I agree. It's totally beyond me why Germany, with the most stable currency in the world, just got rid of it like that. Unbelievable really.

I do hope that the EU will dissolve. But if doesn't, the last thing I'd want to happen was for Turkey to join.

Over 95% of it's land mass is in Asia. And like I said, both historically and culturally, Turkey is definetely not a part of Europe.

If Turkey joins, then the EU's borders will stretch to Iraq, Iran and Syria. Just how wonderful would that be?

I was actually surprised to find out that Turkey was even considered. The only two things Turkey has in common with Europe are:

1) Ancient Greece: Troy, Ephesus, etc., all of which is gone now

2) Byzantium/Constantinople: that ceased to exist when the Ottoman Empire took it over. There is no Byzantium or Constantinople anymore, only Istanbul, a sometimes beautiful but impoverished city of 12m people, more than the population of the Czech Republic or Portugal.


I just read an article in the New York Time about the issue, and a number of people in Turkey are opposed to the idea themselves. But a number of the minorities want it to happen in hopes of greater freedom.

Another article in the NYT talked about a Turkish girl in Germany who ran away from home because her parents wanted her to marry a man she had never met or seen so that he could get a German passport and get to Germany from Turkey. There are enough problems to be dealt with as it is, and they want 70m (110-120m by 2050) to be joining just like that? Europe has a lot of issues to deal with regarding immigration and multi-culturality. These are almost completely new concepts, especially when conservative Muslims come into contact with ultra-liberal countries like Netherlands or Belgium.


Edit: Just to add, the biggest obstacle for Turkey will be that it has not had the same history as the European countries. Even though each of the countries has had a unique history in their own right, they all share Christianity in common. Europe is certainly not Christian anymore, but its culture is based on Christian foundations intimately connected with that of the Roman Empire and Ancient Greek Civilization. That is a very strong bond that can't easily be broken, and Turkey is almost completely outside of it.

Methinks that Turkey wants to become the next Ireland.

A nation of 70m drunks






















With a sizzling economic re-invigeration?

I think it is a travesty. I don't like Bush at all, and I don't see anything that would make him the person of the year. If you ask me I would've picked someone that stands for something nice, not evil.

I thought Turkey had already joined? :? :? :?

Hml et's see...Hillary Duff??? Or, better, Lindsay Lohan?? Why not both together!!!

What's next? Naming Osama Bin Laden Humaintarian of the year? What a figgin joke.

CNN told them to do it ;-)

Dude, like I said, I'm against the idea of Turkey joining the EU too. Although, it's still technically European, well, 5% of it is, anyway.

I haven't spent a penny on Time ever since they dumped their political headlines and started putting Soccer Mommy subjects on the cover.

Time named Bush Person of the year because they wanted to get a foothold in the Evagelist demographic. Let's call a spade a spade, okay?

But wait, this is NOT a bad choice. He is the most influential person in the world, and has been in the headlines every day for 4 years now. He certainly has had a greater presence in the media, politics, and culture in general worldwide than any other individual (Hm, except Christ?). Kerry would obviously have been it if only he won.


Bushy is not my choice, but this certainly isn't a bad selection on Time's part.


Hillary Duff would have been

Jon Lyrik Magazine's Boobs Of Eternity.

More like Boobs of Silicone.

while with most ctresses this is likely true statement, with Connelly I doubt it. Whne she accepted her oscar for A Beautiful Mind she was aif then and comepletey without breasts, if she had implants this would not be the case.