| This page was last updated 12 April 2009. |
|
Visitors' Book / Livre d'Or
Archive 2004-2005 |
| Follow @Finn_Skovgaard |
|
|
Read comments 2006-now
What the readers have written / ce que les lecteurs ont écrit
80. Date: 2005-12-13, From:
Karine
79. Date: 2005-12-07, From:
Massimiliano Ignaccolo Author's comments: In France, electrical regulations divide bathrooms in three risk zones, defining which voltages and types of installations can be where. That would not work in the UK, because regulators would argue that if you plugged in a water hose on the tap and extended it 3 metres to the other end of the bathroom, turned on the water and directed it at a plug in a 'safe' zone, then there would still be a hazard and therefore it must be illegal. This is the type of nanny state I mention. Since they won't admit this in public, it's much simpler to blame the EU. I quite like the switches on plugs, which are also standard in my native Denmark. It makes it simpler sometimes to switch off a device or lamp without having to pull the plug out or go and find an awkward switch on the lamp. The disadvantage is that for equipment such as computers that should not be accidentally switched off, you have to put sticky tape over the switch to avoid accidentally switching it off. Maybe switchable plugs that can be configured to disable the switch is the solution... :-) Not sure what you mean about voltage. It's standardised at 230 V in the UK and the EU as a compromise between the former European standard of 220 V and the UK standard of 240 V.
78. Date: 2005-10-14, From:
(anonymous)
77. Date: 2005-09-30, From:
(name withheld) Author's comments: Maybe it's in its place to quote Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." As I am free to write what I do, so you are free to call it pathetic, but it is curious that you see a need to "report" someone who exercises his right to freedom of expression, even if it's not politically correct. It would seem more constructive to argue against what I say instead of attacking me personally, but it's always easier to go for the man than the ball. Why don't you go and live in China, where you are guaranteed an environment free of criticism of the government and the country in general? You don't seem to value the freedom you have in western Europe after all. Now I guess this site will be banned very soon by the efficient Chinese Internet censors if it wasn't already banned. Life is simple in China: If you criticise the system, then you don't do it again.
76. Date: 2005-09-01, From:
Andrea Facchini
75. Date: 2005-07-29, From:
Manuel Serratos Fortunately, most readers have responded positively to your pages with new vies, like your view on corruption. Those surveys on world corruption are totally flawed since they’re just based on people’s impressions, pure subjectivity that starts by defining it. In Latin America people only see what’s wrong with our nations, in Scandinavia it’s the opposite. However, who really knows what their governments are doing? It’ naive to pretend we know it. One person defended Denmark system, but she was a high school student, I mean someone who sees a really small part of reality, so must have been others. Someday they might understand that living on strikes is not protecting their rights, but being abusive. I hope that day comes before Europe becomes a 3rd world club member. You have no idea what it is like. Now, I'd just like you to explain why you think the U.K. is in decline, even wore then France’s. I only read English-written media, usually The Economist which is not very France-friendly. Most English-language media is not very friendly to France. The British government, on the other hand, is rather popular for this media. I can read French but their media bores me. So, I only know one version of the European situations. That’s why it surprises me that France may be doing better than the U.K. or even why U.K is not so OK economically. I ask the former question to you because you haven’t shown to be as easy to deceive by the French as most people are. You well said that French are deceiving masters. I have read books on different cultures, "French or Foe" and "Culture Shock: France" The French got a huge bias ion their favor, one thing is to adapt to a place and another to confuse values. For example, it’d be great if we could live without working, just doing what we like but it’s not possible yet, so those perennial French strikes are wrong. Other books I’ve read on Germany and my nation have been rather negative. By the way, if the French media surprises you for its bias, you should see the Latin American’s media. For example, one of the top newspapers complained that the victims of the Pentagon in Sep. 11 had not been honored, what can you say about them? However, you should recognize that this war had serious flaws: -There are far worse dictators than Sadamm Husseim, specially North Korea’s who always showed openly their WMD and keep their whole people starving to death literally. -People are ungrateful; instead of thanking for the democracy many Muslims have joined the terrorists or drugs dealers. USA and the UK have never controlled Afghanistan, it’s still full of terrorist and now more drugs dealers than ever before. Why invade another country before finishing another job? Iraqis will also become big drug dealers, besides becoming terrorists which they didn’t much either. The one thing that G. Bush can claim is that any other nation would do the same as him if it had the power to. France has it's huge criminal records in Africa and Vietnam. Finally, one petty suggestion, don’t go to USA, even as a tourist. You wouldn’t like living in USA. The last visitor of this site was definitively right; it’s boring, sometimes lethally boring. Americans are rather difficult people to make friends with, especially teenagers. Not for nothing one of the 2001’s musical hits of Lumpkin Park sang "I want to belong to something" Americans are too concerned