°Say what?
Reading Jürgen Habermas’ “Opening up Fortress Europe” (via), I find little to be surprised by: suggestions of a “democratic deficit” were to be expected - as, I suppose, was his supposition that the failure to integrate migrants constitutes a threat to civil society.
Obviously, I disagree. Or, maybe I don’t but care little about civil society …
But, as jaded a reader of Habermas’ as I am, I don’t think I expected him to proffer Australia as a model, “from whom we [Europeans] can learn a great deal.”
Clearly, he is ill-informed. I’d imagined that Australia was quite well-known for its camps, mandatory internment policies, military seizure of Norwegian vessels and suchlike. But, less obviously, European governments have indeed been learning quite a bit from the Australian government: the innovation of ‘offshore’ internment and ‘processing’ zones (in Libya and elsewhere) are an Australian export.
There’s more in the article that makes me wonder what Habermas could possibly be thinking, but that’s just downright strange.
Didn’t the UN name Australia the second best country in the world in which to live? After Norway or some-such? Leaps and bounds ahead of Canada and the US. Or so the radio told me.
Craig [November 22, 2006 @ 4:46 am]
Third, after Norway and Iceland. And you should believe everything the radio, the UN, and statistical models, tell you.
s0metim3s [November 22, 2006 @ 10:44 am]
Well, I’d certainly believe *we* are fifth or sixth - but, of course, ahead of the US - but certainly not the best. Being the “best” in the midst of the neo-liberal regime change throughout the early and mid nineties was just lunacy.
Craig [November 22, 2006 @ 11:26 am]