which is a bonus. The game starts with an NPC dialogue box already open and by accepting it, you'll be flown to another NPC. Flying in this manner is the most effective mode of transportation. Each area has several NPCs which, in exchange for a small fee, let you fly to a near by location. Be sure to talk to all the nearby NPCs but don't bother reading what they have to say. The text is usually long, boring, and poorly translated. Instead, just open your quest log (L) and click on the quest objective (highlighted in green.) This will automatically move you to where you need to be whether its an NPC or a monster spawn. The experience rate in Zu Online from questing is so much higher than grinding. If a monster nets 50 experience, a kill quest requiring you to kill 10 of that same monster will yield 1500-2000 experience. Heck, you'll level up just from talking to one NPC than another standing nearby.
On With the Game
At first the high experience rate may keep you excited but eventually the rather dull gameplay beings to show. There is almost no challenge at all when fighting monsters, the rank 1 beginning skills are enough to defeat monsters several levels higher than you in 2-3 shots if not less. The auto movement to quest objectives and easy transport between locations via flying cloud keep the pacing but combat it self is a bore for the first 30 levels. Players cannot raise their stat points but do gain access to new skills as they level. In order to start using a skill you'll first need to use the appropriate skill books which are usually handed out as quest rewards, another reason to keep doing the quests you run into. New players may of noticed a talent tree similar to World of Warcraft's but this is not functional until level 30. From than on, every 3 levels players will receive a talent point to distribute. Another feature that will likely go unnoticed for the first few hours is the PvP mode button. The default setting is PvE mode but once clicked it will enable PvP mode which puts you at risk of being attacked by members of the two opposing factions. I'm usually a fan of open PvP but the fact that Zu Online has a very small player base means it will be difficult to find enough allies to venture out with to go PKing.
Strong Foundation
Zu Online is generally a well designed game, the interface is organized and players can chat locally, through private messages (whispers), or send messages to their entire faction, country, state, or to the globe (with a fee.) The main in game currency of 'bones' are easy to acquire but make up only one of four currencies, Silver, Shells and Gold being the other 3. Silver and Gold are cash shop related while Shells are acquired by doing odd jobs for the warehouse NPC. As mentioned earlier, Zu Online has a unique graphic style that gives it the feel of an oriental comic book. This style is sure to turn off some players but I found it pleasing. My major complaint with the game is the sense of loneliness. When you enter a new area, you're bound to see what seem like hundreds of identical monsters walking around, with no other players in sight. Another flaw is the sheer amount of system messages. A GM message constantly scrolls on the top while large blue text announces every time a player completes a major quest or defeats a boss.
Final Verdict: Good
A unique setting and rapid leveling make Zu Online an interesting MMORPG for the first few dozen levels but eventually the repetitive combat and small player base sink in. Faction based open PvP and a high max level (300) give Zu Online a long life span if you can find friends to play with.
Zu Online Videos
Zu Online Gameplay Video
Zu Online Gameplay Trailer
Zu Online Gameplay Footage
Zu Online Intro Cinematic
Zu Online Cinematic Trailer
Zu Online Links
Zu Online System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
OS: WIN 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista
CPU: P3-800 MHz
Graphics Card: 64 MB 3D Accelerated Graphic Card
DirectX: 9.0c
Recommended Specification:
OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
CPU: P4-2.4 GHz or above
RAM: 512MB or more e
HDD: 10.0 GB or more
Graphics Card: ATI 9200/Nvidia FX5200 or better
DirectX: 9.0c or better


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Santa Barbara killings: taking our social script to a violent extreme
My grief about Elliot Rodger's Santa Barbara killing rampage takes me to an almost wordless place. But I think it's important to find my voice and try to address it.
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