In Practice, Leaders’ Refusal to Grapple with Immigration Breeds “Dark Tribalism”
Almost in a fit of absent-mindedness, major European countries have become magnets for immigration. Between 1990 and 2009, 26 million migrants arrived in Europe -- compared to 20 million to America – a country that (unlike Europe) naturally thinks of itself as a land of immigrants.
On February 5, 2010, The European Institute held a meeting of its Transatlantic Roundtable on Trade entitled “Staying Competitive - Europe's Response to Institutional and Societal Challenges” focusing on Europe’s Competition Policy under the Lisbon Treaty and the EU’s 2020 Policy. Isabelle Benoliel, Director for Registry and Resources at the Directorate-General for Competition at the European Commission spoke about the challenges to competition policy within the European Union, especially while tackling the ongoing global economic crisis. Elizabeth Kraus, Deputy Director for International Antitrust at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Office of International Affairs spoke about the need for the U.S. to continue to work with the Commission on the challenges facing competition focusing in particular on the need for cooperation and convergence of EU and U.S. policies. John Briggs, Co-Chair of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider’s Antitrust Practice and Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington office, was the moderator of the discussion.
Traditional British Law Overtaken by Evolution of Globalizing Realities
British libel law, according to The Economist, means in practice that “anyone anywhere in the world who can prove that someone in England has bought, read, or downloaded potentially defamatory material about them can start a court case.” That’s unique – and that jurisdictional sweep is not the end of it.
Idea Google being Demonized in France as “Great Satan” of Web Hegemony
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made it official that he intends to tax foreign internet companies on their online sales in France, an initiative colloquially referred to as “The Google Tax.” The idea -- the latest in a series of legal and political moves against Google's activities in France -- proposes to tax advertising revenues from online giants such as Google to support the creative industries in France hit by the digital revolution. But critics say it is unworkable, perhaps even counter-productive and could at best simply prop up failing business models.
Substantial Shift in Attitude Reflects Cumulative Reforms, Pollsters Say -- Not Just Obama Effect
African-Americans have become remarkably more upbeat about their personal prospects, according to a major national poll conducted at the end of President Barack Obama’s first year in office.
Fifty-three percent of African-Americans say life for their community is improving while only 10 percent predicted things getting worse. As recently as 2007, polls of the African-American community showed that 44 percent said things would get better and 21 percent expressed pessimism – nearly double the new figure.
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