Given the cutbacks museums and galleries are making in this country and I presume across europe, do we need this House of Propaganda and egos? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ory-cost-estimates-double-to-137-million.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-history--eurocrats-spending-like-before.html
I doubt that the The Telegraph and The Daily Mail would think much of the project even if it did make sense, and I don't think it does. Be that as it may, it seems to me that the EU has moved too fast over the years in trying to forge a united Europe. I think that the Euro was a little premature for one thing. But I'm the first to admit that European politics kind of baffle me. I do think it's a good idea to bring them up once in a while though. This part of the board doesn't get much attention. It's a nice change from the endless discussions about the course of our American Empire that totally dominates this place. I think it's healthy to acknowledge that we don't own everyone yet and probably never will and that there are other lands ideas and ways out there. Any thread that touches on this is good. Too bad Europe mainly exists for us as a region of rampant "Socialism", and I hold out little hope that we'll ever show much interest in Asia though aside from expressing our xenophobia regarding China.
This is the bit I find funny "But the HEH has been forced to begin with an EU "year zero" of 1946 because squabbling MEPs are unable to agree on the fundamentals of history, such as the events in the Second World War." So we miss out anything before that date LOL What a waste of cash
Seems like common sense to take care of what you got first unless those in power want to get rid of what you have and replace what was and what is with a flavor they want it to be.
I'm fiscally conservative when it comes to projects like this, despite my somewhat liberal tendencies and general support for historical preservation, the arts, and sciences. But this isn't an automatic or easy "yea or nay" decision I can make. I have to consider the costs of the project versus the benefits. The costs are huge, but fairly typical. The benefits from a historical standpoint are not that good to me... considering how recently the EU was formed. I mean, they couldn't wait 20/25 years for it to age a bit? The costs are certainly a strain on the government considering the recession an all... but then again, the benefit of providing jobs is huge, and to me that's a critical point. A lot of ordinary people earn money off this project, and they need the work. It's a tough call. The timing seems premature to me, and the high costs can't be ignored. But when I consider how many people will benefit from those dollars... I mean euros... my opinion on it's worthiness tilts in a more favorable position. I guess I'd say I support the project, but only because of the jobs it provides. I do think the money would be better spent on infrastructure issue though. Going off on a historical-related tangent: The area I live in has a history in mining. A decade or so ago a federally-managed Historical Park was created to preserve and document that history. While I understand why the park was created, I don't support it. It's not that I have an issue with preserving our area's history, far from it in fact, it has to do with the endless red-tape I knew would arise from it's creation. As an example: Our local "hospital", having recently become a part of a "health system" (HS), built a new building and moved into it. The main access road to that building was directly across from the parks Mine Hoist property. The HS installed a sign on it's side of the road, a sign that the park believed didn't follow it's guidelines for historical integrity and threw reams of red-tape at the HS, forcing them to comply. An acceptable compromise was reached quickly, but the pont was how even something as necessary as a sign telling people where to turn to get to the HS got mired in the park's overly demanding rules and regulations. Then again, I benefitted somewhat from the park too. I have done some work (through my bosses business) with them last year. They asked my boss to do some work on a crappy air-drill they wanted to use in a display. It was not in the best shape, and my boss has a dozen better ones they could have used, but the bureaucracy of the park system meant everything had to be decided by committee. A dozen different people on "conference calls" over a period of half a year or more deciding on every minute detail. It was awful, glad only my boss (and not me) had to go through it lol
