Heh... Google is getting some competition
James Ozark writes at
A Western Heart about a competitor to Google and the reason why:
Parlez-vous Français? Non? (or Froggy's Little Problem)
Once again, oh-so-delicate French national sensibilities are being grossly offended by the Anglosphere. Why? Because we actually want to make our writings more accessible to anyone who wants to read them. The impertinence! The arrogance! The threat! Mon Dieu!
James then links to this article at the BBC:
France to develop Google 'rival' and excerpts from it:
France is spearheading a project to make European literary works available online in an effort to counter growing US cultural dominance worldwide. The virtual library initiative follows a similar move by US firm Google to make 15m works available on its site.
The head of the French national library, Jean-Noel Jeanneney, recently called for a European "counter-attack" against the Google project.
James again:
A counter attack? Who is this indescribable idiot? Oh yeh - French. . .(and I think we know precisely how many other 'European' literary works will be getting a guernsey here).
President Jacques Chirac will discuss the plan with EU ministers in May. Mr Chirac said in a statement that "a vast movement to make knowledge accessible on the internet around the world is underway." He held a meeting in Paris with Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and Mr Jeanneney on Wednesday to discuss the project.
He asked them to examine ways the collections of the great libraries of France and Europe "could be made more widely and more quickly accessible on the nternet".
Easy, post them, like everyone else. Ahhhh - but of course, there’s a small problem there, isn’t there - one we really would rather not think about...
"Because of France and Europe's exceptional cultural heritage, they must play a key role" in the development of the internet, Mr Chirac said.
Mr Jeanneney warned in January that Google's $200m (£110m) project could result in "the crushing domination of the US in shaping the worldview of future generations".
Yes - of course - those evil Americans, at it again. Let’s just ignore the little detail of Oxford University’s involvement, shall we (and the fact that America actually shares Europe's cultural heritage)?
Enter, stage left: Froggy’s little problem. The Anglosphere only potentially shapes the world view of those who read English, now doesn’t it. Now we see Froggy’s little problem, non? The itty bitty issue of: ‘Parlez-vous Français?’ After all, who’s bothering to learn French anymore...
More at the site and some interesting comments.
Kind of a shame to see Europe loose touch with the world as it seems to be doing. Someone at
another site said that what we are seeing is basically the Endgame of Socialist Government. This economic and cultural miasma is what you sink into if you use a Socialist form of government. There are lots of good aspects to different governments but the only one with the solid track record is Democracy despite the lurches and stumbles of our own Government, we are doing an overwhelming good for a greater number of people than any other Government on this planet.
Posted by DaveH at March 18, 2005 8:24 PM