Word: half
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...backward-looking way of seeing the world. The sentiment is also tied up with the French obsession with its cultural exception, the various rules and regulations designed to protect the French way of life from outside forces: French singers must sing in French, English words are banned from advertising, half of all TV shows on air must be European, and so on. It's no surprise that France's colorful antiglobalization activist José Bové, who happens to sport a Gallic handlebar mustache, has been dubbed a modern-day Asterix for his campaigns against McDonald's and genetically modified...
...same goes for the rest of Europe. The patchwork of nations that make up the European Union sports a combined population of half a billion people - hardly a small Gallic village forced to defend itself against the onslaught of an economic empire. In ways both obvious and less so, the E.U. is now a superpower...
...that means it's time to rethink the Asterix metaphor. For half a century, the Asterix books have delighted generations with their thrilling adventures, rich characters and subversive comedy. Using those stories to make a political point about France's supposed endangered status demeans the brilliance of the art and writing in the comics, as well as their incredible commercial success. As Uderzo insists, his stories are for children. The idea that France - or the rest of Europe - needs to be treated as kids as well is, as Asterix might say, pathetix...
...blame for the current conflict: Seven in ten (70%) saw unemployment and poverty as a major cause of the conflict, while almost half (48%) pointed to the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Afghan government. Other factors that individuals identified as major drivers of the conflict were : the Taliban (36%); interference by other countries (25%); al Qaeda (18%); the presence of international forces (18%); lack of support from the international community (17%); warlords (15%); and criminal groups...
...Black on White is not being met with the same level of enthusiasm. Some feel the reason may be that racism remains a touchy subject in Germany. The country's black population, which numbers between 300,000 and half a million, is mainly made up of African immigrants and the descendants of children born to black American and French soldiers and German women at the end of World War II. And even though their numbers are rising and there has been talk lately about Germany becoming a multicultural society, many minorities say they still feel like outsiders because they...