Comment du Jour

White Christmas!!

It's a white Christmas in much of the USA and indeed Europe too! Snow and more Snow!

It's my pleasure to offer readers of the Transatlanticecho best wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel!

Comment du Jour

New Book on USA/European Ties



The trans-Atlantic gap between America and Europe widened in the countdown to and in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War. A vitriolic political standoff concerning Iraq brought severe stress to relations between the Bush Administration and many key Western European allies, especially France and Germany, creating a chasm of misperceptions deepened by incessant media hype. Sadly, stereotypes still abound. In an atmosphere where trans-Atlantic ties are viewed not through the prism of policy, but rather through that of emotion - where shrill polemical accounts of the USA vs. Euroland create a self-fulfilling prophecy, this book brings back a needed balance to the debate: are the USA and Europe really at odds?

Trans-Atlantic Divide: The USA/Euroland Rift? presents a historical view woven with context, infused with informed commentary, and presented with clarity. The book outlines a contrarian and realistic view that offers a clear common ground for both sides, as illustrated in booming business, trade, and tourism relations between the USA and the EU. In spite of the unavoidable diplomatic residue following the Iraq war, American relations with Europe remain unquestionably vital for commercial, cultural, and geo-political reasons.


About the Author

John J. Metzler is an analyst of diplomatic, defense, and developmental issues. As a United Nations correspondent covering Security Council and General Assembly affairs, Metzler covered the countdown to and aftermath of the Iraq War and how it impacted European-American relations. He regularly visits Europe for research and interviews, and is a longtime observer of trans-Atlantic relations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Details
Paperback: 260 pages
Publisher: University Press of America (December 16, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0761851380

For orders please go to Amazon.com

For special Professional and Promotional rates, please send a message to me on this blog!!

Comment du Jour

Euroland Freeze

Cold icy winds and blowing snow has battered the British Isles and the Continent for weeks now. And December 21st is the first day of Winter!

Winter conditions have plagued Airports, rail networks, and the roads over much of England, Scotland, parts of France, Belgium, and Germany. Travel delays and frazzled nerves have become the norm. British newspapers report the worst snow and icy conditions in thirty years.

Travel chaos has not only affected airports but has curtailed the Eurostar train, the rail link connecting London with Paris and Brussels.

Naturally in the days before Christmas, the Euroland Freeze has become the story. Happily some people can look forward to great skiing--but getting to the snowbound resorts may pose a problem in itself. For the record I recall near snowless winters in the Austrian Alps at Christmas time in the late 1960's. In recent years natural snow conditions have been better.

Apparently rumors are rife, but unconfirmed, that that Santa's elves are getting swamped with one major holiday request from all over Europe--a bit of global warming!

Comment du Jour

(Contrary to what many may think, the UNHQ has not sprouted massive listening devices. The plate glass windows are being replaced as part of the building's renovation)




WIKI UN

Spying at the UN? I’m shocked! Well, what really surprises me is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton authorized and tasked American diplomats to snoop and spy around the big glass house just over a year ago! We are not talking about the Cold War here when the Russians and American faced off at Turtle Bay, but 2009!


Now under the rubric freedom to know, the Wiki Leaks operations has dumped a treasure trove of State Department documents on current American diplomacy; some of the diplomatic cables confirm the obvious. The USA is deeply concerned about Iran’s nuclear program, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is corrupt, and the Chinese communists have a well coordinated campaign of internet espionage on Western targets.


Equally, assessments of foreign leaders; Libya’s mercurial leader Colonel Ghadaffi likes Ukrainian “nurses,” and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy is oft described as “authoritarian.” Russia’s President Medvedev “plays Robin to Premier Putin as Batman.” Well, Duh. It’s not exactly flattering, but nor is it top secret.


Diplomacy is about advancing national interests through relationships. Those ties and trust are nurtured, cultivated and coddled through discreet discussions, incentives, and shared national goals and objectives. Diplomacy is an art, often misused, but nonetheless remains the way of achieving mutual interests.



While the White House has slammed Wiki Leaks as “reckless” in releasing classified material, press spokesman Robert Gibbs going so far as to say “the cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders.”


Profoundly embarrassed, the Obama Administration has shifted into major damage control mode.


Recall that many people gleefully supported the release of the Pentagon Papers. Back in 1971, the illegal release of the intelligence trove during the height of combat operations in Vietnam cost American lives and seriously setback American objectives in South Vietnam. We know what happened. In another case, a CIA renegade agent published all sorts of secrets dealing with U.S. covert operations overseas. Agents died.

This leads to a few observations. First, most of the leaks are Not a surprise but an embarrassment. If I were to say the same thing, I would be called an oracle of the obvious, using a bit foresight and perception to predict political challenges and the players on the world stage. The point is my opinion (correct as it usually is, LOL), ends there. It is the informed commentary of an individual, not a government, nor something which will seriously affect any political situation.


Here's the difference. While again many of the State Department cables reflect the obvious which a well-informed layman could also deduce, the fact remains this is going to have a political knock on effect in American relationships globally. Who will wish to speak with U.S. diplomats in confidence? Who will work covertly with the USA in necessary anti-terrorist operations?


I'm impressed that the Saudi King urged the U.S. to topple Iran’s regime. And while Hillary calls for American diplomats at the UN to gain the political pulse of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his senior staff (standard practice by the way) WHY are they instructed by the Secretary of State’s personal Memo to go after frequent Flyer Programs, credit card info, and other individual “biometrics” ?


Given that Ban Ki-moon seems perpetually away from the UN, one could assume he’s the global Frequent Flyer king. But is it the State-sanctioned task of the U.S. Foreign Service to check up on who are Frequent Flyers among the UN staff? Just imagine if George W. Bush did that.

