France’s First Lady was among the listeners to Mr Sarkozy’s speech at the start of the Guildhall dinner

Billed appropriately as “French glamour meets British pomp,” Pres Nicoals Sarkozy’s first state visit to Britain came off relatively well even with mixed reviews from the home front in France and from Britain. One thing that must be said is that PM Gordon Brown has come out of his reserve with a Quest for ‘Entente Formidable’ with France.

The Brits may still have some reservation when it comes to President Sarkozy as he wooed Britain’s MPs and peers, but they certainly have fallen in love with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, First Lady of France and are asking whether she might be the new Diana?

But most in British media were mesmerised by the Italian-born French First Lady: “Not since Jackie Kennedy has a First Lady’s visit generated so much hype.”

No amount of ferocious villifying by some British cartoonists could alter the fact that Britain had been simply wowed by Carla.

‘By common consent, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had a clear round,’ on her visit to Britain, writes The Independent.

TELEGRAPH TV – Carla steals limelight.

It’s wrong to compare Mrs Sarkozy to any other woman personality that has caught the world by storm. She is neither Lady Di nor Jackie Kennedy. She has her own personality and and I have no doubt that this polished intelligent woman who is not only very pretty but also highly cultured, speaking 5 languages fluently, one who is well-versed in literature and philosophy, will eventually be creating her own imprimatur for everyone to appreciate.

View photos here, here and here. Watch key video highlights of the second day here: President Sarkozy’s UK visit and Sarkozy and the Queen at a banquet.

Cross posted by The 3rd Column  in My Telegraph 

President Sarkozy arrived at London Heathrow early this afternoon (lunch time) on a state visit to Britain and was welcomed on the tarmac by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. The French president was accompanied by his bride of two months, former top model-turned singer, Carla Bruni, who donned a very simple but elegant soft grey-blue Jackie Kennedy-ish attire.

British tabloids have featured a photo of the French first lady posing in the nude and which is up for sale at a Christie’s auction but there’s no denying that Mrs Sarkozy, who comes from a wealthy Italian industrialist family and who speaks 5 languages fluently, is said to be well versed in French literature and philosophy, is a beautiful sight to behold as this AP photo by Philippe Wojazer of her shows. The photo was taken during a state dinner at the Elysee Palace earlier this month. I don’t believe any first lady or prime minister’s wife of any nation anywhere in the world can compete with her in that area – definitely not the dowdy British cabinet wives.

But trust British tabloids to be on the roll beginning with this story here. (That’s ‘Welcome to Britain’ for you!)Cross posted by The3rdColumn in My Telegraph 

The Times reports that according to Janes Information Services, Britain is world’s 7th most stable and prosperous nation.

The United Kingdom has been ranked as one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world, beating the United States, France and even Switzerland in a global assessment of every nation’s achievements and standards.

Well, sounds like good news to me… Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy to know that the UK is one of the world’s most stable and prosperous nations but I would like very much to know the criteria used by Jane’s in coming up with their assessment. You see, I still worry about sending my kids to uni in the UK because I worry about social stability in and out of the big cities of the UK.

¤

We do have binge drinking that’s costing UK coffers billions in sterling pounds due to drink-related illnesses and is one of the causes of rampant anti-social behaviour in the UK while drink bars are open 24 hours a day; we do have outspoken and radical Islamists in Britain who apparently put Islam first, and not so long ago, there were British Muslims in London calling for the beheading of those they believed defiled their prophet Mohammed; on the issue, we do have an increasing number of Muslim women living and working in Britain but are veiled from head to toe, a sight one expects to see in Saudi Arabia and in other parts of the Middle East (but not in London) and who claim that British laws are oppressive; and yes, we do have pedophiles, children criminals, honour killings or forced marriages, drug trafickers, and dealers along with increasing gun offences, etc., etc., but fortunately, we do have a working democracy with a good justice system backed by excellent law enforcement agencies as British PM Brown urges courts to use full powers against gun criminals, so I guess, overall, one can say the UK is relatively stable, i.e., particularly after the Northern Ireland peace talks were finally signed, sealed and delivered, because it is prosperous, i.e., UK’s GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 in 2008 – £250 higher than in the US, according to analyst Oxford Economics.

¤

Must say, am glad that the Archibishop of Canterbury has buried – OK, at least for the meantime – his call for Sharia Law to be included in the British legal/justice system because I have no doubt that had he succeeded in making headway in the debate, we would be seeing a not so stable United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland…

¤

On the political front, one might say that this is good news for UK Labour Party who are probably feeling the pinch after Tories gained 16-point lead in recent poll.

¤¤

Hang on! The Times defence editor remarked that among the Top 50 most stable and properous countries,

The bottom ten, surprisingly, do not include Iraq. They are listed as Gaza and the West Bank, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Does that mean we should believe Pres Bush when he says the US is bringing stability to Iraq?

¤

Incidentally, almost half of the world’s Top 50 most stable and properous countries belong to the European Union:

1 Vatican
2 Sweden
3 Luxembourg
4 Monaco
5 Gibraltar
6 San Marino
7 Liechtenstein
8 UK
9 Netherlands
10 Ireland
11 New Zealand
12 Denmark
13 Austria
14 Andorra
15 Germany
16 Iceland
17 Switzerland
18 Portugal
19 Australia
20 Norway
21 Malta
22 France
23 Canada
24 USA
25 Belgium
26 Spain
27 Italy
28 Japan
29 Finland
30 Czech Rep
31 Samoa
32 Falkland Islands
33 Singapore
34 Guam
35 Slovakia
36 Anguilla
37 Cyprus
38 Qatar
39 Montserrat
40 Costa Rica
41 Greece
42 St Pierre and Miq
43 UAE
44 Cayman Islands
45 American Samoa
46 Virgin Islands (UK)
47 Poland
48 St Lucia
49 Oman
50 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

¤

Cross posted in My Telegraph and in Hillblogger3

Charles Bremner defines, “encapsulates” Sarkozy’s 10-month old presidency

by The3rdColumn Tue Mar 18th, 2008 at 10:31:38 PM EDT Edit My Story… In his latest blog, Sarkozy season II: back to basics, The Times’ Paris correspondent Charles Bremner declares: Three sentences from Sarkozy over the past two months encapsulate everything he has done to disappoint and irritate. Firstly, these three sentences disappoint and irritate because they are true and we all know people don’t like the truth about the state of affairs being bandied about by their politicians, let alone by their national leader. Re: 1) Carla et moi, c’est du sérieux (It’s serious, Carla and me.) TRUE. Well, what’s wrong with that? After all, he proved by marrying her that the love affair was serious, didn’t he? Now that he’s done it, people must get over it. That said, I agree, the voters did not hesitate to pummel the UMP in the last local election partly to “punish” Mr Sarkozy’s very public lifestyle with his mistress turned wife/First Lady, something which is rather anathema to many French. I believe (and hope we all do, including Mr Bremner I should hope) Sarkozy will have learned a lesson, eg, to keep his private amorous life well out of the public eye. (Must admit, Sarkozy’s display of something so ‘unpresidential’ also seriously got my goat!) Re: 2) Les caisses sont vides (The treasury is empty) ABSOLUTELY TRUE and our dear friends who are not French should know that part of the problem is caused by the French themselves who cannot go beyond the permanent ‘assisté’ mentality. Re: 3) Casse-toi, pauvre con (Piss off, jerk, or equivalent. …/… A glimpse of hot temper and lack of self-restraint) DEFINITELY TRUE. Unfortunately, people prefer their leaders to be hypocritical about things. I am however disappointed that Charles Bremner, considered an excellent reporter and a journalist hors pair with clearly a loyal and die-hard following who believe that Bremner is the ultimate dream writer, is only able to pick out only 3 sentences to define, i.e., encapsulate everything he (Sarkozy) has done…, Sarkozy’s 10-month record following the May 2008 presidential election, Charles is guilty of resorting to a bit of crap reporting; lets face it — Sarkozy started with a stack of French problems against him that couldn’t be resolved 10 months after he was elected, no way! So to expect him to fix the ills of the nation, considered the sick man of Europe, in so short a time, is hardly realistic. Remember “les caisses sont vides!” In that sense, Charles Bremner is doing his readers great disservice by infering that Sarkozy should have kept quiet about the state coffers being empty. Why should he keep quiet about it? It’s the truth! Shouldn’t the French be forewarned about the truth? Don’t they have the right to know that “les caisses sont vides!” ? If only Charles could use his great talent for digging info and scrape well below the surface of the 10-month old Sarkozy presidency, instead of constantly resorting to hollow journalistic ‘rhetorics’ where the Sarkozy presidency is concerned, he’d find that the Sarkozy-Fillon tandem have had achievements albeit modest in trying to turn France from being the sick man/ICU case of Europe into a “convalescing patient.” But I leave Charles to do the digging — he is the professional reporter/journalist/blogger who owes his readers a bit more than just regularly dissing bad news. In fine, someone judged that particular post of Charles as being well-balanced and witty, I’m afraid, witty it may be but well-balanced, certainly it isn’t. NB: I am well aware that this post may not sit well with the majority of ET diarists here whom I’ve noticed to be diehard anti-Sarkozy, but the truth of the matter is that this post is more in keeping with my privilege to criticise a lopsided article published in a mainstream ‘broadsheet’, eg, The Times. If this diary is deemed to defend Mr Sarkozy’s presidency, so be it.