for being accepted, other wise they become blockheads, rather rude. You can go to churches; most religious people are easy to reach. Yet, they don’t like talking about many topics others than their own. Americans have their own kind of Jungelova (or that Danish stuff) Talking about the news or anything not directly related to your life is considered as pretentious. Today, not even Afghanistan (where Bin Laden should still be living) is news in USA. Continental Europeans are the opposite, they like talking about more topics, it's very interesting and entertaining talking with your people, indeed. Well, nobody is perfect. Hispanics tend to be highly superficial, not only at a social level but also at a profesional level. By "superficial" I don't mean only fashion or stuff like that, I also mean being simplistic. For example, I applied for a teaching job in one university for rich people (Tec de Monterrey or ITESM) They asked me to explain the basics of Physical Chemistry in 15 minutes! I did it and it was like Chinese to the professors I talked to. This is the 3rd World. Author's comments: Thanks for your very detailed and interesting comments. Yes, it's impossible to measure corruption objectively. My impression is that Latin American corruption is quite open and somehow accepted as a part of life. For example, in the Dominican Republic, in order to get personal papers like marriage certificates and passports, everybody knows that you have to pay some guy outside the office to go and pay the civil servant to process the paper immediately, or you may wait months or never get your papers. In Denmark, you would have to pay 10 times as much, but it's called tax, duty, user payment, or whatever the current buzzword for tax is, and you may have to wait a month for your papers. The Dominican solution is actually more efficient and it's cheaper, but it counts as corruption. That type of corruption is quite harmless compared with the Danish type of corruption that is deeply hidden and that clamps down on innocent victims and ruin their lives. Other types of Latin American corruption would obviously be less harmless than the document processing, but I am not convinced that the really damaging corruption is much worse than in Europe. You ask about the UK. Which impression you get depends on which newspaper you read. The economy is actually going quite well in the UK, but I'm not so sure if the ordinary part of the population benefits. Almost any other tax than income tax has gone up under Labour's Gordon Brown, who has introduced a wealth of so-called stealth taxes. These have significantly increased the tax burden. Fiscal practices have also been tightened up, for example with the IR35 change that damaged the IT contracting market in the UK. The NHS public health system is absorbing more and more public money without improving quality. In order to meet targets set by politicians, medical decisions are now taken to meet the targets and not to treat patients in the order they need it. There is still a postcode lottery, meaning that if you happen to live the wrong place, then particular treatments are not available, because they are too expensive. The transport infrastructure is still in a poor state with overcrowded motorways and too few of them, and a train network that is still in recovery after decades of neglect. What Tony Blair does best is making people think he improves things while he doesn't really. There seems to be growing social tension and unrest in the UK, binge drinking, crime, immigrant ghettos etc. House prices are so high that people with modest income will never be able to buy a place to live. Other living costs have also gone up over the last 10 years. North Korea is indeed a terrifying example, and I fear that we will keep hearing about Iran and their nuclear project for quite a while. In theory, I would argue for external and international intervention in any state that does not respect basic human rights or otherwise tyrannise their people or neighbours. The UN would need to be refurbished in order to play a genuine role, as the legal basis for the UN is somewhat flawed in that dictators' nations are treated on equal terms with democracies in the UN's decision making. In the case of Iraq, I don't believe there was any other option than military intervention left, while it looks like China is slowly drifting towards western norms in the economy. Military intervention in China is simply not on, as it's a country so big that you cannot force it, and the consequences of intervention would be far worse than letting it be. Iran is much more complicated.
74. Date: 2005-07-27, From:
Connie Robinson
73. Date: 2005-06-24, From:
George Titan
72. Date: 2005-06-06, From:
Craig The day after I made my comments to the effect that the Asian economies are hell bent on expansion at any cost, New York Times, foreign affairs correspondent, Thomas Friedman weighed in on this very same topic. He pointed out in his June 3rd, Opinion/Editorial article titled "Race to the Top" that while workers in France are pushing for the 35 hour work week, highly trained labor in India would gladly accept a 35 hour work day if they could get one. The reason for this is that as Asia's conduits to opportunity, namely higher education, become more universal the people of these countries that have literally lived in poverty and squalor for generations are leaping at any opportunity they can get to better their lives! Setting people free from their labor might make for nice philosophical sentiment and chat around the cafes of the world, as Kathrina outlines in her comments, but outside of the world living in a barter economy, that is clearly utopian.. not to mention quixotic. My exhortation to western Europe comes from an American colloquialism that goes something like "either lead, follow, or get out of the way!" It's time to do something and I believe that the countries of Europe will act rationally and forcefully when they do....