Which brings me to the second point. WIKI leaks are really not about freedom to know or really need to know information. Fully 99.9 percent of people (including news junkies like me) do not need to know specific names, routing procedures and operational plans of contemporary American diplomacy. The damage is done when sensitive data becomes public information so that everybody, especially America’s enemies, know the methodology, procedure, and contingencies among U.S. embassies in crucial places.

We are not talking about history here and revisiting the spying in Berlin or Budapest in the 1950’s, nor are we assessing the brand of cigar smoked by Iraq’s Tariq Aziz, or for that matter why European Socialists did not like Ronald Reagan.


This is mostly about now and I feel mostly driven by the same smirky, left-wing spook-bloggers who enjoy a techno-joke at the expense of individuals and national security. Equally the WIKI Leaks operation could be a false flag, masking a wider net.


After all, is it believable that a low-level Army cipher clerk, outranked by a Corporal, could have access to a trove of sensitive internal cables, and intelligence documents?


One recalls the Roman Proverb—Who Profits? Think about it.

Comment du Jour

Snow Daze--Big Freeze Hits Europe

A blast of Winter weather has lashed the British Isles. Weeks of cold weather and the heaviest snowfall in the past twenty years has blasted Britain, blocking roads, delaying traffic and closing airports. While the United Kingdom is not used to the wintery conditions which started in late November, the Continent has fared no better.

Snow has covered large parts of France, Germany, and Austria. Switzerland, which is used to snow but accomplished at handling it, nonetheless had to close Geneva airport. In other places such as Poland the mercury fell to dangerously low levels.

And with a few weeks to go before Winter season even officially begins, some Europeans may have toyed with the idea that they wish they had a bit of global warming. Looking at a satellite photo of the white-out and frozen map of the British Isles, it's not too surprising why.

And for Europeans fleeing to Florida for warmer climes; well there's a cold snap in the Sunshine state too, but without the snow. Much of th USA is equally getting a dose of Winter weather--weeks before Winter.

Comment du Jour

Portugal--Bailout Blues?


Portugal's mood can often be characterized by the Fado music, the soulful and meloncholy songs about Love, Fate and Fortune. Over the past year as Euroland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, Fado comes to mind as Portugal's good name unfortunately surfaces in the list of debtors.

But Portugal is not Greece nor Ireland. Lisbon's debt numbers are much better as the budget deficit is projected to fall from 9% of GDP in 2009 to 4.6% n 2011. And GDP growth is expected to rise by over 1% this year, anemic but again better than many. Greece saw a nearly 16% budget defict in 2009 and will better itself with about 9% this year if things go as planned (they rarely do).


But now that the bankers have bailed out Ireland to the tune of $90 billion, all attention turns to the next European countries whose finances are teetering. The list is depressingly solid--Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Portugal's profligate spending under the Socialists is indeed part of the problem, as is a bloated public sector. Here's a country where civil servants get a 14 month salary--in other words a one month cash bonus at Christmas and another in Summer.

Given they are broke, the Lisbon government should show good faith and trim such benefits so that wider layoffs can be avoided.

Portugal should not be on the Naughty List along with Greece and Ireland, but at the same time should be extra nice to avoid the wrath of the Eurocrats.

In the meantime the Financial Fado can be written how little Portugal edged to the brink, lost the love of Europeans, but heroically saved itself!

Comment du Jour

Trans-Atlantic Prosperity

As would be expected, countries on both sides of the Atlantic lead the list in global prosperity, social indicators, and overall well-being. Norway placed first out of 169 comparators, while the USA was # 4, Ireland #5, Lichtenstein #6, Netherlands #7 , Canada #8, Sweden #9, and Germany #10.

In the UN Development Programme’s recently released “Human Development Report 2010—the Real Wealth of Nations,” a global barometer not only of economic but equally also educational achievements, health standards, and perceptions of well-being, cited socio/economic gains both across the Atlantic and Pacific, with the impressive standings of Australia and New Zealand as number 3 and 4.

Switzerland came in 13th , France 14th , Italy 23rd. But look carefully and see that the United Kingdom scores 26th globally, just two places ahead of the Czech Republic at 28th or Slovenia at 29th .

Other former East Bloc states such as Slovakia scored 31st, Hungary 36th and Poland 41st.

One point worth noting in spite of the domestic debate in the U.S. over health care, the fact remains that per capita spending in the USA stands at $7,285; that contrasts with $3,900 in Canada , $3,323 in Sweden and $3,700 in France. Even the closest rival Norway comes in at $4,763.

Comment du Jour

Reunited Berlin--Happy 21st Birthday!

It's the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the birth of a new a re-united Berlin. In 1989 the Wall crumbled before the freedom wave which was sweeping Middle Europe.

Just last year, in a stirring and heartfelt tribute to the United States and its people, German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington DC and outlined the post-war relationship between the United States and a politically free, and now united, Germany. Speaking to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, Chancellor Merkel underscored the close political partnership between Germany and the USA..


Angela Merkel, who herself grew up in former communist East Germany, offered unequivocal praise for the role American administrations played in the long fight to bring democracy and freedom not only to divided Germany but to Eastern Europe as a whole.

Comment du Jour

America Roars Back...



The Democrat Party took a drubbing at the hands of a pretty upset and politically energized electorate.

Anxiety over the economy and the unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent was a primary cause of the Congressional defeat for the party in power. But the election was more than just economic angst--it was a Referendum on the Preisdency of Barack Obama and the structures of Big Government.

In the Mid-Term Report Card, the Administration was handed a historic defeat with loss of the House of Representatives and a reduced majority in the Senate.

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the young American Republic in the 1830’s the visiting Frenchman was enchanted not only by the pursuit of freedoms but by the individuality and spirit of the American people. In his magnificent narrative “Democracy in America,” de Tocqueville’s message was that America was great for many reasons, but first and foremost its freedom and the individual pursuit of wealth and happiness.