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Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Charles Bremner defines, “encapsulates” Sarkozy’s 10-month old presidency | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment ICU case yourself! (4.00 / 3) If this diary is deemed to defend Mr Sarkozy’s presidency, so be it. I don’t think it’s all that interesting to attack or defend Sarkozy. (To comment on his presidency, though, yes). At least some of us here have always said there was nothing behind the facade, that Sarko was all hat and no cattle, that he was just another populist politician, and I think we are being proved right. The Sarko-person is of no great interest. Charles Bremner is a hired Murdoch hack and is of no interest either. OTOH, there are assumptions about France in your diary that are serious and important. part of the problem is caused by the French themselves who cannot go beyond the permanent ‘assisté’ mentality. The famous mentalité d’assistés that anyone on the right trundles out without a second’s further thought, just like US anti-welfare slogans (“welfare queens”), or “scroungers” in the UK. But who are the people who are being “assisted”, helped? How much do they get? Are you talking about unemployment benefit? Family allowances? Minimum living wage (RMI)? Are you including the health service? And are you showing any proof that the existence of a social solidarity net is really a significant incentive to large numbers of people to consider that the world owes them a living? If that were the case, wouldn’t it be logical to also consider the wealthier part of the population as assistés by numerous tax breaks and niches, and cuts in taxes on higher incomes, wealth, and estates, carried out under Chirac since 2002 and lately again by Sarkozy? trying to turn France from being the sick man/ICU case of Europe into a “convalescing patient.” In our last exchange about that mendacious CER report, you cried off, citing exhaustion. I hope you’re going to find the energy to substantiate what you write this time. Sorry if this sounds aggressive, but what you say here is offensive and misguided. When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 04:49:48 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] This will be my last diary in ET (4.00 / 2) Afew,If you find that my statement about the French assité mentalité offensive and misguided, let me begin by saying that I consider your sub-heading “ICU case yourself!” equally offensive and misguided.I’m not sure why you felt what I said there “offensive and misguided” but I have a suspicion that it is because it’s coming from one who has openly admitted to being right-wing as your slight of hand attack suggested: “The famous mentalité d’assistés that anyone on the right trundles out without a second’s further thought,…” I don’t think it’s all that interesting to attack or defend Sarkozy. (To comment on his presidency, though, yes). At least some of us here have always said there was nothing behind the facade, that Sarko was all hat and no cattle, that he was just another populist politician, and I think we are being proved right. The Sarko-person is of no great interest. The Sarko person is of great interest, like it or not. You may not like him but HE is president of France and that means, rightly or wrongly, France is seen by many, particularly abroad, through his persona both as a “person” and as a politician-leader; difficult to separate the “person” from the “president” (de Gaulle who epitomised France during a certain era set the precedent and many have followed the lead.) To cut off any comment pertaining to his person as “not interesting” is not realistic; proof is tons of ink have been used to describe, ridicule and analyse him. Charles Bremner is a hired Murdoch hack and is of no interest either. “Hack” is hard, but there is an element of truth. He is not freelance; you, I or many here may not like what he writes but his articles are normally well researched. What he writes may not be of interest to you but they should be of interest to many French because he writes about France and the French, foibles and all, and what he says in his articles contribute in some way to what the English-speaking people of this world may want to know about France and the French. The famous mentalité d’assistés that anyone on the right trundles out without a second’s further thought, just like US anti-welfare slogans (“welfare queens”), or “scroungers” in the UK. But who are the people who are being “assisted”, helped? How much do they get? Are you talking about unemployment benefit? Family allowances? Minimum living wage (RMI)? Are you including the health service? And are you showing any proof that the existence of a social solidarity net is really a significant incentive to large numbers of people to consider that the world owes them a living? Listen afew, I am not at all inclined to do data mining. If you want percentages of sectors of the French population that receive state handouts, I haven’t got them right here and now but I’m pretty sure they are somewhere on the net. What gobsmacks me is that the French “mentalité d’assistés” line seems to have aroused an incredible political ideological backlash right here at ET. Yet you yourself categorised it as “famous” — which simply goes to show that there is a perception, a strong one, if we were to go by your own adjective, and that the French suffers from this reputation. To be perfectly honest, I did find your questions a bit puerile. But to answer them, yes, we are talking about them and possibly about a lot more. There are certainly people in France who end up being supported by the state who hate the idea and would do anything to change, but equally there are MANY from all sides of the political ideological spectrum who take advantage, i.e., left, right, far left, far right, etc. To deny that this does not exist is to close one’s eyes to some harsh realities about France. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be logical to also consider the wealthier part of the population as assistés by numerous tax breaks and niches, and cuts in taxes on higher incomes, wealth, and estates, carried out under Chirac since 2002 and lately again by Sarkozy? So we perhaps come to the crux of the matter — you view my mention of the French assisté mentality as an attack against the non-rich perhaps? There are those, rich and very rich, who pay 45% as Pierre had reported below, and perhaps more – and if you feel that tax breaks and niches, etc., are symptomatic of the assité mentalite too, you are somehow reinforcing the perception that the (“famous”) assité mentality mindset in France is there, wouldn’t you say? (I’m not sure that the rich or those who pay 45% in taxes outnumber those who don’t though.) Let me ask you something on the issue of taxes, how much more taxes do you believe the rich should pay in order to not belong to the assisté category? On this issue, wouldn’t you say that the high taxes could drive the brightest and the best to go somewhere where the tax regime is more benign? The so-called brain-drain. What is the percentage of bright young French engineers who go to study in the US and then remain because there is more opportunity there? I do not have a number, but Barosso quoted something like 80% the other day at the launch of the CER report. France (nor any other country) can afford this. In our last exchange about that mendacious CER report, you cried off, citing exhaustion. I hope you’re going to find the energy to substantiate what you write this time. Sorry if this sounds aggressive, but what you say here is offensive and misguided. I don’t understand where you’re coming from Afew! I submitted that diary as a report — while I did cite exhaustion, it had nothing to do with the initial diary/report but if you remember, I mentioned that I didn’t feel like reporting on what transpired during the question and answer session — the CER pamphlet was not written by me and if you are not satisfied with what they have submitted, you should go tell them — I can’t help you there simply because I too have a lot of questions to ask and I thought writing a “report” about the CER report launch would be a good way to start a debate but heck, you attacked my post as if I had been guilty of something or for authoring the CER pamphlet. You apologised and said you’re sorry for sounding over critical or aggressive or whatever but why am I feeling that your being sorry is a teeny weeny bit just on the sly? If your role in ET is that of an ombudsman, I will accept the criticisms if they are warranted (and I humbly submit that I may have been clumsy in my reports) but I have gotten to a stage that I have lost the appetite to engage in debates because rightly or wrongly I don’t think it’s worth my time to post any more diaries — put it to that feeling of being “not with it”, i.e., whatever diary I may post will not meet the ET “agenda” (whatever it is) since I am not left-wing or ultra-liberal enough to go with the ET flow which I believe to be greatly dominated by “leftish” sentiments. While I greatly enjoyed reading some of the diaries, particularly those of Frank Schnittger’s (whom I appreciated from way back when he was posting in Charles Bremner’s blog), and Migeru’s, Jerome’s, Drew’s, Helen’s, Jake’s, In Wales, and a few others, there are diaries that I don’t particularly relish reading because of I felt they were thoroughly biased against anything right wing (could be wrong but heck, that’s my opinion.) But to reformulate what Giscard d’Estaing said to Mitterand in a televised presidential election debate: “Vous n’avez pas le monopole de coeur!” (“You don’t have the monopoly of heart”) This will be my last diary in the European Tribune. If it suits you or ET, you can delete my diaries. I believe you have the power to do it — as someone in an Open Thread (I think by In Wales) a few weeks back said — or along the same line, “We have the power to delete…” (Who is “We”, that I really don’t know.) by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:12:39 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] * [new] Re: This will be my last diary in ET (4.00 / 2) I think voices even the majority of ET readers disagree with should nevertheless be welcome here.  And while some people have the ability to delete diaries and comments, it should only be done in exceptional circumstances. I don’t think anyone has the right to delete a diary solely because they are in disagreement with it.It is very important that ET remains a place where dialogue and debate can flourish and remain within the bounds of common courtesy.  I happen to agree with Afew’s position, but do not understnd the purpose of personal attacks.I can’t blame you for wanting to leave.Hopefully there will remain a place here for you if you decide to return.   Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the other organisms. by poemless (poemless at gmail dot com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:10:56 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] * [new] Re: This will be my last diary in ET (none / 0) We never delete diaries because we disagree with it, only in circumstances of gross offensiveness or gross copyright infringement or something like that. by Colman (colmanetg at gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:29:58 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] * [new] Re: This will be my last diary in ET (none / 0) Right.  Which is what I said.Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the other organisms. by poemless (poemless at gmail dot com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:45:13 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] * [new] Please don’t go (4.00 / 2) One of the reasons for afew’s impatience is that we have spent a lot of effort on ET to gather the facts that do prove that your assertions about “assistés”, or about the “brain drain”, or about France’s supposed lack of dynamism, etc… are lies and/or myths endlessly promoted by the rightwing and repeated ad nauseam by the “serious” media.We’ve spent a lot of effort proving them wrong, and  it is wearying for us to see them presented as facts on ET, when they are nothing but. Now the fair reaction to you, a relative newcomer, would be to point you to the relevant diaries which collate these facts, but do bear in mind that we spend a lot of time fighting that accepted common wisdom, and that it grinds us down.So please don’t take us on faith when we make these assertions, they are fully backed by hard numbers from unimpeachable sources. A good start, if you have not read this, is this summary post, which made it into Le Monde (without all the sources): France is not in decline and the last thing it needs is ‘reform’. another, earlier effort would be this: Actual facts about the French labor marketOn the brain drain, may I point you to this: On “assistés”, to these: Our agenda is not to be leftist, it is to change perceptions that are shaped on incorrect facts. I hope you can still participate to this forum; for one I have much appreciated your input and insights. Do trust us a little bit when we make assertions here – they are usually backed by hard facts, and, if you have read some of our deconstructions in recent weeks, you should by now be aware that a number of things in the mainstream press are based on repeating the dominant narrative with little respect for the underlying reality – and constesting this does not make us “lefties” (note how this is intended as an insult in the media), or a cult, or something similarly easy to dismiss. In the long run, we’re all dead. John Maynard Keynes by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:32:53 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] * [new] Re: This will be my last diary in ET (none / 1) <sigh> Where to begin?If “ICU case yourself!” offended you I apologise. It was not meant as an outright insult, but as a flippant way of reminding you that casually speaking of France as an “ICU case” was in itself offensive.You twice speak of “sleight of hand” and “slyness” on my part. Nothing of the sort. For instance, when I say “The famous mentalité d’assistés that anyone on the right trundles out without a second’s further thought”, I’m simply speaking from experience, since this is a French expression greatly used by French people on the right of the political spectrum. It was not a dig at you in person. When (in the CER thread) I said I was sorry if I sounded aggressive, and said “do get some rest” when you said you were exhausted, I was simply showing you some respect.I’m not an ombudsman and I was not writing my comments in any official capacity. I’m a front-pager here, meaning I can post directly to the front page and have some editorial powers ordinary users don’t have. If I write in that official capacity, I preface my comment with [ET Moderation Technology™] . (Front-pager duties are explained here). My comment above and my comments on your CER thread were written as from one user to another. Nothing in what I said implied I possessed any authority or rank over you. You say you have “openly admitted to being right-wing”. Fine. But you seem to be complaining that the general ethos of ET is left-leaning. There’s nothing sneaky about that, it’s clear and above-board. Please see this from the site FAQ: European Tribune – Frequently Asked Questions What’s a progressive? What if I am not one? “Progressive” is an political term used loosely to identify activists of the left, favorable to sound and fair economic and social policies, equality of chances, and the defense of personal rights. The European Tribune is broadly progressive, but welcomes all contributors regardless of political self-identification, provided that they be respectful of the mission of this site, provide principled disagreement and don’t engage in trollish behavior. (Please note that I am not accusing you of trollish behaviour.. ) So you are a conservative posting on a left-of-centre blog. What surprises me is that you don’t seem to expect other members here to argue with you, to call on you to substantiate what you say. Yet what you say (or what you draw attention to, in the case of the CER report) is likely to attract criticism here. You say  you hope to “start a debate” but, when the debate starts, it’s not the kind you want. For example, you seem to think it beneath you to discuss facts (re the CER report), to present some facts to back up what you say: you reply that you don’t do “data-mining”, and you send me off to find stuff on the net. But I’m not the only one to ask you for some substance to support your allegations (and, in this diary, there are allegations aplenty). If you say something, then you back it up, you don’t tell others to go looking in your place. As for your diary above, it’s framed in a way that suggests it’s a comment on Charles Bremner and his view of Sarkozy. I think I’m quite within my rights in saying I’m not interested in that. My point is the casual assumptions, and the more than loaded language, that you include about France, and that, for me, make up the main thrust of your text. You seem absolutely certain of them: our dear friends who are not French should know that part of the problem is caused by the French themselves who cannot go beyond the permanent ‘assisté’ mentality. the sick man/ICU case of Europe This is not Bremner, or Sarkozy, or CER, or your memory of what you think Barroso said, this is you speaking. What’s so extraordinary about being asked to explain and provide substance? So you say you will stop posting, well, that’s up to you. There is no reason to delete anything, on the contrary, that would be unfair to what you have written and to the contributions of other members in the discussion threads. As for “we can delete”, I think it was part of an explanation about what front-pagers can do. But the only stuff we delete, as part of maintenance tasks, is spam, or comments that get posted twice. Not your comments and diaries, T3C When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:44:31 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] ‘the sick man of Europe’? (none / 1) I know you wrote ‘is considered to be’, but you might want to actually substantiate that bit, which is the ONE BIG lie you get in every single article on France.In the long run, we’re all dead. John Maynard Keynes by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 03:24:24 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: ‘the sick man of Europe’? (none / 0) Or what about substantiating this:    2) Les caisses sont vides (The treasury is empty)ABSOLUTELY TRUE *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it. by DoDo on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 04:49:00 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: ‘the sick man of Europe’? (4.00 / 2) Well, they are. full stop. The budgets of the state and social security are only balanced by the goodwill of lenders, half of which are foreign. But France is in no way different from US, Japan, and many other OECD nations, in that respect. Except may be in that the global tax/contribution burden is one of the highest, around 45% of GDP.I’m not arguing here on the issue that the tax is fair or not (it is not, the burden is skewed even more heavily towards taxing individual wage labor and not capital/corporate profits/self employed labor). Simply the agregate burden is one of the highest, and still the budget isn’t balanced without floating more debt every year.Of course, Sarko is a dickhead to complain about this now, just after he cut taxes on the richest himself. But he read george w bush’s “neolib political economics for dummies”.Still, raising and rebalancing taxes will not be enough: France will need to make honest assessments and cut some benefits and public labor. This will happen in the nearer future than most people think. A credit crunch has far reaching consequences. Lenders will not get fooled another time after the “Great Dollar Devaluation Heist”, which is coming right now. Pierre by Pierre on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 10:19:07 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Charles Bremner defines, encapsulates Sarkoz (none / 0) is only able to pick out only 3 sentences to define, i.e., encapsulate everything he (Sarkozy) has done…Oh yeah, what else has he done? Proposed Bliar for President, miffed the German Goverment and the EU Commission by stealing their limelight for initiatives they have begun, proposed tax cuts for the rich, created a quasi-far-right ministry (ministry of immigration, integration and national identity???).*Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it. by DoDo on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 05:00:53 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Sarkomanie! (none / 1) I spent the better part of the past decade giving many in my family, starting with my father in law who for some reason idolizes the man, shit for Berlusconi.Now we have one.It is quite unfortunate.This is what Generation Johnny came up with. Not edifying. They’ll be gone sooner than we know it, though. It’s even sad, in many ways. Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden by redstar on Wed Mar 19th, 2008 at 05:36:18 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Charles Bremner defines, “encapsulates” Sarkozy’s 10-month old presidency | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Lisbon agenda good news