71. Date: 2005-06-02, From:
Craig If Kathrina thinks that England is hyper-capitalistic, pray she never, by design or accident, ever finds herself living in the USA! While I strongly admire Danish qualities of social economic restraint (and truly wish Americans could adopt some of this) I respectfully stand on the other side of the fence so to speak and strive to create not just an economic existence to the best of my abilities, but an intellectual and spiritual one as well.....WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE!!! The EU Constitution is rapidly turning into a dead document If economic and political union aren't the answer (and I'm not sure if they ever were) then the disparate countries of Europe will have to make painful choices on their own. Without a doubt it will remain some sort of free trade zone, but each country of Europe with their burdensome and uncompetitive system of taxes will have to come up with a way to free up capital for investment as the semi-feudal cum capitalistic economies of Asia move toward market dominance in every economic sector. I'm guardedly optimistic about Europe, though!!
70. Date: 2005-05-20, From:
Katharina Perhaps the Danes are parochial, but they hardly hold a monopoly. Perhaps a small nation is in greater danger of becomming small-minded, which is why, it is important for us Danes to get out more. Finn and I are doing our bit. Finn is critisizing the Danes for being meanspirited and yet chastise them for being proud of their accomplishments. hmm. There is something adolescent, if not down-right oedipal about attacking one's own country so ferociously. That is not to say that the Danes are above criticism. But it should be balanced. I have lived abroaed for as long as Finn, but when I think of Denmark, I remember it very differently. When subjected to the full force of an ultra capitalist, free market, hyper-competetive, every man for himself, kill or be killed jungle of a world, then the gentle socialism of bygone Denmark seems like a rather attractive alternative. I liked the positive interpretation of the Jantelov, which is that Danes are brought up to think that we are all good at something. That it is no good being successful alone, that the well-fare of other people matter as much as your own. I liked that we were a real socialist country. The taxes were high, but never oppressive - you got your monies worth. The are plenty of places in the world following a (neo)conservative agenda, where people can exploit one another and keep what they manage to grab, but why not have one place where the rules are a little diffrent - you don't have to live there. Personally, I regret that socialism is becoming so unfashionable, even the Danes seem to be abandoning it. It is true that Danes tend to dislike any vulgar display of wealth, hence the subdued clothes, the rented houses and aversion to flash cars. But we are not a dispassionate people. Public debate is alive and informed in Denmark. Perhaps one of the advantages of being a small country is that we do not so easily succumb to feelings of dis-enfranchisement as citizens of bigger nations. The government is not a distant bunch of plutocrats, not an oppressive governing elite, but, as every Dane will tell you, our government are the servants of the people - that is after all, what "minister" means. Having been outside the mainstream of human migration for centuries, the Danes are now dealing rather clumsily with newcomers. I was involved with teaching Danish to immigrants in the 80's and 90's and we knew then that a backlash to overly liberal legislation would come. It has. Our socialist utopia was will not be able to withstand the influx of youths who have not benefited from inductrination by communist kindergarden carers. But it will add more colour to a rather pale Danish society. It will be interesting to see how things develop - and a real test of that sense of fair play which we Danes pride ourselves of. As for the well-fare state and the number of people in paid employment subsidising those doing other things. What if the success of a civilised nation, is not measured by how many people work, but how many people we can afford to lay off, or rather, set free? This is not my question, but that of a Danish philosopher. Think about it. Danes do. Author's comments: Thanks for your interesting comments. The Danish page has been updated with the more precise origin of the Jantelov. Parochialism is to be found everywhere, as you say. But contrary to you, I think that is easilier occurs in large countries. In the middle of the USA, for example, while you're in a big country, you're isolated from contact with anything else than what some call the burger culture. In a small country, you naturally see your neighbours from other countries more often. To illustrate this, it's often seen that the ability to speak foreign languages is inversely proportional with the size of the country. I do not pretend that my Danish page and the European site are balanced. I present particular sides of some countries that may not be seen as politically correct to present and are therefore kept out of many other presentations (which are not balanced either, as many focus on the positive sides; why are people only complaining that a presentation should be balanced if it is negative but rarely if it is positive?). I present a few cases of meanspirited treatment of Danes by their own country (and I have other cases which are not described) to illustrate that while Denmark may focus on welfare of the group, it's also a country that is ready to ruin an individual's life more or less completely if that individual had not pursued politically correct activities. "Welfare" in Denmark is thus a relative concept that should not be confused with individual welfare. This is somewhat similar to France, where large sums are spent on social security, but where there are large holes in the social security net, so that if you fall the wrong place, there's nothing to soften the blow. Both Denmark and France are quite socialistic countries. Living and working in the UK can be quite different from Denmark, and as I mention on my British page, working can sometimes feel like informed slavery. The ideal country doesn't exist. Neither pure socialism nor pure capitalism are ideals in my view. There is a fine balance to watch, and if the balance tips too much to one side, you start seeing negative consequences. If you don't find Danish taxes oppressive, then I can assure you that many do, including myself. What is the motivation to do an extra effort or work overtime for for example 200 kr. if you have only 70 left after tax? Such tax rates encourage black work, cheating, scheming and whatever to minimise the tax, none of which is productive for the country. When tax payers feel cheated by their government, they become selfish and do what they can just for themselves. If Danes are abandoning socialism, consider if it's because of what I say here. If that is the case, then Denmark may be going towards an every-man-for-himself society now. Socialism was taken too far in Denmark to remain stable. "What if the success of a civilised nation, is not measured by how many people work, but how many people we can afford to lay off, or rather, set free?" It's a valid question to ask. Work is not a goal in itself, but a means to obtain the life you want. The trouble as it is distributed in Denmark is of course that not many workers will find any motivation in working so that others can be free. If workers didn't have to pay for a public sector that had spiralled out of control, you could cut the taxes to a reasonable level, and workers might actually enjoy some of that freedom themselves.