De Tocqueville coming from a France which was and remains a very Statist country, no matter the government of left, right had discovered the American Republic as a refreshing alternative to chaotic barbarism of the French Revolution or the theatrical militarism of Napoleon. America presented an alternative offering individual opportunity.


Fast forward to 2010. What used to be called “American Exceptionalism” by scholar Seymour Martin Lipset, has evolved into what I deem, American Dependency. I do not mean our economic dependency on Middle East oil. Instead I refer to an entire dependency culture which has emerged across all classes, creeds and colors which looks to Washington “programs” as a panacea to every problem and donor to every need. The Middle-class has been especially seduced by the handouts.


Much as the French are wedded to their entitlements and can recite their benefits as secular scripture, so too an increasing number of Americans (especially the Yammercrats of the Left) who see the State as the solution, the benefactor, and the arbiter for all matters of commerce and culture.

And that bring us back to the Mid-term vote.

Naturally with government funding on every level comes the natural consequence of higher taxes, but well beyond this emerges the control. What properly defined America as a Federal Republic and land of checks and balances, has increasingly become a unitary state dispensing checks but also dispensing with the traditional balance and dialogue between Washington and the fifty states.

Now there's an increasingly vocal majority of Americans who do not accept this path.

Comment du jour

More pictures of the Parisian Manifs...

















The French Communist Party (PCF) is naturally a player in the protests.

















Here a demonstrator with a Sarko mask marches in the 5th disrict.

Comment du Jour

French Lessons







The French are used to a pleasant lifestyle, cushioned by beaucoup benefits, and why not? But this lifestyle comes at a high economic price and is now challenged by the rising cost of the entitlements and naturally whose going to be taxed pay for them?

So when the center-right government of Nicolas Sarkozy dared to do the necessary;
namely raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, the Citizens took to the barricades or at least to marching on the boulevards of Paris and other French cities in protest. General strikes have gripped France over retirement.

Just imagine having to work an extra two years? Inhuman! Millions have taken to the streets in Manifestations, Manifs, to protest the harshness of enduring the 35 hour work week an additional two years. .

Entitlements form part of a near sacred pact between the people and the French State. Woe to any government who tries to tinker with or even timidly change any of these benefits. Chirac tried years ago and backed off. Now facing massive government deficits and the millstone of entitlement spending, Sarkozy has tried to tackle the unsustainable elements of the social-welfare state.

The Manifs, while huge, mostly have been in good nature; with the exception of some provoked violence in suburbs and Lyon. Public sector unions have been joined by oil refinery workers to literally try to shut down France. To a degree they have succeeded.

Schoolchildren some as young as 12 years old are marching on the streets frightfully worried about at what age they will have to retire!! Get real, it’s called a day off from school, nice Autumn weather, and the chance to relive the days 1968 (sic).

While most of the marchers are decent people who have been frightened by the impending budget cuts, many are manipulated by the Socialist Party and a blizzard of hard-left organizations. The foreign media is deliberately blind to the predominance of the CGT unions as a leading force behind many of the protests. CGT was the traditional communist union confederation until the 1990’s. The CGT is well organized, hyper-motivated, and focused at stopping Sarkozy’s reforms.

It’s simplistic to assume these protests and problems are something “over there” and a symptom of Gallic grouchiness. Indeed there are many French lessons for America to learn as well

Comment du Jour

Germany, Portugal Win Security Council Seats




United Nations—In a surprising if not totally unexpected development, both Germany and Portugal won two-year stints on the UN Security Council. In the General Assembly’s annual election for the five non-permanent positions on the Council, three countries were vying for two seats—Canada, Germany, and Portugal.

Given its long standing reputation as a “global good guy” for foreign aid and multilateral development, Canada was a clear favorite for one slot, despite some yammering on the sidelines about Ottawa cutting some assistance and being too close to Washington.

Equally Germany one of the world’s largest humanitarian donors and third largest contributor to the UN budget seemed to have an inside track. Add the consistent and focused lobbying by the German Mission to the UN to explain Berlin’s position, and it appeared that the two winners would be Canada and Germany.

Portugal, a small Iberian country with a shaky socialist economy and far less political clout to being to the table looked to be a loser. Yet again many UN delegations are more “comfortable” with little Portugal. But despair not. Manuel Barosso, current EU chief and former Portuguese Prime Minister, was going to play hardball and not let Lisbon’s chance fall by the wayside. Portugal last did a two year stint on the Council in the late 1990’s.

Then came the ballot. The full 192 member General Assembly was voting and a candidate needed two-thirds support to win. Germany won in the first ballot—not surprising. Then the game got interesting. The second vote saw Portugal and Canada face-off—and Canada then graciously step aside to allow Portugal to win the seat which she did with 150 votes.

So the winners are Germany and Portugal for Europe, replacing Austria and Turkey. Other regional seats were unopposed with South Africa running and winning the African seat (see what a successful World Cup can do?), Colombia getting South America, and India the Asian seat.

Here’s what few have noticed. Come 2011 the fifteen member Security Council will reflect the BRIC combinations so many economists are enchanted with. Namely Brazil, Russia, India and China are now among the members, along with other permanent players such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Comment du Jour

Some Common Sense at UN Debate....




United Nations—In the midst of a fractious and sometimes near farcical General Assembly debate, there a have been surprisingly candid and common sense comments from the marble rostrum of the United Nations. Though the perennial political, economic, security and humanitarian themes have characterized discussions, all seemingly packaged in a predictable and set-piece presentation, some speakers added new and interesting angles to the discussions.