by The3rdColumn Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 10:57:25 AM EDT Edit My Story… The Centre for Economic Reform (CER) launched in Brussels ‘The Lisbon scorecard VIII’ with President Barroso earlier this week.The report highlights EU’s ‘heroes and villains’ and is contained in a pamphlet The Lisbon scorecard VIII: Is Europe ready for an economic storm?, authored by Katinka Barysch, Simon Tilford and Philip Whyte.The scorecard provides an annual overview of the EU’s record on economic reform and points to the capacity of member-states to flourish in a world in which high-cost countries cannot sustain their living standards unless they excel in knowledge-based industries. The CER was upbeat in their report, pointing out that GDP growth rates in the EU-27 outstripped those in the US with an estimated 3 and 2.9 per cent growth in 2006 and 2007 respectively. They also observed that the economic upswing was due to the efforts of many European countries to improve the structural underpinnings of growth as they followed the recommendations of the EU’s 2000 Lisbon agenda, a set of pledges for growth and jobs which EU leaders signed in 2000. After half a decade of economic gloom, the years 2006-07 finally re sto red some much-needed optimism to the European Union. GDP growth outstripped that in the US, and some 8 million jobs were created across the EU. The upturn was partly cyclical, but it was also the result of the re forms to product and labour markets that many EU countries have pushed through in recent years. The Lisbon scorecard VIII salutes these successes. But it also warns against complacency, especially at a time when the global downturn will test Europe’s economic resilience. As in previous years, we single out those countries that have made the fastest pro g ress toward s raising employment, encouraging innovation and opening up markets. This year’s ‘heroes’ are: Austria – which has done well in copying the Nordic model of ‘flexicurity’; Estonia – a small, nimble newcomer that has moved ahead quickly; and the Netherlands – the only EU country that combines high employment with high productivity. Our ‘villains’ are Greece and Italy, which continue to combine poorly functioning markets with mediocre social outcomes. Some of the new member-states also need to raise their game if they want to cope with competition from emerging Asia. Most EU nations have met the following pledges: opened previously closed for transport and communications have opened reformed retirement systems to encourage people to work longer made life easier for small companies their educations systems CER underscored the fact that the Lisbon agenda has helped to turn EU into a laboratory for economic reforms but also acknowledged that while the EU cannot force individual memner-states to reform, Lisbon has made an indirect but noticeable contribution to Europe’s recovery, notably in the employment sector which they said has always been regarded as the continent’s weak spot. According to CER, the EU economies created an estimated 7 to 8 million jobs in 2006-2007 alone. Huge improvements were registerd among older workers and women. The Lisbon league table/Overall Lisbon performance 2007: 1 – Denmark (maintained overall EU lead as first both in 2006 and 2007) 2 – Sweden (rank 2nd in 2006 and 2007) 3 – Austria (was ranked 5th in 2006) 4 – The Netherlands (was 3rd in 2006) 5 – Finland (rose from 6th in 2006) 6 – Ireland (jumped 2 slots from 8th in 2006) 7 – UK (fell 3 slots from 4th in 2006) 8 – Germany (jumped from 9th in 2006) 9 – France (rose from 11th spot in 2006) 10 – Slovenia (was ranked 12th in 2006) 11 – Estonia (described as one of the “heroes” by CER; jumped up from 15th slot in 2006) 12 – Luxembourg (an incredible fall from 7th place in 2006) 13 – Belgium (did not budge from its 13th place in 2006) 14 – Czech Republic (a rather disappointing performance from 2006 when it figured 10th) 15 – Cyprus (fell one slot from 14th in 2006) 16 – Spain (improved from 17th in 2006) 17 – Latvia (was 18th in 2006) 18 – Lithuania (enhanced its ranking 2 places from 20th in 2006) 19 – Greece (an astonishing rebound from 22nd place in 2006) 20 – Slovakia (was 23rd in 2006) 21 – Portugal (a disappointing leap; down from 16th place in 2006) 22 – Hungary (not quite good news on the Hungarian front as they slid from 19th slot in 2006) 23 – Italy (continues to baffle; sliding from 21st in 2006) 24 – Romania (good news on the Romanian front from their 25th slot in 2006) 25 – Bulgaria (was 24th in 2006) 26 – Poland (improved from 27th place in 2006) 27 – Malta (was ranked 26th in 2006) The above scoreboard was based on the Lisbon agenda key elements in areas touching on innovation, liberalisation, enterprise, employment and social inclusion, as well as on sustainable development and the environment. In their conclusion, the CER sought to defend the Lisbon process from observers who have assailed the agenda as a shopping list of crude and sometimes inconsistent objectives and admitted that criticsims couldn’t be dismissed lightly but insisted that Lisbon has helped to foster a broad, Europe-wide consensus on what needs to be done to secure the continent’s future prosperity. They also recommended that if European countries aspire to close the gap in living standards with the US, they must raise their rates of employment and productivity at the same time. They also highlighted the need for EU countries to keep going declaring that openness will be particularly important in 2008 and cautioned against the risk of EU countries falling into complacency. The EU and its member-states still have to work harder to reach the Lisbon targets. For example: ★ E n e rgy market liberalisation remains stuck. The EU needs to find a compromise on ‘unbundling’ quickly, and move on to building a low-carbon economy. ★ In many EU countries, one in five youngsters is looking for a job. More flexible labour markets and improved education will be needed to change this. ★ European countries need to do more to encourage entre preneurship and innovation. The EU’s current, narrow focus on the overall level of research and development spending is not helpful. The Lisbon Scorecard VIII has a plethora of wonderful inputs for the Europhile as well as for the Eurosceptic. I recommend that each and every European wort his salt should get a copy if only to verify for himself/herself where our own respective governments are headed and if they’ve been up to the task of building the EU on our behalf that they’ve been expected to do.