69. Date: 2005-04-09, From:
Michel DEVAUX English translation: Hello! As the majority of the French, I don't write in English. I like you wit. A lot of the criticism that you express on "La French page" are joyfully exact. I know Germany, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Rome to some extent. Of all these capitals, Paris is without doubt the most dirty and the most shambolic, but certainly not the most unpleasant. The province is very, very different. I live in Avignon, a town that is known worldwide. It's the most filthy town I've ever lived in, a lot more dirty than Paris, which is a lot bigger... There, the most archaic incompetence and clientelism that exist in Europe are ruling. Except perhaps Nice or Palermo... Oh! and Marseille! Bye! Author's comments: I agree that despite the dirt and disorder in Paris, it has a lot to offer. But the best way to know it is as a tourist for 1-2 weeks. Living there permanently makes you go crazy. I'm living 20 km south of Avignon in Provence's countryside now, so even though I'm close to Avignon, I'm not so concerned with dirt. However, the owner of the farm doesn't mind that the lid of the large dustbin near the road is long gone, and that animals sometimes rip up the bin liners, so that there is trash everywhere. It's his own daughter who lives next to the dustbin, while I'm 300 metres away. It doesn't seem to bother her, so I can only conclude like my French wife that many French don't mind dirt and filth, however unpleasant it may be for some more orderly French to read this. In Germany or Switzerland, the dog poos, dirt and trash would have been unthinkable, and you would be likely to be fined if you let it happen. I can only agree in the administrative incompetence in this part of France. Civil servants simply cannot bother doing things right - or doing them at all. This lazy individualism is in fact trashing the whole country's economy. In my opinion, it's the innate individualism that causes the lack of civic spirit, which unfortunately makes the country a lot less pleasant in certain areas. It's tragic to see how a part of the French population serves an otherwise magnificent country with such resources so badly. That includes politicians on the entire spectre who don't give a damn about the country and who do everything to remain in power and obtain a maximum of benefits for themselves. Never mind if they have to lead the country into bankruptcy. That's secondary for them. I know that many of the French hate the political class, but they are offered no real and viable alternative. It talks for itself that France has no liberal political party. Chirac and the UMP are more socialist than conservative these days, and the socialists are in a mess. The only one left is Jean-Marie le Pen on whom people vote to protest, but who is not the least serious. France needs a Margaret Thatcher to make things move. A kick in the butt of the political class and the vast laziness is what is required. Michel continues:
68. Date: 2005-04-06, From:
(anonymous)
67. Date: 2005-03-26, From:
LAMBERT The Great Universal Monarch
66. Date: 2005-03-25, From:
Carol
65. Date: 2005-03-14, From:
(Name known but wishes to remain anonymous)
64. Date: 2005-03-06, From:
Bee Ean Tee I'm currently living with a Frenchman in the USA. We have come to conclusion that USA is not suitable for us, and we would like to move to Europe. I prefer England, his parents encourage him to back to France, and I think he also prefer France although he doesn't say it. I preferred England due to the strong historical tie between England and Malaysia. At least we both drive on the left side. I have a hard time understand why we should yield for driver coming from the right hand side. Also I have faced huge difficulties learning French. I have been to France, specifically his hometown Brittany, and I just caught in the situation where everybody speak French that is localise that I couldn't join in. This can add difficulties for me to find a job there, on top of that we are not planning to get married soon so working permit is another problem. Even though they have yammy foods, they don't have huge selection of international foods like in US, especially our favorite sushi, unless you are in Paris. I also found it difficult to buy chinese ingredient, basically their Asian food = Vietnamese food which I do not appreciate. Some of the points that I have opinions: 2. I actually agree with French to protect their language from foreign influences. For people who speak English, they don't have to worry that one day they will find most of the people around are ashamed to speak English and abandon it. But it happens to other languages. If you go to Singapore, don't be surprised to see chinese or Indian that speak only English. They mixed English with the local dialects that I have heard people from US or UK complaint that they couldn't understand. So, able to speak English is an advantage but it shouldn't go until the level that it threaten the mother tougue of one person. 3. Go to Brittany. French there are friendly, clean and have less crime problems. I always asked my boyfriend to lock the car while driving in the US, but he said he doesn't have that habit bcos in Brittany it is pretty safe. I have to say that he is true and the city we live in the US are very safe as well.