As in the past, Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus brought a wealth of common sense to the Assembly. Addressing the global economic crisis, Klaus left the near universal script by stating, that many countries wrongly assume that the current crisis “was a failure of markets and that the right way out of it is more regulation of markets. This is a mistaken assumption.”

Klaus a respected economist by training advised, “It is not possible to prevent any future crisis by implementing substantial , market damaging macroeconomic and regulatory government interventions as is the case now. It is only possible to destroy markets and together with them the chances for economic growth and prosperity in both developed and developing countries.”

He stated with conviction, “The solution doesn’t lie in more bureaucracy, either in creating new governmental and supranational agencies, or in aiming at global governance of the world economy.” His remarks hold as much resonance and reason in the UN as they have for the USA where an overbearing federal government in Washington has its fingers in every enterprise and its hands on the scales of commerce.

Opposing some calls for economic protectionism, Klaus stressed, “Developing countries should not be prevented from economic growth. They need access to foreign markets and they need free trade.” Certainly the poorer countries can prosper by global growth as a rising tide lifts all boats.

He also warned that the UN itself “should not haven an all-encompassing agenda. It should not turn away from political topics and towards ‘scientific’ ones. The UN is not here to determine what science is but to engage its member states in a rational, reasoned debate about political issues.” In a clear slap at the “global warming” crowd which has now evolved into the “climate change” lobby, President Klaus stated clearly, “the most harmful political debate we have been witnessing in the last couple of years is about climate and global warming.”

In comments which surprised many onlookers President Klaus asserted, “The UN’s role is not to push for global governance and to play the central role in it. The UN exists primarily to enhance friendly relations among its members and to look for solutions to problems which can’t be confined to national boundaries.”

Comment du Jour

20th Anniversary of German Unity

1990-2010


On October 3rd, 1990, Germany was re-unified in peace and freedom.

The long shadow of the divide, symbolized by the Berlin Wall, but frozen in the Cold War between West and East, suddenly disappeared. The government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl quite unexpectedly would play political midwife to unity between the communist "German Democratic Republic" in the East and the free Federal Republic in the West.

Of the international players, the United States played perhaps the key role in the transition from a divided Germany into a re-united one. "I'm deeply convinced that there was a very limited window of opportunity," German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said recently in Washington,"And I must give credit to President George H.W. Bush because he was the first international leader who saw that this was a unique opportunity. (...) When we had to overcome serious obstacles, it was the US which came to our aid."

Let's face it. The Soviets who occupied the GDR and served as its political protector, did not wish to see a United Germany, period. The United Kingdom was decidedly nervous. So was France to a lesser degree. Each of these countries, including the USA were among the post WWII occupation powers.

But he fall of the Berlin Wall the year before, he collapse of communism in the GDR and most of Middle Europe (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary) opened the floodgates of freedom. Germany would have it too.

But's let's not forget that just a few years earlier when President Ronald Reagan spoke in Berlin and called on the Soviet leader "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this Wall," most people laughed across the political classes in Europe. But Reagan was right and a few years later he was proven so.


In November 1989 when the Joshua Trumpet sounded and the Wall in Berlin came tumbling down, German Unification came a step closer. The aspiration, some would say the impossible dream, of German Unity in peace and freedom became a reality.

Thank You Ronald Reagan and Helmut Kohl!

Comment du Jour

Georgia on My Mind...

United Nations—Two years after an invasion, the threat of annihilation and partial occupation by neighboring Russia, the small but spunky Georgian Republic has not only survived but thrived and succeeded against all odds. That was the upbeat assessment of Georgia’s once-embattled President Mikheil Saakashvili in an impressive and stirring address before the UN General Assembly.

“Today, Georgia is back,” Saakashvili extolled in the sonorous Assembly hall; “Georgia is back, first as a laboratory for political reform and social transformation. More than ever we are committed to the promise at the heart of the Rose Revolution, to turn a failed state into a modern European one.”

The 2008 Summer War between Russia and Georgia thrust the small land into world headlines. International support both by the Bush Administration to safeguard Georgia’s fragile sovereignty and from French President Nicolas Sarkozy who brokered a ceasefire before the situation totally spun out of the control, were equally crucial in the nervous days of August.


“A New Iron Curtain” illegally divides our country,” he conceded, before imploring to assembled delegates, “It is noticeable that despite enormous pressure and multiple threats from Moscow, not a single former soviet republic has recognized this dismemberment of Georgia. it shows that the former captive nations of the Soviet times became strong independent states that can determine their own policies.”


Strategically situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia and historically shadowed by competing power interests, (Russia, Turkey, Iran) and courted by the USA, Georgia wishes to firmly anchor its social and political future to the West. In its bid to become an active player in Europe and join NATO in the future, Georgia has dispatched almost 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to serve in the multinational mission. This ancient Christian nation, with the St. George Cross on its national flag, aspires to join the European Union and NATO.

Georgia’s president called on the international community to stay committed and secure peace not only in Georgia but the entire unstable Caucasian region. But most importantly, President Mikheil Saakashvili implored, “I personally want Russia as a partner and not as an enemy.” This aspiration may remain his biggest challenge.

Comment du Jour

Iran Leader Breaks Bizarre "Sound Barrier" in UN Speech

United Nations--

In a bizarre and rambling rant before the sonorous UN General Assembly afternoon session, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad broke the political sound barrier by raising a number of crackpot conspiracy theories concerning the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

In what can only be described as a new level of political pornography from the Iranian leader, Ahmadinejad suggested the theory “that some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order to save the Zionist regime.” He added “The majority of the American people as well as other nations and politicians agree with this view.”

Speaking before a hall that was perhaps only two-thirds full at the onset, Ahmadinejad’s comments then triggered an immediate walkout by over thirty delegations from the Assembly hall; the USA, Britain, Canada, most Europeans, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Costa Rica. Delegations from Venezuela and Angola, in clear view of your correspondent, stayed put.

