Versions of Roman Latin speak on today in the old and the new worlds in Romanian, Italian, French, Spanish, Portugese, and again French as a second language across most of modern north Africa. Vive la Rome!



What is amazing how well the modern Europe that has combined those Romance language peoples of Italy and France and Spain and Portugal, with the Germanic language people of Holland, north Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland has managed and thrived.

And now even the Slavs of the east through Poland, Hungary, the Czech and Slovaks, Slovenia in charge of the E.U. this year. With the Baltics of Estonia and Latvia and Lithuania, and likely soon all the Balkins will be in, even Serbia as a new neighbor in a much more mighty nation.

Talks are on about inclusion of Ukraine and Georgia, which are both still inside Europe. But at that divide Europe becomes nervous, and when that name of Turkey comes up there is much nervous gobbling from many.

It seems to have sunk in that when you bring in a large group of single males to Germany, for example, and keep them apart and segregated from the main society, they do not get much opportunity to become to learn sympathy and empathy with the larger group.

And as the small clusters of guest workers simmer, new half drowned arrivals in the south of Europe from Africa are disturbing the sun bathers at the beach, as in Florida with those pesky Cubans. What to do? Well, I heard some brilliant and encouraging ideas from several members of the European Parliament, who were meeting on television today.

The hope is to include the former highly civilized Moorish societies from Morocco across north Africa an opportunity to embrace a wider Mediterranean/European Union that could eventually sweep east and up around the eastern coast to embrace Turkey and on to Ukraine and Georgia and any neighbors who wished to join in.

The Russians, Mr.Cheny, do not need any missile sites built on their borders right now with missiles close to them. They famously feel much under threat and not respected as it is. Read your history books, crazed bears lash out wildly when they feel overwhelmed.

Like Alexander ruining Persepolis, Mr Bush, you have caused enough damage for one leadership, leave this bear simmer. But for this new Europe, which would encourage free market cooperation to place factories there and help keep the people prospering and at home.

This has lifted the poorer economies of Europe each time a Spain or Portugal or Greece or Slovenia joins Europe they receive subsides from the rich north and factories appear and people become wealthier. This will likely come to be, and the leaders of this sound like Spain, who knew the wise kind leadership of the Moors until 1492, and southern Spain was the height of civilization under the Moors. We have much to gain, and this could enliven Europe and North Africa as never before. Rome destroyed the fine city of Carthage and poured salt on the ground. It is near modern day Tunis, which is about half way across that new south portion of Charlemagne's dream of one mighty united Europe. But even Charlemagne did not envision including the Moors of North Africa or the Egyptian pyramids or the Turks!

What a Europe. What a peaceful hope for us all learning something new. The Moors kept civilization alive in the west after Rome was sacked and burned. We could all look in each other's musty libraries and see how much closer we are than we are not. And, these days, that seems like a very good thing.