63. Date: 2005-02-18, From:
sytlviane Author's comments: It's true that the Paris region is generally more dirty than the rest of the country, and that people there are generally less well behaved, but many things on the French page apply to France as a whole. Now that the British are buying up the French countryside, where do you suggest to go to find the French?
62. Date: 2005-02-01, From:
(e-mail withheld) >From my perspective Danes have the same attitude toward life, government and hence nationality that many Europeans share. The Danes express it in higher degrees, depending on which aspect you look at, than their European brethren. The political history of all of Europe has always included a paternalistic State, whether it was dominated by the Church, a secular monarch or a monarch and parliament in a constitutional democracy. The Danish (European)embrace of socialism is the 20th century manifestation of this paternalism. The only thing that socialism eliminated was the idea that there were classes of people based on some metaphysically derived right. But the State remains sovereign and even much more paternalistic than ever before! The problem that the website author has with Denmark is that whether consciously or not he is using a baseline of comparison of countries like the USA that have never, throughout their modern history, experienced this type of paternalism. In fact the USA has eschewed the whole notion of governmental paternalism. Americans are not wired to believe that the State should be ultimately responsible for their citizens well-being. This is not a good or bad thing, it's just a different way of looking at life. The US government does not feel overly compelled to see after every aspect of the quality of life for it's citizenry and as a result has not placed an undue burden of taxation in order to redistribute wealth. As a result, Americans keep more money and invest it in things that can make even more money. Period. Most Americans understand the risk of having to take care of their own transportation, health care and just about anything else you can think of. So as a result they would bristle, like the author does, at the overburdening, Byzantine bureaucratic tax system in Denmark that is shared in more or less degrees by most other European nations. The only compelling reason for Denmark to change is that the system could go bankrupt, just like Soviet Russia. I think the first signs of panic are setting in with the immigration problem. I'm sure there are other signs that as a non-Dane I don't perceive. But history remains to be told and I don't think Denmark or Europe will ever embrace anything other than socialist or quasi-socialist paternalism in our life times. Yet, I get a sense of foreboding when I realize that as a nation, Denmark's greatest achievements of it's history happened prior to it's embrace of socialism. Author's comments: I think your comments are the most eloquent that this page has ever received, and they explain the core of many of Europe's problems. You said: "But history remains to be told and I don't think Denmark or Europe will ever embrace anything other than socialist or quasi-socialist paternalism in our life times." It is interesting to notice that the independent eastern European countries that have emerged after the oppression of half a century of corrupt communism appear to be much more liberal in their views than the more and more economically decadent western European countries. Being accepted into the European Union has in many cases meant having to transpose paternalist European legislation into their national law. These countries do not appear ready to be controlled by the new European empire, though. In some ways, France and Germany are even more paternalist regimes than Denmark, and the political euro currency project could be the drop that bankrupts these countries even before Denmark, followed by a collapse of the hard core of the "European project". Maybe I'm dreaming, but this seems to be the only way out of the current downwards spiral that the EU is undergoing. It caused consternation amongst French civil servants when the right-wing government recently declared that striking civil servants would no longer receive their salary on days they were striking. This would seem common sense for any liberal mind. However, these pampered civil servants do not seem to realise that the day may come where the government will no longer be capable of paying their salaries even for the days they were working. A recent CIA report concluded that the EU had neither political, economic nor military weight. I tend to agree.
61. Date: 2004-12-09, From:
LUPINA Author's comments: You're strictly correct about xenophobia - if that is what you mean - but what should we call some irrational fear of selling goods to foreigners then? British houses may be civilised, but small, unless you have a fortune to buy real living space. That is seen from a middle-class living standard and compared with middle-class living standard in France, Luxembourg, Germany and Denmark. You're quite right about the Danish post - I just didn't have any recent examples to write about. As for your comments about Denmark, I entirely agree.
60. Date: 2004-12-09, From:
Rachel Author's comments: It is very amusing to read the wildly differing opinions by Frenchmen. On the other hand, it is tragic to see this beautiful country stuck in its self-created swamp of laziness and "cannot do" mentality. Here in Provence, farmers are going on retirement or going bust one by one, as taxes and employment cost mean that it is no longer profitable to produce fruit and vegetables. About the cleanliness issue that has been raised more than once, I'm sure that the very large majority are very clean. It's just that it doesn't take much of a nose to detect the one out of the 100 who didn't touch soap the last few days.
