An Odd Outpost in Search of Some Meaning

Puzzled?

Lately Americans have had to recognize the power of Europe - often for its bite. It was Old Europe that sniped about the war in Iraq, while regulators in Brussels have derailed U.S. mega-mergers and taken on Microsoft.

Even if you can call any of their reconstructed protectionism “real”, there is a simple explanation for the temporary lack of malaise they’re experiencing in the greyer parts of “old Europe.” It isn’t their money, technology, or effort that’s driving that particular train:

The recent earnings boom of European companies has to an extent been "made in America." Texas last year ranked as the top state for European investment; the $55.3 billion that European companies invested in the state exceeded combined U.S. investment in Japan and China. The top investor? France.

The operative word here is slow when it comes to dealing with the objects of their fears, in this case, the unemployed.

A multitude of business issues are also slow in being resolved. For example, it took four years to clinch a new aviation treaty, global warming is dividing the United States and the EU, and European regulators often act unilaterally in setting standards that have global influence.

Other matters, though are taken care of tous de suite when the all-important slowness to address your fears is concerned:

Brussels officials have confirmed the existence of a classified handbook which offers "non-offensive" phrases to use when announcing anti-terrorist operations or dealing with terrorist attacks.

Banned terms are said to include "jihad", "Islamic" or "fundamentalist".

The word "jihad" is to be avoided altogether, according to some sources, because for Muslims the word can mean a personal struggle to live a moral life.

One alternative, suggested publicly last year, is for the term "Islamic terrorism" to be replaced by "terrorists who abusively invoke Islam".

As true as the story’s title is, those wanting the “European street” to ignore transnational terror in “abusively invoke Islam” by trying to put beyond discussion the terrorism itself.

Good luck with all that, and make sure you convince yourself to avoid all other aspects of modernity at all costs otherwise:

A stream of doctors, complementary practitioners and Chinese herbalists all failed to alleviate any of her symptoms or come up with a diagnosis.
Instead, she found an answer on Google - through websites such as electrosensitivity.org.uk.
All her symptoms seemed to match those of people who believe they are allergic to modern life.