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Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Lisbon agenda good news | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment    Re: Lisbon agenda good news (4.00 / 4) Where’s the “good news”?It might be good news if the Centre for European Reform managed to swear off endlessly recycling neoliberal clichés like small, nimble newcomer, raise their game, cope with competition, the gap in living standards with the US, flexible labour markets, entrepreneurship, and refrain from the usual ideological framing such as: The upturn was partly cyclical (perhaps, but why is this never said of the Anglo-Saxon economies?) it was also the result of the reforms to product and labour markets (evidence for this? what reforms? Germany reducing wages to gain a competitive edge would be an example?) (NL) the only EU country that combines high employment with high productivity (high employment thanks to a much higher rate of part-time work than any other EU country) The EU needs to find a compromise on `unbundling’ quickly, and move on to building a low-carbon economy (liberalising energy markets will encourage short-term-profit investment in gas and coal, the antithesis of the second aim set out) In many EU countries, one in five youngsters is looking for a job (a standard propaganda lie – France has a 15-24 unemployment rate around 20% while the UK has half of that, yet there are roughly the same numbers of jobseekers for a similar population in each country; see 1 here and 2 here and 3 here for explanations of this and other deliberately-maintained misconceptions about labour statistics) narrow focus on the overall level of research and development spending (attempt to demonise public investment in research). You might be right, though, that the scorecard could help us see where our own respective governments are headed. With a hope it’s not where CER wants to take us…   When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 01:24:09 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) Ever the optimist, I thought this was good news: Lisbon has made an indirect but noticeable contribution to Europe’s recovery, notably in the employment sector which they said has always been regarded as the continent’s weak spot. According to CER, the EU economies created an estimated 7 to 8 million jobs in 2006-2007 alone. Huge improvements were registerd among older workers and women. by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 03:53:48 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) It is, but what indicates that the Lisbon Agenda (which, honestly, has not exactly been applied with any consistency and relish across the EU board) is responsible for this rise in employment?When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:21:22 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) From what I’ve read in their report, they are not exactly taking credit for the creation of those jobs. But were content to declare that Lisbon has initiated a useful process of comparing and contrasting among countries, so they can learn from each other what works and what does not.I have just finished reading the report and still have to dissect its contents. I cannot at this time make a critical analysis of what the CER has so far advanced in that report. by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:35:09 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (4.00 / 3) Well, I’ll just point you, in the chapter on employment, to p.50 (pdf)/p.85 (printed), where youth employment gets the header One in five youngsters is unemployed, below which can be read: In France, Italy, Sweden, and some of the new member-states, more than one in five young people is looking for a job. That plain statement, which can only be understood to mean that 1 in 5 of the 15-24 age-group is looking for a job, is (on the part of people who know what the stats mean) deliberately misleading. It refers to an unemployment rate of over 20%. That is not 20% of all people in that age group, it is 20% of the labour force, ie those who are (in employment + jobseekers). This is an age group where large numbers are in education, and where, according to national cultural differences, it may be more or less customary for students to have part-time jobs on the side. The size of the labour force (and therefore the unemployment rate) depends on this difference. Baldly stating that more than one in five youngsters is looking for a job (when in France, for example, it’s actually less than one in ten), is simply setting out to blacken the picture the better to promote an ideological agenda. When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 05:38:30 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) Was the Lisbon agenda not more about improving the competitiveness of the EU relative to the rest of the world?  Should the scorecard not therefor compare the EU with other external competitors – US/China?India/Russia etc.?  I appreciate this does not attempt to be a full measure of development – unlike the Human Development Index – but how measurable where the s called Lisbon agenda items in any case?“It’s a mystery to me – the game commences, For the usual fee – plus expenses, Confidential information – it’s in my diary…” by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 01:41:01 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) Should the scorecard not therefor compare the EU with other external competitors – US/China?India/Russia etc.? There’s a bit of info in the pamphlet but not a lot; I too had expected a more comprehensive and comparative scorecard but the CER devoted their report on comparing the member states’ overall progress and “failings” over a two year period, i.e., 2006-2007. That said, I found the report rather comprehensive and easy to read; includes a number of recommendations too in areas/sectors where the CER felt member-states were lagging. Overall, it gives a pretty good eyeview for those who are interested in keeping pace with what’s going on in the EU by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:06:38 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) For those who wish, here’s a link to The Lisbon scorecard VIII: Is Europe ready for an economic storm? (pdf).When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:36:34 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (none / 0) Thanks afew, I failed to link the pdf properly but have fixed it.Btw, very briefly (and based on what I can remember — need to check my notes) Baroso’s own comment was that the C plus which was the CER’s overall assesement of results was a bit harsh since the overall trend had been positive.Just the same, he remarked that the CER report was good well-balanced. He reminded that the agenda was a series of signposts rather than a final end in itself. by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:45:39 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (none / 1) From the press release:New report highlights EU’s ‘heroes and villains’, The Parliament.com, 10 March 2008 It gives an overall performance rating of just C-plus and the message is that member states “must do better”. Barroso said, “Most parents do not want their child coming home with a C-plus but I accept that countries must do better. “The economic performance of member states has been uneven and some have shown more commitment to economic reform than others. “Indeed, over the last 12 months there has been evidence of reform fatigue.” You’ll think I’m obsessively critical, but is this infantilisation the level we should expect from political leaders and serious analysts? (I’m including the “heroes and villains” bit in this)? When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 05:00:08 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (none / 0) No, I won’t think anything of the kind — matter of fact, I believe it’s necessary to be critical. There are points in that report that definitely need to be raised and discussed. by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 05:07:03 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (4.00 / 2) If I weren’t feeling too lazy (drained is more like it), I could actually write a report of the discussion that followed the launch — there were interesting issues raised during the question and answer time and the commenters were fairly critical of the agenda recommendations.I guess it will have to be for another day (the last few weeks have left me mentally and physically exhausted.) by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 05:16:25 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (none / 1) Do get some rest – I have no time ahead of me to dig further into that report, anyway… When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 05:43:37 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Baroso’s own assessment (none / 0) Thanks, will do although next few days will be hectic — a journalist friend from the US is arriving tomorrow on a holiday and will be staying at home. Have planned outings (and meetings with friends per his request, talk of a holiday – heh); I have a suspicion he’ll be filing stories daily during this supposed holiday of his… by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 07:13:09 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Lisbon agenda good news (none / 0) The3rdColumn, are you referring to something else as “the pamphlet”? (This report is 70+ pp, hardly a pamphlet.)When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind by afew (afew_at_europe_dot_com) on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:52:41 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: One and the same (none / 0) Afew,But that’s exactly what they called it; I’ve got a hard copy of that “pamphlet” which was distributed around at the launch (I attended the launch) — it contains the report known as The Lisbon Scorecard VIII Is Europe ready for an economic storm by The3rdColumn on Fri Mar 14th, 2008 at 04:58:47 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Lisbon agenda good news | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss peace