59. Date: 2004-12-06, From: anonymous
58. Date: 2004-12-05, From: Son Gohan Author's comments: I can only agree with you, except that there may be huge savings by going through the hassle of buying cars abroad. The euro is great for cross-border shopping, but Bernard Connolly has explained in detail in his book why the euro in its present, political implementation is having serious, negative consequences for employment and economy. The trouble is that there is no economic reality behind it and no single political leadership to manage it. It is intended to make a necessity out of a political union, and I suppose that will arrive by the backdoor one day. I think the Danes and the Brits will stay out of the euro for many years to come, as they wish to remain independent of EU dominance. The British and metrics is a saga that has been drawn out over about 200 years. They are getting there little by little, but not without protests from those seeing nothing wrong with the chaotic Imperial measures. So British.
57. Date: 2004-12-03, From: Anja Author's comments: Oh dear, oh dear, it looks like I hit the nail, doesn't it. The victims of Denmark that are mentioned on my Danish page would clearly not agree that Denmark cares about its people. Denmark does not care about those Danes who cannot move to Denmark with their foreign spouses because of the new immigration law either. No one cared when my only choice to live together with my wife in 1993 was to emigrate because of the Foreigner's Directorate's inhuman treatment of foreigners. Denmark only cares about those who submit themselves to the Jantelov or conform in another way. I think your incredible comments about the Jantelov demonstrates to any sane person how damaging it is. "ego headed idiots" is a great term that fits very well. The best way to make sure citizens have the best possible life is to let them decide for themselves, not by implementing a nanny state that think it knows what's best for everybody. Medical care is included in taxes or other contributions throughout Europe, and Denmark does not manifest itself at the top of the list of countries providing quality care. France came in as number one in the last survey. No excuse for the taxes. I'm not patriotic. As an expat Dane since 1993, Denmark is one of the last countries I would choose to live in. Your comments make it clear to any open-minded person why. I believe I'm free to say my opinion about my own country.
56. Date: 2004-11-24, From: N. Jakobsen Author's comments: Great that you manage Danish life after all. True about the pastries, and that is one of the few things I miss in France. However, when I was in England last week, the Danish pastries I bought in Sainsbury's were as good as the best quality you can find in Denmark.
55. Date: 2004-11-06, From: Mark Author's comments: Mark, Thanks for your comments. One cannot use generalization to say that all people from this or that group are the same. On the other hand, all the sarcasm that already exists about certain groups or nationalities doesn't just come out of nowhere either. It is possible to notice certain types of behaviour that is more often to be found in certain groups than others, and such behaviour is most commonly conditioned by local tradition than by reason. Some of these types of behaviour are harmless and it may be funny to read about it. Other types of behaviour may make life unpleasant for others, such as for example the dog poo problem in France or the Jantelov problem in Denmark, and I find no reason not to criticise that harshly. Someone whose behaviour does not match the description on the pages has no reason to feel that it concerns him or her. On the other hand, someone who never cleans up after his dog may rightly notice that others may consider him a selfish pig, to bluntly state an extreme example. There are countries where it is not necessary to put signs in the street telling people not to let their dogs foul in front of your house. France is not one of them. I'm aware of the problem in the Midwest and other places, where people never see anything else than their own world, but those people really believe in their ways. I clearly say in the beginning of each page that this is not to be considered an objective description. Fortunately, the Internet makes it possible for anyone who wants a balanced with to find other opinions. I've never seen "Babette's Feast", but I know what it's about. I cannot say how many contrasts it describes, but contrasts still exist very much between the north and the south of Europe. Things are not static, of course, and the arrival of modern technology has in many ways eliminated previous differences. Europeans are mentally closer to each other now. Other differences remain. Danes are brought up with a collective mindset telling them that groups and teamwork are important. The French are brought up with an individualist mindset telling them that they themselves are important. This may explain why some Danes seem to think that the EU is an ideal place for member states to decide in equality while not fully understanding that others' mindsets are different and that a country like France has no intention of ruling in equality but rather further its own interests. There is a real danger that a naive mindset like the Danish allows Danish independence to be absorbed by the EU, only realising it when it's too late. Many Danes believe that the EU is about "teamwork" and being a part of the group. They are unaware about the French agenda, because they have not experienced French mentality first hand. In 1972 in Denmark, you would have seen many traces of '68. Denmark may have been the country that took '68 most seriously. Visible traces of '68 are all but washed away now. The homogenized way is an integrated part of the Jantelov mentality, which in some way was made worse by the communist messages that followed '68 in Denmark. I don't see any sign that Europeans are losing their national identities, although some may fear it. The French are so afraid of outside influence that they have laws to regulate the language, while no one in Denmark seems to think that their "small" language is threatened.