In a speech mixing religiosity, radicalism and rant, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran equally predicted variously the “demise of capitalism,” described nuclear energy as a “cheap and heavenly gift,” and extolled “Nuclear energy for all, Nuclear weapons for none.” He stressed Iran remains ready for a dialogue on nuclear issues.

Ahmadinejad’s speech of 35 minutes was followed by tepid and restrained applause.

Comment du Jour

Former Swiss President to Lead New UN General Assembly

Amid the arrival of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings, the UN General Assembly has opened in New York. The 65th annual session of the UN’s main membership body will debate issues ranging from battling global poverty to promoting human rights and international security. Yet the setting will be shadowed by the usual controversy as leaders from Bolivia, Iran, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are set to speak to the proceedings with the usual political pyrotechnics against America and the West.

Significantly the Presidency of the year-long session has gone to Joseph Deiss, a distinguished diplomat and former Swiss President and Foreign Minister who brings a level of gravitas to the chamber in contrast with last year’s Assembly president from Libya. Not to be confused with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, Dr. Deiss will oversee proceedings in the 192 member assembly.

Comment du Jour

Spain's Sporting Triumphs

It's the Year of Spain in sports. Rafael Nadal has won the U.S. Open tennis championship in New York. The 24 year old Spaniard had earier won at Wimbledon in Britain as well as the French Open, thus completing a career Grand Slam.

Spain equally won the World Cup of Football in July. In a taught and tense final match in Johannesburg, the Spainish Team faced off and beat the Netherlands. Surprisingly this was the first time Spain was victorious in gaining the coveted FIFA World Cup.

Also in July a Spaniard Alberto Contador triumphed in the demanding Tour de France cycle race yet again.

It's been a splendid year for Spanish sportsmen!

Comment du Jour

September 11


"The Grim Reaper visited New York on a picture perfect September morning. On 11 September 2001, with chilling and calculated coordination and brutal focused force, the hydra-headed monster of international terrorism methodically attacked sites in New York and Washington D.C. America came under attack." JJM Column




REMEMBER

Comment du Jour

Come September--Strikes in France

France has returned from Summer vacances, and now it is back to work.
But before anyone gets too serious, let's have a national strike.

A million people turned out to protest the Sarkozy government's plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to quelle horreur 62. The reasons are simple. The state is broke, generous social benefits simply cannot be sustained, and the spending has to be curtailed.

So rail and metro services faced dispuptions, throngs of strikers clogged the streets of Paris, and the embattled gvernment faced a new crisis. With French unemployment at 9.6 percent, budget deficits rising, and the unions playing their usual political games, the country faces national malaise.

France's lesson is America's warning. Beaucoup benefits mean massive government spending, taxes and debt. With the USA unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, the same as France, and debt levels actually higher, we are in no position to lecture France. But perhaps we can learn from them.

Comment du Jour

VERMONT SUMMER!!!


Relax, It's August in the Green Mountains!

Comment du Jour

The Foods of France....

Or should I equally say, the fabulous vegtables,meats, poulets, produce and fish which make these culinary creations possible!!

Comment du Jour



Eiffel Tower Still Shines as Parisian Beacon

Constructed for the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, the now iconic Eiffel Tower
stands as a symbol of France.




The Tower remains a key tourist attraction in the City of Light. This year an expected seven million tourists will visit the 1,000 ft iron and steel structure. This comes out to about 35,000 visitors daily. For those wishing to ascend the tower by the elevator, online reservations are recommended.






Contrary to current times, the tower was originally quite controversial and seen as marring the majestic Parisian architectural landscape. The builder Gustave Eiffel was already known worldwide as an engineer and bridge builder, though the famous Tower naturally remians his masterpiece.

Personally I enjoy seeing the Tower at night where it literally serves as both a beacon and a luminary spectacle. Just before the top of each hour, the tower bursts into near animation and is lit by what can best be described as a galaxy of twinkling white lights!

As impressive is a constantly turning double navigation beacon atop the tower which arcs across the Parisian landscape every thirty seconds. This light cuts through the clouds, fog or even mist to show the Tour Eiffel watching over Paris by night.




By the way an interesting book about the Tower, the role it played in the Universal Exposition of 1889 and thereafter is found in an engaging account, "Eiffel's Tower," by Jill Jonnes. The book deals with both the controversary as well as the characters which came together in France for the Expo--Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Annie Oakley, and Thomas Edison. The volume was published by Viking in 2009.

Comment du Jour

Shopping...Americans are not the Big Spenders!


For the past month stores and boutiques across France have been having their Summer Sales. From les Grands Magazins to boutiques, there are some amazing deals I have been told. Economically this is a shot in the arm for the French economy.

Pictured above we see the Temples of Shopping--Printemps in Paris and Galleries Lafayette's grande dome.

Americans are swarming all over Paris, but we have the habit of looking and not buying. A still strong Euro and the realization that many of the products still cost less stateside, makes us hesitate. We are no longer the big spenders.

Not so for the Japanese and the Russians. Mainland Chinese visitors are among the new power shoppers in Paris. Over the years, many shops had and still retain Japanese sales assistants to help people select their items. Now many establishments cater to the Chinese--many bouiques and airport Duty Free shops have Mandarin Chinese speaking sales assistants.

And needless to say Arabs, awash in petrodollars, can't wait to spend their moolah on anything expensive.

Comment du Jour

The Curious Case of the Place Colette

Just having arrived at a fashionable café on the Place Colette (next to the Comedie Francaise) we were seated next to a well-dressed American couple. They seemed agitated—not over the service, but the fact that Madame’s purse had just been snatched right under her nose. The garcons de café had noticed a dubious duo, one of whom offered to take the couple’s picture, while viola, the other, you guessed it, blithely snatched the woman’s handbag.