by The3rdColumn Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 04:14:12 PM EDT Edit My Story… This political commentary by Peter Brookes of The Times may be in cartoon form but it seriously depicts the Gaza situation: Israeli forces re-enter Gaza one day after pulling out and leaving a Palestinian baby girl dead. There will be scores and scores of deaths again.Condi Rice who is back in the Middle East Rice to try to save the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks may find it difficult to persuade an Israel that’s clearly on a war momentum to stop their offensive. Seems the White House has lost a great deal of influence on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who, even as we speak, is boasting that Israel has power to defend itself against Iran. I don’t doubt Israel’s capacity to defend itself against Iran — a lot of the yearly US$ 2 billion in US aid it receives is spent (or roughly 75% of that aid) in buying the most sophisticated hardware to beef up Israel’s military capability, but this is not the point. Let’s take things one day at a time… Israel must stop its Gaza offensive and go back to the negotiating table! Why is that so difficult to do? What do they actually want to happen? Stop only when the Palestinians have been driven and drowned in the Red Sea?

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YesNoHide Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss peace | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment    Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss pe (none / 0) The current Israeli politicians would lose all power if there was peace.Therefore no peace. by Colman (colmanetg at gmail.com) on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 04:49:04 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss pe (none / 0) Update: As Israelis Pull Out of Gaza, Hamas Celebrates Its Rocketry by The3rdColumn on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 05:40:02 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss pe (none / 0) What I don’t understand is CNN headlining Israeli forces entering Gaza anew while Washington Post (above) announced that Israel troops withdrew from Gaza…Background news: The latest surge in hostilities between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip left 116 Palestinians dead, according to Dr. Moawiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, making it the deadliest fighting in Gaza in a year. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting in northern Gaza on Saturday, and one Israeli civilian was killed last Wednesday by rocket fire in the border town of Sderot. by The3rdColumn on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 05:44:54 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Israel must discuss peace (none / 1) What do they actually want to happen? Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai has already given that answer. keep to the Fen Causeway by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 06:14:55 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Israel must discuss peace (none / 1) Incredible that he could even utter the term. by The3rdColumn on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 06:18:53 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] The White House has not lost influence (none / 0) It is just not interested in any “peace process” as long as Hamas is in power.The Gaza Bombshell: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David Rose reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever. The plural of anecdote is bullshit. by generic on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 at 06:55:28 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: The White House has not lost influence (none / 0) Thanks for the link. Never trusted Republican Party stalwarts of astuteness when it comes to international affairs. They tipify the so-called Ugly American. by The3rdColumn on Wed Mar 5th, 2008 at 01:03:36 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive (none / 0) I Agree Israel’s overreaction to the missle assault is also politically motivated but has Hamas offered a ceasefire in order to start negotiations? Are missle attacks indiscriminately into the country of Israel any less onerous than Israel’s reaction?Please tell me how you would like Israel to negotiate with Hamas when Hamas is launching rockets into the country and has vowed to never recognize Israel. Where is the solution?It certainly isnt through the third party of the US considering the debacle in Iraq and the attempted coup of Hamas, apparently. But in your perfect world; what should Israel do and Hamas do in order to get to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith? by An American in London on Thu Mar 6th, 2008 at 06:26:52 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive (none / 1) don’t be silly. there have been ceasefires, withdrawals since whenever, it doesn’t make any difference. Not whilst a militarist society is determined to steal all the land from its victims. How about the Israelis conceding the Palestinians right to exist ? To have homes and farms and water and borders and not be subject to occupation forces who take land whenver it suits them and considers the untermenschen expendable if they look upset at such theft.The month that Israel withdrew from Gaza it sequestered more land in the West Bank than it gave up in Gaza. There is no good faith on either side, but one side is armed to the teeth and unafraid to demonstrate its eliminationist intent and one side has firecrackers to announce its dismay.Why should Hamas give up its only bargaining position to achieve nothing except yet one more promise from Israel that they won’t be nasty for a couple of days ? I have no idea how this works, any more than you do, but I’d imagine that when Israel seriously considers dismantling the occupation of the West Bank, maybe Hamas may seriously consider accepting Israel. But till then, fuggedabout it. keep to the Fen Causeway by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Mar 6th, 2008 at 07:12:16 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive (none / 1) Hamas tells Egypt it is ready to discuss truce with Israel, Shalit deal | Ha’aretz | Feb 15, 2008:One example of many. Israel’s argument against a ceasefire is always the same – Hamas would use it as an excuse to rearm, and Israel is close to defeating them anyway. As for the first argument, they seem to have no problem rearming anyway, and Israel could use the ceasefire to build up defenses. As for the second argument, I don’t think any comment is needed. by gk (g k quattro due due sette “at” gmail.com) on Thu Mar 6th, 2008 at 07:43:10 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Israel must stop Gaza offensive (none / 0) Please tell me how you would like Israel to negotiate with Hamas when Hamas is launching rockets into the country and has vowed to never recognize Israel. Where is the solution? – An American in London I can see no complete solution, and as some of the greatest minds in the world have considered this problem and not found a solution I am not surprised at my own failure. That said the stronger party is Israel and it is Israel that is therefore perceived as the bully. This makes Israel doubly wrong: As the stronger party they should show magnanimity and statesmanship by offering to take the first step – however often they have to do it. Secondly by oppressing a people who are clearly not going to accept oppression they are making the solution more and more difficult to find. No war can be won unless you, ultimately, overcome the will of the people to resist. Gerald Templar put it well in the confrontation in Malaya in the 1950s when he said that the only way to bring the communist/terrorists out of the jungle was to win the hearts and minds of the people. In Malaysia today there is still an very weak undercurrent of ethnic Chinese based communist feeling. However it is too weak to do anything significant and those most violently opposed to any reversion to revolt are those ethnic Chinese who are now educated people with a secure job and a future for themselves and their children. As I say I am not sure what the solution is but I do not believe we will bomb Hamas into submission. by The3rdColumn on Mon Mar 10th, 2008 at 06:07:58 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Israel must stop Gaza offensive and discuss peace | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst weakening US economy