54. Date: 2004-10-28, From: Rusty
53. Date: 2004-10-16, From:
Roland Guerre
52. Date: 2004-10-15, From: Peter
51. Date: 2004-09-27, From: Troy
50. Date: 2004-08-28, From: Steve Author's comments: I welcome any comment to whatever I have written on this site, but I fail to see the point commenting on something that I have not written. Stick to facts yourself, please. Nowhere have I compared crime levels between Britain and other countries, except that I say on the British page that "Britain is one of the most crime-ridden countries in Europe", which is certainly true. On the French page, I say "France is filled with little, everyday thieves. I'm not talking about real criminals doing robberies, burgleries, car crime, violence and all that. Of course, like in most other civilised countries, that is a regular part of life not even worth writing about, because it's not a particular feature of France". No hiding that there's crime in France. Eurostat's Yearbook 1997, which is the latest I have, and which concerns the 15 former Member States, contains a few crime statistics, although clearly the UK does not like providing Eurostat with crime statistics, so the latest UK figures published therein are from 1991 or from 1992. Anyway, the top 5 for theft of private cars per 100,000 people are (1991): UK: 867, Sweden: 816, Italy: 639, Denmark: 598 (average 1990 and 1992, as 1991 not published),France: 596. Germany is 12th with 130 only. If we look at sex offences per 100,000 people, the top 5 are (1992): UK: 115, Sweden: 81, Netherlands: 73, Germany: 55, Belgium/Denmark: 52 (Denmark: average 1991 and 1993, as 1992 not published). France is 8th with 44. These figures are of course no longer current, but nothing in the press indicates that UK figures have significantly declined. It seems on the other hand correct to estimate that crime in general is increasing, so I'm unable to state anything about current crime rankings.
49. Date: 2004-08-18, From: Kelsey Author's comments: I limit myself to write about the countries I've lived in, so no further countries will be put through the grinder in the foreseeable future.
48. Date: 2004-07-31, From: mathilde Author's comments: Your comments are most appreciated, and comments like yours help the pages improve gradually. Sarcasm in general is created by taking little tendencies and blowing them out of proportion. Now that I live in Provence, I'm sure that future comments will differ a bit from those comments written while I was in Paris, although the administrative nightmare that France is is not confined to Paris, except that the laws are written there. When I moved to Lille, people there told me that they were more open. When I moved to Provence, people in Lille told me that people in Provence were difficult. In fact, I find the exact opposite to be true, and the only unpleasant people I've come across in Provence were France Telecom. A neighbour confirmed my suspicion that if people from Paris and Lille come here and behave like if they owned the place, then they are presumably treated accordingly by the locals. As for qualities, there are many of them, and they are very well described in many other places already. I feel no need to repeat them here. My Danish page doesn't concern tourist experiences but the problems associated with living there. If you like museums, castles, city life, nature and many other things and don't mind a bit of cold, then you can have a very nice - and expensive - time as a tourist. Just don't make the mistake of thinking it's a nice place to live permanently. The English may enjoy laughing at France, but many of them also have the ability to laugh at themselves. A radio presenter who were talking about hygiene once said that he was very clean; he took a bath once a week, even if it was not necessary. Yes, I still think it was right to remove Saddam Hussein. How can a country like France and their involvement in human rights want to keep a tyrant, torturer and murderer like Saddam Hussein in place? Are human rights only for the French? Do victims of Saddam have no human rights? The way it was done can be criticised, though. Bad intelligence, bad after-war planning, and insufficient resources. The people creating insecurity now in Iraq are not the allied forces but terrorist elements. Newspapers in the UK also manipulate, albeit in a different way than the French. To compensate, I read a French, British and Danish newspaper every day. I do not have a mission of encouraging people to travel. There are plenty of encouragements in place already. If the Parisians find it appropriate to soil their city in dog poos, then I find it appropriate to write about it. If Denmark praises itself as a welfare society and then let heart patients die while on long waiting lists or disrespect human rights in particularly trials regarding tax, then people should know it. There are plenty of books, brochures, websites etc. to counterweigh what I say, and I don't hide that I attack the opposite side of such brochures.
47. Date: 2004-07-14, From: Cilar Author's comments: Your points are very accurate. The French page is mainly based on experiences in Paris. That's a point that I've added to the intro now. I did notice the strong influence of German mentality and language when i visited Alsace many years ago. A very beautiful place by the way. A camping that says that it closes at 22:00 closes at 22:00 - not 22:05, for example. In southern France, they don't close and you just drive in when you like. Denmark is a relatively EU critical country, but it's not so much a "religion" for them as it is to some - mostly conservative - Brits. And in Denmark, it's traditionally the left wing that is against the EU. Also, it has to be said that Denmark is probably the Member State that has held the largest number of referendums about EU treaties. In many other Member States, the population has had nothing to say, and so any potential scepticism has been conveniently swept under the carpet. In the former Soviet Union, the government didn't ask the citizens either. I agree that Sarkozy seems to be the only one capable of governing France for the time being. Chirac is nothing more than a caricature of a president. Your English is not bad. What I criticise is things like a woman in a tourist information who doesn't speak a word of English, or a student in a grocery shop who doesn't understand what "egg" means. Oh, and the Parisians cannot pronounce anything that is not non-regional French. It's the same problem with the Flemish names in the north.
