And the lack thereof

Idlewords has 2 interesting posts on the difference between strikes in Europe and the US. First his experience and thoughts as a one-time expat, and outsider, that people in France seemed to be willing to put up with a huge amount of inefficiency and red tape in order to guarantee everyone certain basic economic rights.Followed up by a much more self critical perspective from a French blogger.

Maciej says that they’ve struck a very “different balance between business and the government”. I would add between individuals and corporation. Europe has never really embraced the idea of a business having a personhood, while in the US business are a favored caste. (among other reasons it is much more rewarding for a politician to serve a corporation, as it is longer lived, has more disposable income, and tends to be have a stable set of a demands on a few small issues)

About the Weather

Its all very interesting, but I’ve got an angle. You see he also mentions saying France doesn’t have a social dialogure, “is like complaining the USA Today doesn’t have a comprehensive weather report.” Of course! USA Today would be a great site to scrape to supplement the NWS, and Wunderground.