by The3rdColumn Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 11:52:44 AM EDT Edit My Story… (Picture lifted from USA Today)President Bush addressed concerns about the sagging US economy at a press conference a few minutes ago and declared that “recession is not likely” even if “the economy is slowing down.” Asked by a reporter about his policy/objectives for sustaining Iraq, Bush’s response was “…to keep enough troops so we could succeed” insisting that “long term security agreement is part of sustainability.” I will not pretend to be an economist because I am not, but one thing I do know — from a housewife’s perspective, is that if a household runs expenses and in so doing, incurs debts of monumental proportions, that household’s economy is likely to suffer from a steep downward trend. Again, from a housewife’s perspective, the only thing to do in that case is to cut on household spending radically and eliminate unecessary expenses. Or Bush’s “sustainability policy” in Iraq will mean sustained unecessary expenses for American households of monumental proportions. One wonders if President Bush realizes that with the running cost of his war on Iraq (with no end in sight), American taxpayers(housewives included), are bound to pay up for the cost today, tomorrow and in the many years to come. Economist Joseph Stiglitz has tallied the staggering cost of Bush’s `war on terror’ in a book The Three Trillion Dollar War, and make no mistake about it, that war will cost US taxpayers for a wee while a lot of money that can be better used elsewhere, in health care, education, infrastructure, etc. Here are the bullet points extracted from the book by The First Post as to the true cost of Bush’s ‘war on terror’: Three trillion dollars: the true cost of Iraq * By March 2008, America will have been in Iraq for five years – longer than it spent in either world war. * The monthly ‘running cost’ of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is $16bn – a monthly cost to every American family of $138.* $5bn, which pays for ten days’ fighting, is what America spends in supporting Africa for a whole year. The monthly cost of $16bn is equal to the entire annual budget of the UN. * The true ratio of wounded to dead, seven to one, is the highest in US history. (Injured troops who are treated on the battlefield are not counted in official records, Stiglitz discovered.) * The US Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for caring for the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, is still clearing a backlog of claims from the Vietnam war. * By the year 2024, the US will face an annual bill of $4bn for caring for disabled servicemen, with about 40 per cent of troops returning home severely injured. * A contractor working as a security guard in Iraq earns about $400,000 a year: a typical soldier’s annual wages are $40,000. * Sign-on bonuses, introduced in an effort to recruit more men and women to the war effort, have to be repaid by soldiers who are injured in their first month. * 1,500 Americans were killed by roadside bombs before Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as US Defence Secretary in 2006 and Humvees were replaced with mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armoured vehicles. * Because postwar reconstruction jobs went to US firms instead of local Iraqi companies, one painting job cost $25m instead of $5m. * One American company alone, Halliburton, of which Vice-President Dick Cheney (right) was CEO from 1995 to 2000, has received a total of $19.3bn in single-source contracts for work in Iraq. * The price of oil has climbed from $25 a barrel to $100 a barrel over the past five years – and a significant proportion of this rise is directly due to the instabilities caused by the Iraq war. * Before the war, Gordon Brown, then Chancellor, set aside £1bn to pay for Britain’s share of the cost; as of late 2007, UK operating costs in Iraq and Afghanistan had already hit £7bn. * By 2017, the interest alone on America’s cost of borrowing to pay for the war will be $1 trillion. * Because the saving rate in the US is zero, the war has been financed by borrowing abroad. “So China is financing America’s war,” says Stiglitz. Joseph Stiglitz was chief economist at the World Bank and won the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics in 2001 If there’s anyone who’s making great deal of money straight from the pockets of the US taxpayers is VP Dick Cheney of the Halliburton fame. The company that Mr Cheney headed as CEO from 1995 to 2000, has received $19.3 billion of contracts in Iraq. Over in the UK, the cost to British taxpayers of Blair’s war on terror has not been itemised yet but it’s easy to predict that it will run to tens of billions of pounds. In 2005, Prof Keith Hartley, a defence economist from University of York estimated that the UK would bear $7.5 billion to meet the costs of Britain’s military involvement in Iraq. In 2006, it was reported that the Iraq war had cost UK over 4 billion pounds so far and last year reports had it that since the invasion, the spiralling cost of the Iraq war to the British taxpayer was set to exceed £1bn. The total cost on the UK defence budget since the invasion exceeds £5.3bn but increases in defence spending have pushed up the cost by 10 per cent in the past four months. In November, the Ministry of Defence said it was expecting the cost of the Iraq military operations this financial year to be £860m – a fall of £98m on the previous year. But the latest spring estimates put the total at £1,002m, £142m more than expected four months earlier. What about the hidden costs? British Government technocrats, topnotch economists, financial experts may say all they want that the UK economic growth stays steady but they’re not fooling this housewife here who believes that the cost of the Iraq war has and will continue to have dire economic effects on the ordinary British taxpaying household.

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Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst weakening US economy | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment    Who are the Iraq war profiteers? (4.00 / 3) by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:38:51 PM EDT [ Reply to This ] Re: Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst wea (4.00 / 3) “So China is financing America’s war,” says Stiglitz. So where is the problem? At the moment interest on US bonds is below US inflation. So the US may in the end with only paying a minor part of the cost of the war, and have the rest exported.Another interesting interview at democracynow.org. This time with  Jeremy Scahill, who has written a book about blackwater. He sometimes seems to be a little bit overcritical, but in general it makes sense, what he says. Look here for the interview or here for his related article in “The Nation”.The interview starts with: “Well, I started looking at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s Iraq plans, and one of the things that I discovered is that both of them intend to keep the Green Zone intact. Both of them intend to keep the current US embassy project, which is slated to be the largest embassy in the history of the world. I mean, I think it’s 500 CIA operatives alone, a thousand personnel. And they’re also going to keep open the Baghdad airport indefinitely. And what that means is that even though the rhetoric of withdrawal is everywhere in the Democratic campaign, we’re talking about a pretty substantial level of US forces and personnel remaining in Iraq indefinitely.” Failure is the first step of success by Martin (weiser.mensch(at)googlemail.com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 02:50:18 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst wea (4.00 / 2) Martin, Let’s face it — NONE of the American presidential candidates will back out of Iraq so soon. I don’t for a second believe what Obama pledged in his victory speech in Texas that when he’s president, he will end the Iraq war within the first year of his taking over.When his advisers get to him, his military chiefs talk to him, the neo-cons stand against him, his rhetoric will folow the same path as that of McCain’s, probably not for 100 years as McCain vows, but he will eventually say, America cannot, will not and mustn’t not pull out of Iraq so soon. Ending the Iraq war? OK, depends on what Obama means… If however by “ending the Iraq war,” Obama is referring to ending America’s/US troops’ participation in warring activities in Iraq, that may well be possible — it will be the fall of South Vietnam re-visited, no more no less, but total US troop withdrawal will not mean that the war in Iraq stops — it will continue. (When that happens, won’t surprise me if America expects the Iraqis to say “Thank you USA!”) by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 03:55:25 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst wea (none / 0) Well, I’m sometimes a bit naive, you know…Failure is the first step of success by Martin (weiser.mensch(at)googlemail.com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 04:00:05 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst wea (none / 0) Heh! So am I… (wink wink)Btw, thanks for the links — very interesting.Don’t know but I reckon, that will be THE BIGGEST, MOST EXPENSIVE embassy the US will ever run — worthy of the US EMPIRE! by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 04:03:28 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Pres Bush insists will sustain Iraq amidst weakening US economy | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets cracking

by The3rdColumn Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 07:18:04 PM EDT Edit My Story… L’armée française prend pied dans le Golfe (French Army sets up base in the Gulf)The French army will set up a military base in the United Arab Emirates according to a report last month by Le Figaro. The agreement was signed between France and the UAE following a visit by President Sarkozy in the Gulf region. Some 500 troops will be deployed in the UAE on a “permanent basis” and will be based in Abu Dhabi, considered the most important hydrocarbon producers in the federation. The base will be located facing the Hormuz Straits, site of collission between the US and Iranian navies. The French will be joining US and British military already based in the area. The stationning of 500 troops or so, in the Straits of Hormuz may be taken as a sign that France wants show the world that she is an international key player in the Gulf, a status that only the US and the UK have enjoyed so far. While an Al Qaeda or Islamist extremist terrorist threat to the more moderate Gulf states is real, France’s agreed military presence could be considered a mere token or for ’show-off’ or deterrence purposes at best. Undoubtedly, the economic angle, i.e., the oil question and more, ta da… nuclear business prospects to say the least, may be the real motivation behind France’s presence in the Hormuz. If so, the logic, i.e., France’s presence in the Straits, then becomes implaccable especially after a cooperation agreement was signed between the two nations for the development of nuclear energy in the UAE, an agreement that could bring billions in dollars to French businesses and high-flying industrialists. President Sarkozy sure looks like he’s giving it all he’s got — his campaign promise to bring out France from its moribund economic state may soon fly (or so he hopes.) Incidentally, the Financial Times reported that France has overtaken the UK in terms of gross national product putting France in 5th place among the world’s super powers. ¤¤¤ Meanwhile, for those who are keen for Europe to stand on its own two feet, at least in matters of defence, you’ll be glad to know that the EDA (European Defence Agency) held a high profile meet today on logistics (well, gotta start somewhere and logistics seem to be a good one to start with) announcing EDA Conference Sees Benefits from Greater Use of Commercial Logistics to Support EU Military Operations. In essence, it was all about what, how, when to and why buy, etc. The meeting was opened by Javier Solana, High Representative and Head of European Defence Agency. (Frankly, it would have been an interesting conference if only every star ranking speaker had stuck to his time allotment. Each speaker was supposed to deliver a 10-minute speech but some military officers got over-excited and went on and on and on and ended up saying nothing.) But to ET’s EU united defence enthusiasts, I say, don’t get all excited now — Europe is still far from achieving a working defence institution for a united EU, what with veritably, only TEN MILLION EUROS allocated for equipment purchase! Believe me, that’s not gonna buy a lot of defence for the EU. No way, Jose!

