Euro, Mugabe, and Detroit

So I've decided, upon spending the entire past hour on Facebook and Youtube, to contribute something back to the world. Honestly, the news as of late only seems to make me laugh. I mean, seriously, just read a bit and it's obvious. I titled this "Euro, Mugabe, and Detroit," almost abstractly, I guess (at least in reference to two of the terms), in an effort to summarize the world of the past couple of days. So, as I am now back from the great quads of Notre Dame, I will attempt again a decent post.

I'll stay with my agenda. Euro. Now I could go on about a couple of things regarding this. I'm not sure exactly which one I meant primarily when deciding upon the topic, but, at least now, the Lisbon Treaty seems most appropriate (and important). I'm sure everyone is at least familiar with the idea of the European Union, and so I can elaborate a bit on this new treaty many hope to ratify in accordance with an evolving, growing European community. Sponsored mostly, it seems, by big guys life Sarkozy and Merkel, the treaty, to be ratified by all 27 member states this year, promises a more streamlined, more united, more controlling European Union, a EU to take on the world jointly rather than disparately. There, of course, have been several amendments and changes made to the EU over the years, from trade agreements and border issues to the widespread adoption of the Eurodollar only a few years back. This Lisbon Treaty, which, by all accounts, appears only to be a jumbled mess of screwy compromises, proposes sweeping changes to the European parliament (absurd, isn't it) and common EU leadership. More information is always available on reliable sites like BBC, Economist, Wikipedia, et. al. so I'll leave it to you to educate yourself further for debate. My opinion, though, should be made clear.

First of all, I am not pro-European. That is, I disapprove strongly of any permanent, binding, sovereignty-reducing treaties and contracts between nations for the purpose of "uniting and benefiting the people of Europe." Such multilateral super-governments only make me sick when I think off the possible consequences. However, the EU has come around with several successes on both the Continent and in a little place called Ireland. Ireland, you see, certainly needed economic and social revival after the decades-long clash with Northern-Irish. I'm not going to put the prize squarely on the EU (as Ireland's own policies greatly helped in the past ten years or so improve employment, attract investment, and secure economic success), but Europe most definitely helped. The Irish, obviously stubborn and ungrateful, recently voted in a national referendum against the Lisbon Treaty, throwing an awful wrench into the carefully crafted machinery of the European Union. Will the EU be able to thrive, or even survive? Just-today-made-EU-President Nikolas Sarkozy thinks so, but then again, he's French. You have to honor someone in Ireland for rallying the people against Europe (because, for me, anything that slows the formation of the Nation of Europe is great), but I'm positive the voters didn't make that informed of a decision. Reading the Treaty is hell. I surely haven't tried that hard, but trying to get through almost 250 pages of political jibber jabber must be a pain. In short, though, I'll lay out my main objections. The treaty calls for a more "democratic and transparent" Europe. They'll do this by revising the Parliament and enabling voter initiatives to be sent to the EU. What is this, the United States of Europe?! Since when did laws cross national boundaries? In Europe, apparently a long time. Maybe I'm a conservative, but I, for one, still believe in a COUNTRY. (As a side note, I applaud whomever stuck the clause in regarding the possibility of pulling out of the EU and the procedures involved. It may be needed) Next, Lisbon redefines the role of the European President. It also lays out a system of single European foreign policy, making the EU "more effective on the world stage and a more visible partner for international organizations and third world countries." You know, by now, I don't really know what to say anymore. I mean, what's Germany and France and Spain and Italy if they all must ascribe to the same national policies, send men to fight in a European army, and find representation under the EU President. If I were a EU citizen, I'd be pissed, big time. I'm just happy for Switzerland. I know where I'm heading when I get the chance (no thanks to Obama or McCain). Anyway, I guess my point here is to realize these amazingly large political forces at work. Ireland is the only country to get to vote on the issue; all the others have only to ratify the treaty through the government. I believe the Italian Prime Minister said something to the extent of "the Irish, a people of only 6 million, cannot ruin this chance for the other 480 million Europeans." The thing is, the others will never be able to vote yes or no. That's the more democratic EU that Lisbon is going for.

In other Euro news, Germany sucked. Spain won the Euro 2008 Championship. Congratulations to the victors. Well deserved. Germany seriously needs to work on actually playing the game right. They ruined the tournament. I'm sure a game of Spain versus Turkey would have been more exciting. That ruined my Monday afternoon.

Well, I seem to be very comfortable with the man they call Mugabe. It is as if they are always talking about him, on NPR, at BBC.com, and in The Economist. As you are probably aware, he is running uncontested (after bullying his opponent into submission with violence, prison, and other nasties) for his sixth term as President of Zimbabwe. He doesn't sound like a narcissistic dictator at all. No. Surely not. Finally, though, the rest of the world seems willing to take action. The African Community has condemned his actions, the UN seems ready to explode with letters of hate and embarrassment, and Germany has stopped sending paper to be used for the printing of more currency. The Zimbabwean dollar, having been printed uncontrollably for who knows how long, now stands atop unbelievably massive inflation. The people literally need a truck to bring all the cash needed to buy simple roll of toilet paper. It's ridiculous. I think the estimate now is almost at 4,000,000 % inflation. WOW. And you thought ours was bad. So, yeah, them Africans are pretty much screwed for a while. I don't know how to fix this one.

And, in other African news, Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela has just been cleared off the White House's list of possible terrorist suspects.

Obviously, the car industry has encountered a few bumps in the pavement as of late, running into high fuel prices simultaneously with raised emissions standards. This creates headaches in every department, but most of all in the finances. Chrysler Group, which is now under the control of private equity group Cerberus, hasn't fared well at all this year. Not only has the minivan market collapsed, but their "$2.99-per-gallon gas guarantee" has failed to attract almost anyone to the dealers. That just really sucks for them. Toyota's not so hot this summer, either, losing out in sales numbers to both Honda and GM. I think, though, the funniest car news of the day has to go to Congress and the report they received from Detroit regarding the costs of upcoming CAFE standards. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, to be dutifully raised this year, will purportedly cost America almost 85,000 middle-class jobs, a huge cut in production numbers, and $4,000 a car extra to provide for the rapid increases in fuel efficiency. Forget about $4-a-gallon gasoline, your new car is going to set you back much further. Personally, I laugh, because Congressmen always seem to hanker for the voter. "You want cheaper gas? Sure. You want more American jobs? Of course. You want to save the environment? Well, here we go now. That's easy." It turns out, you can't have it every way. I'm all for saving the world, but nobody ever said it was going to be cheap. So, grow up America and think twice before you ask for something, because your priorities need to be straightened. Do you want to save the world? Or would you rather just be able to afford to live? Third option: elect smart people to political office, and, in a couple decades time, this mess of America will be all cleaned up.

Now that I've covered a few interesting topics, and actually finished what I promised at the outset, I hope you'll excuse me for wanting a little shut-eye. All in all, this is enjoyable, and I appreciate all the comments, so happy reading. I hope it is at least half as interesting for you as it is for me. Thanks. Good night.

Brandon