Stereotypical Paris in the Summer. Beaucoup d’Americans and beaucoup de bad guys looking for fast moolah. The waiters were sympathetic and the Café owner, ( I shall be discreet and not mention names), was shattered and allowed the couple a gratis meal. Then they told the distraught couple where the nearby police station was, and I presumed, with a shrug of the shoulders, they were passing the buck. End of story. Round up the usual suspects.

We ordered, enjoyed, and by the time we were finishing an amazing salad, I noticed some plainclothes police types hovering about the establishment and taking notes. The Perps, as they say in the Big Apple, were from southern climes, and I expected just a perfunctory shuffle of paperwork to close the case. Les tourists should know better, non?

But as we ordered desert, the patron de café proudly told us that the police had just caught the culprits a few streets away. The Police had retrieved the handbag and its contents.

In less than an hour, the police cracked the Case of the Place Colette! Bravo Paris PD!

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14 July in Paris--more Parade Pictures!



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14 July Parade in Paris...More Pictures!

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Bastille Day in Paris!!

And it rained, and poured on the Parade


For sheer grandeur, setting and style, there are few military parades in the world which can even remotely compete with Bastille Day in Paris. The French military, and police and even the Paris Fire Department goes all out in a show of spectacular splendor down the Avenue Champs Elysses.

After paying homage at the Tomb of the Unknown at the Arch of Triumph, President Nicolas Sarkozy travelled down the broad avenue flanked by over 100 of the Republican Guard Horse Cavalry. Pagentry is an art form here.

While Mars may have been smiling at the French display of military elan, the meteorological signs were far from favorable. Just as the parade stepped off at 10:35 with the opening flypast the rain started. This did not deter screeching low level flights down the avenue by Mirage jets or even lumbering transports, but dampened the ranks of marchers from the Army, Navy and Foreign Legion.



For nearly 90 minutes France displayed its military pride to rain, then monsoon, and back to rain. The troops were not deterred and the civilians among us were still proud to have seen it.

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Spain Wins World Cup 1-0

Men of Orange Put up Dogged Fight in Final Match in South Africa

Spain defeated Holland to win the World Cup of football. In a taught and tense Final Match in Johannesburg, marred by rough and tumble play, the Spanish Team scored a goal in overtime to win the game.

Here's some non sports musings of mine on the game and the winners...

*Both finalists are European constitutional Monarchies

*This is a First Time World Cup for Spain as it would have been for Holland

*The Men of Orange proudly sang the Netherlands Royal Anthem--Spains players stood mute during the playing of the Royal March.

*The Spanish Coach looks like the late leader General Francisco Franco

*The Dutch were amongst the first Europeans to settle in South Africa in 1653

*American TV sports coverage is far better than the French TF1

*South Africa the host country was the real winner of the global tournement.

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Bonjour from France!!

Here in beautiful Paris for a bit of R&R.

Alas, Europe in the Summer is crowded and warm BUT still has that special charm and fine food and wine.

Just a bit of history here--the Paris City Hall--Hotel de Ville is decked out with French and American flags and a huge photo of General Charles de Gaulle, the man who embodied spirit and salvation of wartime France and later became the President. France is commemorating the 70th anniversary of de Gaulle's famous Appeal of 18 June 1940, the broadcast via the BBC in London which urged a defeated and stunned France to resist the Nazi occupation.

The 18th June 1940 was actually the date most French became aware of a man who would lead Free France during the war and later serve as President until 1969.

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Happy 4th July!!

Good News From Philadelphia.

What follows is part of an amazing story which has been making global headlines since July 1776!


"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

From the American Declaration of Independence

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Fourth of July Weekend!!

SS United States May Be Saved!


There's good news from Philadelphia! The SS United States Conservancy has announced that America's endangered oceanliner SS United States may be saved!

At a waterfront event at South Philly's Pier 82 where the ship is berthed, the Conservancy announced a major donation by H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest to refit America’s national flagship. A formal comment follows...

"In a major development in the effort to save the legendary American ocean liner SS United States from destruction, the SS United States Conservancy announces a donation by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest of up to $5.8 million. The funds will be used to purchase the vessel from its current owner, Norwegian Cruise Line/Genting Hong Kong (Norwegian/Genting), and maintain the ship in its current berth for up to 20 months, while redevelopment and refurbishment plans are solidified.

“We are thrilled that the SS United States has received a new lease on life. This is a game-changer in our work to save this irreplaceable American icon,” said Conservancy Board President Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the vessel’s designer, William Francis Gibbs. “Mr. Lenfest’s vision and generosity give us a fighting chance to preserve the SS United States for generations to come."

This game-changing event was was covered in an excellent Wall Street Journal article on July 1st among other places.

Please check out the group's website www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org

Also my blog has pictures of the ship from early June postings and an article from April.

Gulf oil slick has White House surrounded

Why Not Accept European Offers for Help and Expertise????

Barack Obama appears adrift without a paddle in the oily Gulf of Mexico waters. And while British Petroleum (BP) clearly plays the typecast role of the villain in this ongoing off-shore oil disaster, the Obama Administration looks more and more like the Keystone Kops. Indeed there’s plenty of blame to go around for both BP and Barack Obama.

Three issues confront the Gulf Coast more than 70 days after the accident.

First, the actual gushing “leak” pumping over a million gallons of petroleum into Gulf of Mexico waters has not been sufficiently abated or stopped. All the scientific technology to stop the massive petroleum hemorrhage has not worked so far. The oil keeps gushing at a rate of 60,000 barrels a day. This remains the primary problem.