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Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets cracking | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (4.00 / 2) UAE and Qatar launch military exercises with France 26 February 2008 17:30 The UAE and Qatar have launched a series of military exercises with France in the Gulf. It is the first such action since French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced in January that France would build a 400-strong military base in Abu Dhabi to be operational by next year.France has committed 1,500 troops to the exercise, the UAE a further 1,500, and Qatar 3,000. Saudi Arabia has not committed its forces to the operation but King Abdullah has permitted the use of Saudi airspace and territorial waters. The exercises will focus on repelling missile and naval landings from the east, suggesting the Gulf states wish to rehearse in the event of any Iranian attack. The troops will also practice securing critical oil and gas facilities in the UAE and Qatar.                 The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera) by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 07:13:53 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (4.00 / 5) European Tribune – Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets cracking ….only TEN MILLION EUROS allocated for equipment purchase! Believe me, that’s not gonna buy a lot of defence for the EU. EDA is not a money spending institution: for defence it’s still the national governments who pay the bills. EDA has a managing function, they do oversee billions of Euro’s. But the first steps to ’spend together’ are set: EDA : Background : Background The Agency manages a portfolio of over 40 Research & Technology collaborations. The Defence Ministers acknowledged that they need to “spend more” and spend “more together” on Research and Technology. As a practical first step towards this goal, in November 2006, a ground-breaking Joint R&T Investment Programme has been approved, with the aim to develop new technologies helping to provide better protection for the European armed forces. 20 governments pledged a budget of more than € 55 Mio into it. The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera) by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 08:43:26 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (none / 0) True!That’s why we shouldn’t get all excited about wanting a united defence front for the EU… we have a long way to go, long way! by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 09:39:48 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (4.00 / 3) If I was asked for advice, I would say don’t spend a penny that is not absolutely necessary for military matters.  Its the thing that is bankrupting the US and not just economically.”I said, ‘Wait a minute, Chester, You know I’m a peaceful man…’” Robbie Robertson by NearlyNormal on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:21:24 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Not only the middle East…… (none / 0) News | Africa – Reuters.com CAPE TOWN, Feb 28 (Reuters) – France is to renegotiate all its defence cooperation agreements with African countries, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday in a move that could alter France’s military support for some of its closest allies. France has defence cooperation agreements with several of its former colonies, under which French armed forces provide African states with varying degrees of military assistance. “All the heads of state concerned have been informed,” Sarkozy told a news conference while on an official visit to South Africa. “I will talk about this issue this afternoon in the South African parliament,” Sarkozy said, adding: “I will announce the renegotiation of all our defence agreements in Africa and the totally transparent publication of all of these agreements.” This is a new one: …totally transparent publication… What is Sarkozy up to? The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera) by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 08:11:32 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Not only the middle East…… (none / 1) Hi Elco, With regard to defence cooperations or agreements, nothing unusual — most western countries sign defence cooperation labeled as treaties with many countries in the world.These treaties do not necessarily entail joining war efforts of one or the other treaty signatory nation; terms of defence agreements could include anything from joint military exercises for training purposes, exchange knowledge, info/intel, etc. and don’t usually reflect an ‘aggressive’ nature but more on the defensive.I won’t be surprised to learn that Belgium too has signed cooperations of this nature with a few countries not only in Africa but also in Asia. If it’s true that Pres Sarkozy has promised to make public the defence cooperations France signs with other nations, that’s a good step forward. I believe the French people have a right to know, scrutinize and ask questions, have a say about the treaties that the French govt signs with other nations. by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 09:38:39 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (none / 0) Well, the Richelieu will need a room to play in./new kid on the block“If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.” Sun Tzu by Turambar (sersguenda at hotmail com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:34:18 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (none / 0) Did you know that grown men are still lil boys at heart? by The3rdColumn on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:42:08 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets c (none / 0) Stupid Gordon Brown… If it wasn’t for his stingy-stupidness, that ship would be nuclear-powered. And so would the two British ones.Yes, yes, the CdG had issues with the reactor, but this time they could have done what the EdF did in the 70’s: buy and adapt American reactor technology.Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis. by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 01:01:31 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Defence: France military in Hormuz; EDA gets cracking | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

Is The Times playing double standard journalism?

by The3rdColumn Tue Feb 26th, 2008 at 10:56:44 PM EDT Edit My Story… Mansion ‘mistake’ piles the pressure on Barack ObamaThis news is actually ‘buried’ somewhere in The Times on line news.What surprised me was how this once prestigious British newspaper has been going hammer and tongs at Hillary Clinton while something as ‘newsy’ as, which if you think about it, is something Anglo-American media usually love to dwell on, gets ‘buried’ and that unless you click away like crazy on your keyboard in search of all available news stuff on line you don’t get to read (Sen Obama’s picture lifted from The Times.) The issue I’m raising here is not whether a wrongdoing was committed by Sen Barack Obama when he got involved in a land deal with the wife of his “bagman” Antoine “Tony” Rezko who, by the way, has been linked to Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men who was convicted in France for corruption, but whether The Times, owned by Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American media tycoon, has not in fact been playing footsie with its journalism ‘privileges’ by preferring to downplay a story that might place Mr Obama in a bad light.What I’ve been observing these last few weeks is that The Times has clearly joined the Obama bandwagon. I noticed this started when Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary but chose to downplay the former first lady’s victory in favour of an all out campaign cover for Barack Obama. From then on, The Times has been doing a non-stop Obama rah-rah-rah while being openly critical of every word and move of his rival, Hillary Clinton.I’m frankly suspicious and wonder if Mr Murdoch is not behind all this double standard journalism practice in the hope of becoming a kingmaker. After all, he’s already tried to do it in the UK — he once lent his support to Conservative Party’s Margaret Thatcher but switched to Labour and supported Tony Blair. The Times and The Sunday Times, which used to enjoy considerable influence in Britain, then rallied support for Blair almost throughout the latter’s tenure as UK’s PM. According to Wikipedia, “The closeness of his relationship with Blair and their secret meetings to discuss national policies was to become a political issue in Britain.” Mind you, Murdoch, who became a US citizen in 1985, has been known to be a strong supporter of some Republican Party stalwarts that began in earnest with Pres Ronald Reagan, but it is not far fetched to think that just like what he did in Britain, i.e., switched from Tory to Labour, he might be doing the same in the US. It is said that Mr Murdoch owns 175 newspapers, is known to be politically conservative and has never sought to hide the fact that he’s always been in favour of the US invasion of and war on Iraq. In the absolute, one may say there’s nothing wrong with switching party allegiance, witness the great switch, i.e., Winston Churchill from Liberal to Tory. It’s not unusual for a businessmen, particularly at the level of Murdoch, to switch support either, i.e., from one political party to another — it has happened before and will happen again but what can be worrisome is if Murdoch is tempted to use (an understatement) his media empire to flex his muscles on an untried, un-tested but potentially future tenant of the White House and under some journalism cover, “fix intelligence around” an unsuspecting US president. Of course, the thoughts expressed here are mere speculations that can only be confirmed if and when Fox News, which Mr Murdoch owns, starts playing up to the Illinois senator who’s now fast becoming the Democrat party’s favourite contender for the US presidential election in November.

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Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Is The Times playing double standard journalism? | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment Rare! (none / 0) Following last night’s Ohio debate when Hillary complains that media have been pro-Obama, I found a criticism of Obama in media — but not not even of Barack — by The First Post, an on line news medium: Michelle is Barack’s weak link There is not much love for Michelle Obama. America might have gone gooey for Barack, but there is something about the missus that raises the national hackles. Now that she might be on her way to the White House, which is no mean privilege, she declares that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.” That sounds a lot like an exaggerated sense of entitlement. The 44-year-old lawyer, who grew up in Chicago, married Obama in 1992 and is mother to his two daughters, hastily ‘clarified’. What she really meant to say was that she was proud of America for finally rising above its history of racial divide by backing a black candidate. Maybe. But the remark still stinks in a nation in thrall to a jingoistic sense of patriotism. Just because she is black, does she not feel proud of WWII, men on the moon, truth, justice and the American way? Michelle comes across as a bit prickly. She doesn’t have Barack’s charm or politician’s polish. Early on, she revealed that she made him quit smoking as a condition for being allowed to run for the presidency, and would kick him out of bed in the morning for being ’stinky’. Full story … by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 11:47:09 AM EDT [ Reply to This ] Re: Rare! (none / 1) Sounds like the media are trying the well practiced  scheme that they’ve already used against the wives of both Blair and Clinton. by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 11:54:55 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) Looks like it too!Come to think of it, why do media find it easier to knock the living daylights out of these ladies than out of their husbands? by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:10:11 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) Because generally the women are not in a position to fight back? it’s media Bullying. by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:29:06 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) Ah, the eternal belief that women should be ‘dainty’ and should leave the fighting to men… and if they fight back, they’re no longer ‘ladies’? by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:39:39 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) Reminded me of my ex-boss’ (who served in French cavalry, er tank division) who told big boss that all the unemployment problems in France circa early 90s) would be solved if only women stayed at home and tended to kids, kept house, etc. saying, besides women didn’t have the acumen to do men’s job, etc.Well, I fought it out on the work front, got him fired for serious incompetence and replaced him. by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:44:51 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) Ha, the traditionalism of the French Army.One of France’s potential problems is that the French military is very separated from the French society, especially the officer corps, but the soldiers too with the end of conscription. The French military is quite out there on the far right, for example. In the early ’60’s it was a problem, and we didn’t have national crisis since ; I wonder how the French army would react to such an occasion.The concept that socialisation has to be linked to a business relationships is a great victory for business relationships, not for socialisation… by linca (antoninPOINTlucasAROBASEgmail.com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 04:30:35 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Rare! (none / 0) With a splash of “mess with us and we can attack your family” to their husband by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:46:00 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: Rare! (none / 1) Problem is that most women journalists join the hungry pack when media go on attack mode, and don’t spare their fellow “ladies” — media become complete ‘asexual’ in that sense; you’d think some women journalists would come to the defence of the ladies (Cherie, Hillary or Michelle) but heck no, matter of fact they out-clobber, out-claw, out-rant, etc their male colleagues to become the perfect ‘bullies’. by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:57:33 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Is The Times playing double standard journalism? | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