46. Date: 2004-07-14, From: SImon M Author's comments: You are not the only one to hint at the absence of information about regional differences, which are after all very important in France. As I've said above and now in the intro, la French Page is mainly inspired by life in Paris. Now that I live in Provence, future comments will without doubt reflect that and introduce some diversity on the page.
45. Date: 2004-07-02, From: Chris Author's comments: Let's just remind other readers that I'm Danish, and that my Danish page in no way gives any favorable treatment of Denmark. I only write about countries where I've lived. That rules out the USA - and Greece - for the time being. We all have the freedom of speech. I can publish my opinion, and I grant readers the opportunity to publish their comments here, without censure. Asking Eastern European leaders to shut up just because they don't agree with yourself is nothing but bad behaviour. They've been told long enough to shut up by those communists who ruined half of Europe for most of a century. They've had enough, and they have no reason to accept such rudeness from Chirac or anyone else. Chirac does not have a monopoly on public opinion, even though I'm sure he would love to. Workers certainly have rights, as you would have noticed if you'd read my British page. But striking all the time for no real reason other than having your regular strike days is an outdated practice that is putting Europe behind competing nations and risking the economic future of all of us. While you want to continue the economic decline of Europe by wishing to keep striking, I on the contrary wish all success for Europe, but that will not come if we don't change our ways.
44. Date: 2004-06-18, From: Bloke Author's comments: Well, the Beer page statistics is only as good as the figures I have. Maybe someone knows where to get the latest beer consumption figures. They don't burn witches any more in Denmark, but today's victims of Danish mentality are those who did not conform to the Jantelov. If you want to put me in a box, the closest you can get is "liberal".
43. Date: 2004-06-14, From: cathy wilson
42. Date: 2004-05-04, From: charles cunningham
41. Date: 2004-03-31, From: Emma Martin Author's comment: Thanks for your comments. I don't mind the anonymous comments. I know it's impossible to write something that pleases everybody, and if someone finally managed to do it, it wouldn't be worth reading anyway.
40. Date: 2004-03-30, From: Laura Author's comment: Cards can be used everywhere in France, even though the French still love their cheque books. It's the Germans who love cash.
39. Date: 2004-03-29, From: mandy Author's comment: Oh dear, here is one of the militants. So, if I've understood it right, freedom of speech for you is that if you don't like what I write, then I shouldn't be allowed to do it. I'm glad you're not in government. If you've lived 6 years in France and still call the French Page a pack of lies then either you must be blind or you must have spent the 6 years on the beach. I also find France a better place than England right now, but that's because England is in steeper decline than France for the moment. It doesn't mean that any of the countries is a good place to live. If you cared to follow the regional elections that finished yesterday, you would have noticed that the French themselves are most unhappy with the political state of their country. Only the politicians themselves are too thick to grasp it.
38. Date: 2004-03-27, From: Nick Author's comment: Well, well, well, readers' opinions are soooo different. That's what makes it so interesting.Thanks for your comments.
37. Date: 2004-02-17, From: (anonymous) Author's comment: It is obviously not possible to please everybody at the same time, and these pages were not written with the purpose of pleasing anyone. Their purpose is rather to balance some of the many overly and sometimes unrealistically positive descriptions of certain countries. The positive sides of these countries have been described in many other places, and I feel no need to repeat them. I have never promised anyone to remain politically correct or to give a balanced view. By the way, even my French wife agrees that the French are dirty. But at least French dogs can read. I know that, because after I put up a poster outside my house informing the dogs that the strip of grass was not a public toilet, they've stopped using it as a toilet. That was something positive, wasn't it?
36. Date: 2004-01-11, From: elsa Author's comment: My comments about Denmark are to be found on the Danish page; not the French. If you read it, you'll see that I don't do much to defend that country. Exaggeration is commonly used in connection with humour and sarcasm, and a glance at almost any television programme in France or elsewhere will confirm that. As for the clichés, they are difficult to avoid when describing France - and I must admit that I'm awfully fed up removing the "clichés" that the dogs and their owners regularly leave in front of my house :-)
35. Date: 2004-01-05, From: Nick
Read comments 2006-now
|
http://skovgaard.org/europe/visibook.htm
© Copyright Finn Skovgaard 2001, 2009. All rights reserved.