Second is the widening oil slick continues to spread killing marine life, birds, fouling Louisiana’s rich fishing waters, and will soon to hit the beautiful beaches in Mississippi and Florida. The major waves of pollution slosh onshore in southern beaches and will be felt for decades. But let’s face it, the biggest hit will come this year and next as pollution shuts down the American fishing fleet, spoils tourist beaches, and causes a long term ecological and economic damage. BP has pledged at least $20 billion for a long-term clean-up effort. This may hardly be enough given the toxic political atmosphere and the Administration’s bitter blame BP game.

Third is the muddled response of the government itself. President Obama was slow to engage in a serious counter-attack on the crisis, but was quick at the draw threatening BP with massive legal action and plans about who was going to pay for the pollution. Initial leadership was lacking. Then seeing his political poll numbers fall, the president executed a rapid about face and started visiting the Gulf communities especially in hard hit Louisiana with shuttle diplomacy damage control.

Britain’s Economist magazine advised, “Although responsibility for the accident plainly lies with BP, a slick of recrimination now laps around the White House too.”

The massive government run and BP financed cleanup effort looks good on paper, but even the otherwise Obama-friendly New York Times called the ongoing oil cleanup a “fiasco” and there was “total chaos” in the efforts.

So when in doubt, appoint a Czar. Addressing the nation from Washington, President Obama presented a case, a speech which should have been in mid-May at the latest, outlining how to hopefully solve the problem and save the Gulf region from wider environmental damage. Obama’s case was pedantic, almost petulant, and lacking the emotional passion which Gulf Coast America needs to hear. This was a corporate pitch, lacking the genuine gravitas of a Presidential Address, yet ticking off talking points. But the ongoing oil spill remains the big story, not government spin cycle about it.

Now that there’s an Oil Slick Czar, to coordinate more bureaucracy, regulation and recrimination, we should nonetheless ask some questions.

Following the initial explosion and oil gusher into the Gulf, at least a dozen countries with oil cleanup and containment technology offered assistance among them Canada, the Dutch, and Norway. The Administration rebuffed the calls. Is Obama above taking needed advice from experts to stop a growing environmental disaster?

Let’s face it, maritime and eco-focused nations like the Netherlands and Norway have precisely the technology and expertise to at least try to tackle this problem. Moreover firms in the state of Maine have the oil boom technology available in quantity to at least contain the spill and slick from reaching the beaches. This would not shut the gusher but would contain and control the spreading mess.

While the oil spill was clearly not Obama’s fault, the mismanaged cleanup efforts certainly are. Contrary to the massive and violent natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this crisis was man made, but has expanded and spread from one small point, not a huge weather front spreading over hundreds of miles.

It’s time to stop the droning political blame game and bottle up the leak. Millions of gallons have spilled so far and the crisis is far from over. The Gulf Coast residents nervously wait for results, not rhetoric.


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John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for WorldTribune.com.
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Hop, Hop Holland--and other Europeans too advance in World Cup Quarter Finals
(at least for now)

The Orangemen of Holland swept the field and won over Slovakia 2-1 in the latest World Cup match in South Africa. The Dutch are doing well in a land at least in part founded by their forefathers in 1652.

Germany has also moved into the quarterfinals defeating England 4-1 in a game dogged by controversary over a disputed goal by the Brits and called as null by a Referee. Same thing happened to Team USA against Slovenia by the way, except the result was 2-2 and the void goal cost America a win.

TEAM USA who got quite far in the World Cup, finally fell before Ghana in a 2-1 game. USA nonetheless proved we are serious players, not noivices, and going to be back. The French are singing Les Blues, Italy is out, as is Slovena and Slovakia.

The big boys from Latin America are circling--Brazil and Argentina.

The games are really getting down to the wire...Spain versus Portugal!!

This is getting really good.

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Happy Summer--and Viva Portugal!


Happy first day of Summer!

Yet in South Africa where the World Cup is being played it is actually the first day of Winter. You could almost say "Christmas came early" for Portugal with its stunning 7-0 victory over North Korea.

Not letting Capetown's cold rain dampen spirits, Portugal played North Korea in a tough but well--paced game. Some recalled the 1966 matchup between both countries in the World Cup.

The near historic score in a World Cup game puts Portugal in serious contention and seals the fate of the North Koreans. One ponders that after this humilitating rout in Capetown if the North Koreans will dare return to Pyongyang and the wrath of the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il? This could be very interesting beyond sports scores.

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Velkom to Football, ah, Soccer!

South Africa is hosting the World Cup of Football, the month-long extravaganza of the beautiful game; the country will be the backdrop to amazing sporting events until early July.

Team USA has done surprisingly well—a 1-1 tie with England, and a 2-2 draw with Slovenia. In the Slovenia game a third American Goal was disqualified by a referee and thus the USA did not win. Well, that is what the Referees decreed anyway.

The USA is performing remarkably; I always say Americans learn soccer and play it well. The Europeans—and of course Brazil and Argentina—have Soccer in their DNA and thus the beautiful game comes naturally.

Germany was off to an amazing start with a 4-0 win over Australia but Germany’s second game saw a very jarring loss to Serbia 1-0.

European teams are doing well with the Netherlands winning two games, Portugal winning one but Italy having a surprising draw with New Zealand.

The real surprises seem to be the poor performance of England (a favorite for some) and France. Les Bleus are just not up to the game after a spate of scandals and poor performances both on a draw with Uruguay and a loss to Mexico and off the pitch with arguing among teammates and staff.

Somali Pirates Plague East African Waters

UNITED NATIONS — Pirates still plague the waters off the Somali coast and are now equally active deep into the Indian Ocean. And despite international naval patrols “the attacks continue, indeed they are increasing,” according to the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Addressing the General Assembly, Ban cited statistics showing that in 2009 there were 406 attacks on merchant ships, an increase of 100 over the previous year.