French bashing in The Times

by The3rdColumn Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 12:34:14 AM EDT Edit My Story… Very active chief Paris correspondent for The Times Charles Bremner’s forté is clearly French bashing! I find that he sometimes goes overboard and have criticised him in the past, even if only obliquely (I do try not to be adversarial — have also complimented him on a few occassions for some of his articles) but he did get quite peeved by one of my comments which he felt had questioned his journalistic ethics — the topic of his rant then was the 21-year old son of President Sarkozy whom he had decided to attack in both his regular column and weblog.Bremner’s weblog and regular column have been the epicenter of Times’ huge French bashing print activities. Wouldn’t be off the mark to say that Bremner has been encouraging, wittingly or unwittingly, his largely Anglo-American commenters (although there are a few French regulars) to heap ridicule, contempt and beastly remarks on the French and France. Although he’s been focused on bashing Sarkozy and Carla Bruni of late (must say they’ve become more than a fair game), any topic that would allow him a ’swipe’ at the French is not lost on him, eg., Is Colonel Gaddafi a Frenchman? ¤ Bremner, whom I believe is a Scot (not too sure anymore but I think he’s written that he’s also part Aussie) but raised and educated partly in Moscow, says his current wife is French so I don’t understand why his rather smart alecky comments vis-a-vis the French and France continue unabated. It’s not as if the French and France are any ‘worse’ than the Scots, the Aussies or the Russians for that matter… I don’t really mind the anti-French comments by his readers — they’re just having fun and that’s fine with me but I do mind when Bremner writes something that incites them to believe as ‘biblical truth’ about France and the French. I haven’t been posting comments in his weblog for some time now but recently, I decided to add my grain of salt (not sure though that Bremner will not moderate) to the usually acidic commentaries in his weblog after reading a non-French reader ask: Didn’t CB once write here that the French don’t like or trust each other?” My “grain of salt” (CB is Charles Bremner): CB’s ‘critiques’ of the French, including the one you said he wrote is part and parcel of his job — if he writes negative things about the French and France, he has to do it — it’s his bread and butter. Besides he works for Murdoch and Murdoch is not enamoured of the French (nor of the Brits for that matter.) You must understand that Brits have an inbred hostility against the French, it’s almost visceral. The French haven’t as much — they are more nuanced and if anything at all, the French have great respect for ‘les Anglais’ when they deserve it (I know this because my family is Anglo-French.) And even if CB is not English, I’m sure he feels that respect in France. Not sure CB returns the compliment.

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YesNoHide French bashing in The Times | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment    Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 0) Well done Third Column.  As you know I used to be a regular on Charles’ Blog but got bored with the endlessly repetitious anti-French comments of some of his fan base.   I also get fed up on his endless focus on any story with a news angle which could be portrayed as presenting the French in a poor light – as at best, idiosyncratic, self-absorbed, bureaucratic, hypocritical and somehow not getting with the dominant Anglo-American program.I have no doubt that this is precisely the sort of stuff his editors and readers (outside France) lap up, but it has led to a tabloidisation of the Times to a degree unthinkable some years ago.  But I think you do Charles’ himself a dis-service.  He does have a much more nuanced understanding of France and a good deal of credibility amongst the French journalistic community – being a regular interviewee on French media outlets where he is asked to present the outsiders perspective on France. You have to admit that Sarkozy et al have given him enormous grist for the mill, and a somewhat mocking portrayal of his “reign” would be fair game in any other European Capital as well.  You don’t have to be anti-French to find that performance increasingly hilarious if not embarrassing. I don’t think Charles Bremner starts out from a position of prejudice against France, but like any astute journalist, he knows where his market is.  There is a huge market in francophobia because France challenges the dominant narrative and many find that disconcerting.  Equally, many French people are hugely self-critical of France, and if Bremner wasn’t the Paris correspondent of the Times, his views would be unremarkable. His experiences in Moscow have left him with an abiding mistrust of an authoritarian state, and if he were stationed (e.g. in the US) I’m sure you would find him equally mistrusting of many of the norms of US political and daily life.   It’s no harm having a press which punctures a few balloons of the unctuous in political life, and Bremner does that as well as anyone.  He also spends a lot of time moderating the comments of his readership which is more than can be said for almost any other Times journalist. So maybe we should cut him some slack.  He can’t be held entirely responsible for the views of all of his regular bloggers – the odd one of which has followed us here! “It’s a mystery to me – the game commences, For the usual fee – plus expenses, Confidential information – it’s in my diary…” by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 05:38:00 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 1) Hi Frank, I know, used to be a regular there too until it all became one cacophonious forum that made no sense. Like you got tired of reading the same tirades. Found that Charles Bremner was bginning to fal into the tabloid news/journalism category, i.e., any old topic could be rehashed so long as it becomes a hot story. While I agree with you that Charles has ” He does have a much more nuanced understanding of France and a good deal of credibility amongst the French journalistic community – being a regular interviewee on French media outlets where he is asked to present the outsiders perspective on France.” — these ‘privileges’ don’t give him the license to incite the mob by continuing to feed them with slanted stories. Simple sense of responsibility. I disagree with you though when you say that “I don’t think Charles Bremner starts out from a position of prejudice against France,”. The Brits DO HAVE an inbred hostility against the French, i.e., prejudice; don’t believe Bremner is free of prejudice — can very well believe he’s toned down having lived in France but free of prejudices? Nope, can’t believe that. Frankly, I’m wont not to give him some slack but on second thought, why not (give him some slack)? After all criticising Bremner is not my bread and butter whereas, like you said, Bremner is as an astute journalist; he needs to write negative stories about France and to continue feeding the frenzied Francophobic mob because he’s got to bring home the bacon. What a way to make a living, eh? by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:25:53 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 1) Ooops, gotta format that right, hang on… Hi Frank,I know, used to be a regular there too until it all became one cacophonious forum that made no sense. Like you got tired of reading the same tirades. Found that Charles Bremner was bginning to fal into the tabloid news/journalism category, i.e., any old topic could be rehashed so long as it becomes a hot story.While I agree with you that Charles has ” He does have a much more nuanced understanding of France and a good deal of credibility amongst the French journalistic community – being a regular interviewee on French media outlets where he is asked to present the outsiders perspective on France.” — these ‘privileges’ don’t give him the license to incite the mob by continuing to feed them with slanted stories. Simple sense of responsibility. I disagree with you though when you say that “I don’t think Charles Bremner starts out from a position of prejudice against France,”. The Brits DO HAVE an inbred hostility against the French, i.e., prejudice; don’t believe Bremner is free of prejudice — can very well believe he’s toned down having lived in France but free of prejudices? Nope, can’t believe that. Frankly, I’m wont not to give him some slack but on second thought, why not (give him some slack)? After all criticising Bremner is not my bread and butter whereas, like you said, Bremner is as an astute journalist; he needs to write negative stories about France and to continue feeding the frenzied Francophobic mob because he’s got to bring home the bacon. What a way to make a living, eh? by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:27:06 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 1) By the way, I think I told you this alread, anyway, as you know am one of the “odd ones” that you managed to direct to ET! Thanks! by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:28:06 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Just jalous (none / 0) by fredouil (fredouil@gmailgmailgmail.com) on Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 06:31:41 AM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] better in picture (none / 0) by fredouil (fredouil@gmailgmailgmail.com) on Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 06:34:22 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: better in picture (none / 0) by fredouil (fredouil@gmailgmailgmail.com) on Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 06:35:26 AM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: better in picture/Jalous (none / 0) Hey, you a member of Attali’s “Jalous” club?Sounds very much like what Jacques Attali, former minister and adviser to Pres François Mitterand, pointed out to critics of France: “You’re all just jealous!” by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:36:21 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 0) European Tribune – French bashing in The Times Didn’t CB once write here that the French don’t like or trust each other?” My “grain of salt” (CB is Charles Bremner): Thank God for that C(ee)B(s) by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:55:49 PM EDT [ Reply to This | none0-Mega Troll1-Troll2-Warning!3-Good4-Excellent ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 0) Ceebs, don’t read anything into it. He’s just jealous! (See Attali’s IHT article.) by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 12:59:36 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] Re: French bashing in The Times (none / 1) Ok, here it is: “You’re all just jealous!” by The3rdColumn on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 at 01:03:14 PM EDT [ Parent | Reply to This ] French bashing in The Times | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden) | Post A Comment   Display: ThreadedMinimalNestedFlatFlat UnthreadedDynamic ThreadedDynamic Minimal Rate? YesNoHide Go to: [ European Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]