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Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Martin-Éric Racine" journal:
June 15th, 2007
10:40 pm

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 Summer Plans

Lately, I have been pondering how to spend this summer. While my current job allows me to be anywhere on this planet, just as long as the sales keep on pouring in, my finances and my passport tell me otherwise.



Thus, I've been toying with the idea of spending this summer in the nearby Baltic states. Using hospitality sites like Couch Surfing, one can keep the expenses down all while meeting new friends, so I think that this should work out just fine.



Does anyone else have any experience of spending whole seasons at different people's places like that? Is there anything that I should keep in mind when selecting hosts and pacing changes of residence?

Current Mood: drained
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June 7th, 2007
03:14 pm

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 Live journal offers Jabber server too?
Am I the only one to have noticed that Live journal offers a Jabber/XMPP server?

Current Mood: tired
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March 1st, 2006
01:31 pm

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 Former Soviet Dissident Predicts Collapse of the European Union
Via Fred Fry:


Paul Belien (Brussels Journal): But all these countries that joined the European Union did so voluntarily.


Vladimir Bukovksy: No, they did not. Look at Denmark which voted against the Maastricht treaty twice. Look at Ireland [which voted against the Nice treaty]. Look at many other countries, they are under enormous pressure. It is almost blackmail. Switzerland was forced to vote five times in a referendum. All five times they have rejected it, but who knows what will happen the sixth time, the seventh time. It is always the same thing. It is a trick for idiots. The people have to vote in referendums until the people vote the way that is wanted. Then they have to stop voting. Why stop? Let us continue voting. The European Union is what Americans would call a shotgun marriage.


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February 14th, 2006
06:16 pm

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 Technorati ping test
Technorati Profile

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October 19th, 2005
05:50 pm

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 Christophe Bertossi – Citoyenneté en Europe : l’identité en question
That's the name of a very promising lecture being given in French tomorrow, Thursday October 20, at the French Cultural Center in Helsinki, Finland, by Christophe Bertossi of the French Institute on International Relations.

Let's see what he has to say about the problematic situation of a multilevel EU that makes the citizens of some member states more equal than others and also prevents immigrants from acquiring citizenship.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Батырхан - Ты скажи

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October 17th, 2005
09:09 pm

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 Deconstructing the European utopia
Reading the entry of [info]antonm about my impression that EU is shaping up to combine the worst aspects of USA and USSR, I decided that now might be a good time to enter into a dialogue with the community and explain precisely what I find so wrong with EU and exactly how I propose we fix it. Simultaneously, I will comment on countries that I feel are contributing remarkable advancements towards a true democracy and who are providing a healthier alternative to reproducing the failed imperialistic American model in Europe.

Of course, as far as most citizens of EU member states are concerned, this European utopia is already working rather well and even improving with age, the same way a good wine does. Nothing much to complain about, right? In truth, one cannot help but notice the discordant voices coming from France, Nederlands and other EU founders, and the rising dissatisfaction of new member states about the precarious nature of their status. The European dream is breaking apart and the Titanic's captain is pretending that there is no iceberg ahead.

My main gripes with the European Union are:

  1. The Schengen treaty discriminates against nationals of non-participating member states, turning them into 2nd class citizens.

  2. Having 25 different citizenship laws prevents the full integration of immigrants because it doesn't support their mobility.

  3. Dealing with multiple membership options resulting from too many treaties hampers harmonization inside the Union.


This piecemeal approach to unification confuses the international community and it frustrates EU's intention of being approached as a unified entity, because failure to achieve unification on the inside is perceived by the outside world as failure to effectively represent the whole of EU and to produce a valid citizenship representing such a unified political entity.

Those are the issues that I will address here, covering both the causes and the solutions.

Current Mood: creative

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