Though the UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions dealing with these latter-day buccaneers, the practical effect has been a slap on the wrist. Though multinational naval patrols are now active off East Africa, the symptoms may be somewhat contained but the problem certainly not solved.

Somalia’s dangerous political instability and the endemic lawlessness present an off-shore opportunity awaiting pirates, for seizing usually unarmed merchant ships. Many officials concede that Somalia’s “failed state” status allows for well-armed militants, some as young as 15, to take to the seas and hijack ships to demand ransom and earn lucrative payments.

Given the militia in-fighting on the ground, motivation for the “pirate life” allows for fast riches, usually without high risk for coastal fishermen. Let’s face it, Thomas Hobbes Leviathan’s dictum of Life being “nasty, brutish and short,” certainly applies in Somalia; fighting well-armed fellow militias presents risk without really any reward. For pirates, foreign merchant ships offer passive resistance from their crews, and present a lucrative opportunity for ransom and hard currency.

Pirate ports in Somalis such as Harardheere see a proliferation of cash, flashy SUVs, fast lives for previously impoverished militants. Over 300 crew members from the captured ships are held by the buccaneers. Cargo companies nervously ponder which ships may fall victim next.

There’s some good news. Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, the key shipping channel exiting the Red Sea, have fallen from twenty per month in summer 2009 to between 4 and 5 today. Operation Atalanta, a European Union naval task force on station in the region, with ships from Belgium, France, Germany, and Sweden, has stemmed the tide but not reversed it. Still pirates are boldly striking deeper into the open Indian Ocean.

Rear Admiral Peter Hudson Operations Commander of the force briefed correspondents that the naval protection force is allowing for much needed, and indeed long targeted food delivery, into Somalia. “Over the last six moths, 32 WFP ships have been escorted into Somalia, delivering 350,000 tons of food to displaced persons.” Significantly since the operation commenced, no World Food Program ship has been hijacked. This is vital since pirates would capture UN food aid destined for fellow starving Somalis.

The commander stated, that this year European forces had dismantled over 60 pirate groups and processed 400 suspects. Herein lies a major problem; few countries except France have had the political will to try and convict the pirates. Most of the buccaneers have been set free. Officials concede that of the 400 captured, 40 had gone to prosecution.

So what message does this send concerning our willingness to seriously confront an enemy who does not represent a formal state or government? Capturing pirates only to then release them, holding the occasional trial, and passing additional Security Council resolutions are little more than a slap on the wrist and a business inconvenience to the buccaneers. Unless states get serious and use the lethal force available to stop or sink the pirate skiffs, the scourge will continue unabated, until there is a “whiff of grapeshot.”


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John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues.

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Revisiting the Grande Dame--Part III




The SS United States seen from IKEA's Cafe. The Swedish flag flies alongside the
Stars and Stripes. In fact the IKEA Cafe is the best place to view the ship.





America's Oceanliner the "Lady in Waiting" berthed at South Philly's Pier 82




The majestic red stacks of the SS United States as seen coming down Columbus Avenue!





And the mournful sight of the Oceanliner's proud name...need we say more???

People across America have rallied to save the SS United States. Coordinated efforts are key and I feel the www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org combines the right tone, pitch, and efforts for this task.

Look at the last picture again. Now check their site.

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Revisiting the Grande Dame PART II



Yes, nearly fifty years later...back Near but not ON the SS United States in South Philly.

Info sign from the SSUNITEDSTATESCONSERVANCY.ORG (great website!!!)









Yours Truly under a Panama Hat--no we are not sailing to the Canal Zone....

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Visiting the Grande Dame in Philadelphia


It's been nearly half a century since I sailed roundtrip to France on the SS United States. It's almost as long since I have even seen this magnificent oceanliner. So after writing a well-received column earlier in the Spring,on the sad plight of the ship, I decided "Why not revisit this Grande Dame in Philadelphia?"


As I wrote,"The United States is in danger of being scrapped! I’m not referring to contentious political debates plaguing America, but the hard, cold economic fact that the famed ocean liner, the SS United States, faces imminent danger of soon going to the scrap yard. It’s now incumbent for Americans and foreign friends alike to unite in a bipartisan effort to save this steamship from the fate which has befallen many of her ocean-going contemporaries."


For those who don’t remember , the SS United States was the proud flagship of American passenger ocean travel in the post-war era. After entering service in 1952, the luxury liner began a career which saw 700 successful Atlantic crossings until 1969. Using the highest maritime technology, still a marvel today, the SS United States crossed the Atlantic a full half-day faster than its most serious competition the Cunard Queen Mary. On her Maiden voyage in 1952 she won the coveted Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, a record which still holds today!

The SS United States was hardly a precursor to modern cruise ships, those top-heavy “love boats” which ply the Caribbean, but a proud and stately Grande Dame of the high seas who moved with grace, manner and speed along with European liners such as the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and the France. She sailed between New York, Le Harve, France and Southampton in Britain.



Since 1996, the United States has been at moored in south Philadelphia. The once opulent ocean liner who carried American Presidents, European royalty, Hollywood movie stars and thousands of ordinary travelers including this writer in the early 1960’s, now rests astride an IKEA parking lot rusting in the rain and sitting as a silent but painful testament to changing times and modes of travel.

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Happy Birthday Hamburg!!


The Port of Hamburg recently celebrated its birthday--the 821st to be exact. So the major north German harbor city decided to throw a big party.

Cunard's majestic Queen Mary 2 sailed into the port as did tall-masted sailing ships and the French helicopter carrier Jeanne D'Arc. There were over 300 vessels visiting the Hanseatic city on the Elbe for the annual harbor festival in May.

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg traces its roots to its historic and still-vibrant commercial contacts among the cities of North Sea and the Baltic.



*Picture kindly provided by Port of Hamburg Marketing/Germany