Politicking on Both Sides of the Pond

*All photos are from The Sun's Web site. All are linked to the Web pages where the story appears.

It has been really cool to be in London during this election. It was a lot of firsts for the country. The first parliamentary debates. Ever. Possibly the first time in over a decade that the Tories will be in power. The first time a Lib-Dem got a decent amount of support. Very exciting stuff.



My friends and I watched the debates, which were quite interesting. The first couple were so game show-y. Needless to say, it would make for great drinking game material. Between Gordon Brown's awkward smile and breathing tic and saying "Nick Clegg agrees with me," and David Cameron talking about spending cuts no matter what the original question was, it was fun to watch. Unlike the American debates, all three candidates were well spoken and competent. We agreed with the British public though, in thinking that Nick Clegg came off the most personal.



And thanks to Clegg, it became a hung parliament for the first time in 36 years. Cameron has invited Clegg to join together and make a Tory-Lib Dem coalition government.

And the headline writing here is phenomenal. First I saw one "Scrambled Clegg and Toast," and I thought that was funny. The Brits love their puns. But then I saw today's Sun headline and front page.

Gotta love British headlines.

Oh and the British don't understand American politics in terms of the fact that sometimes it just doesn't make any sense at all. Healthcare reform, for instance.

Some British editorials question how Americans don't understand that they'll get benefits for what they are paying for. Social Security, anyone? Also, it's annoying how the word Socialism has become basically a 'fightin' word,' and yet the same people don't question the validity of Social Security, the U.S. Postal Service or highways.

I had a nice chat with the British guy who sat across the aisle from me on the Eurostar. He didn't believe that the American public actually listened to the Neo-Cons (Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the like) as actual news until I told him the sad truth.

And you know what? Rush hasn't bought his ticket to Costa Rica, yet. He said if healthcare passed he would move there. However, he didn't realize that Costa Rica has universal healthcare (so does Hawaii, ironically). He would basically have to move to central Africa to be in a country without healthcare.

Obviously there needs to be a major overhaul and change to the medical system in general, but finally, America is headed in the right direction. And Britain and other countries are applauding the change, while still trying to understand why some Americans don't want healthcare.

In the Lancet Journal April 3, 2010, edition, an article attempts to explain the differences between Americans and Europeans on the healthcare issue.

"Americans, unlike most Europeans, believe that a basic right is the freedom to choose, whereas to have health coverage is a reward that should be earned (through work)."

I may be wrong, but I don't think most people choose to be poor, to be uninsured or to have an existing medical condition. Apparently writers at The Economist have similar views.

The Economist March 18, 2010, edition, also applauded America for taking a step in the right direction.

"This newspaper loathes needless government intervention. But it also thinks that it is wrong for a country as rich as America to have tens of millions of people without health insurance. Beyond them is the much larger number of people who fear falling into that position through losing their jobs; and the larger number again who cannot get affordable coverage because they have an existing medical condition, or because they are too old, or because they have exhausted the 'lifetime caps' imposed by insurance companies."

Now, if only all Americans could think as rationally as the writers of The Economist.




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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/2954075/Scrambled-Clegg-and-toast-but-Cams-full-of-beans.html  Published by The Sun on April 30, 2010

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/2964713/Gordon-Brown-squatting-in-No-10.html   Published by The Sun on May 8, 2010

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/2964787/PM-Gordon-Brown-is-sent-packing-by-The-Sun.html   Published by The Sun on May 8, 2010

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/  Published by The Sun on May 8, 2010

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673610604953/fulltext?rss=yes  The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9721, Page 1135, 3 April 2010

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15720396 The Economist, 18 March 2010

The Impressionists and the Red-Light District

The last two days in Paris was, again, a strange mix of events.

There is nothing more iconically (yes, that is a real word) French than the Eiffel Tower, and there is nothing more iconically pop culture than knowing that the Moulin Rouge is not just a movie, but an actual cabaret in the Montmartre part of Paris.

Between the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d'Orsay, the Moulin Rouge and the Parisian red-light district, it was a lively tour of very different arenas of French culture.

You literally can't go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower from almost every part of the city. It is, by law, the tallest building in Paris. Unfortunately, the top level was closed. Again. I have been up the Eiffel Tower twice and both times the top was closed.

But it was still cool. It was super-hazy, but the view was still amazing.

It is not actually surrounded by parks. There are quite a few around it, but a major street, the Champs de Mars, runs literally right next to the tower.

Not surprisingly, I finished my Hemingway book in like three or four days. So, I picked up a book of F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories along the way. So even though I'm not in class, I am learning plenty.

Also, speaking of learning and culture, I went to the Musee d'Orsay while I was in Paris. It literally houses paintings that were inspired and painted outside just meters away on the banks of the Seine. There were so many Monet's and Manet's and Cezanne's and van Gogh's. It was incredible.

Now to jump to the red-light district. There is actually a logical link in this jump, as well. While Manet's famous Olympia painting depicts a prostitute, I walked in the area (in the morning, mind you, so it was pretty deserted) where the sex trade inhabits Paris. The famous red-light district. Also, prostitution is legal in France and a majority of Europe, but only eight countries regulate it. Just as a side note.

Anyway, I wanted to see the Moulin Rouge. I mean the movie is pretty famous. The red-light district really isn't bad, at least in the morning. There are sex shops on both sides of the street for blocks and blocks, but the Moulin Rouge is a pretty cool building.



Anyway, this whole Parisian adventure took place during the Iceland volcanic disaster. I mean honestly, you never hear about that country, but in the last year it has made international headlines for a complete economic breakdown and the volcano that disrupted air traffic in Europe, yet Iceland's airport could remain open. Very dodgy if you ask me.

Well, I was panicking because I thought my flight was going to be cancelled or severely delayed, and I had to finish up a paper and take an exam in a few days. So anyway, I was able to find one of the last tickets for the Eurostar from Paris to London. Thank god because, as I later found out, the Eurostar was booked solid for over a week. So I paid too much for a ticket home, but I did get to ride in first class with full meal service and unlimited drinks.

And I talked politics (American and British) with a British guy who was worse off than me. He had been in New York when the disaster epic proportions, aka Iceland, took place. He said he had to fly to Toronto, then fly to Rome, then train to Paris, then train to London to surprise his girlfriend, who thought he was still stuck in New York, for her birthday. So my inconvenience is slight compared to some, but still, stupid Iceland. And not to worry, more on British (and possibly American) politics in the near future. The British debates/election did just take place after all.

Anyway, I didn't let Iceland ruin the city of Paris for me. I love Paris. It will definitely be a city that I make multiple return trips to. I feel like no matter how many times a person goes to Paris, you see new things every time.

"There is never an ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. . . Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it." Hemingway's A Moveable Feast