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Christmas Aftergow!

The famed Radio City Music Hall!!   Talk about the temple to Art Deco!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing...or in this case Trumpet!!!

It's a wrap!!!

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Christmas Countdown...


December sparkles in New York City.  The lights, the sounds, the smells all mingle to make a unique Season so very memorable.  The famed Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, set amid the art deco buildings, is a perfect place to begin.  

                                       

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Empire State Building Decked Out in EU/Blue and Gold
      


European Union Wins Nobel Peace Prize!


As a fitting testament to fostering reconciliation, keeping the peace, and promoting prosperity, the EU has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. 

Thus despite the Euro currency crisis and debt burden in many member countries, the Prize reflects the positive optimism that the EU, as part of Europe's  post-war political architecture and economic structure, remains a crucial player. 

The 27 member EU has evolved from the old Common Market into a modern multi-national organization.

In a New York reception celebrating the Nobel for Peace, not economics as some jibed, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon praised the EU as a positive global force.

 

EU Reception in New York/from left Amb. Thomas Mayr-Hartling, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and David O'Sullivan, CFO of the European External Action Service

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USA and Europeans Elected to UN Human Rights Council

First the good news.  The United States has been re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council along with Germany and Ireland.

Now fasten your seat belts--Venezuela, Kazakistan and Pakistan will also be part of the eighteen new selections to the Geneva-based Council which is chosen by regional groups.

The Eastern European group saw Estonia and Montenegro elected. 

Given that Cuba, China and Russia are slated to step down in the next session, human rights groups see Venezuela and Pakistan as political surrogates.

Other new Council members include Japan and South Korea as well as Argentina and Brazil who shall serve for the 2013-2015 session.

The 47 member Council meets in Geneva to review the status of human rights and freedoms in UN member states. 

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Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrive!!!

The third Thursday of November marks the arrival of the "new wine" the  
Beaujolais Nouveau!

Each year many wine shops in America have their presentation party for the grape.  Here in New York Sherry Lehman offered their now famous
artistic label bottles.  Franck Duboeuf has often come to the Park Avenue store to present and indeed "sign the bottles," of this seasonal French wine often a part of American Thanksgiving celebrations.

A Votre Sante!!

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Remembrance Day in Canada

Veterans Day in the USA

11 November

On the Eleventh Hour, On the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month....1918.

The ending of WWI, is commemorated in Britain, Canada , and the Commonwealth as Remembrance Day.  Here in the USA, what used to be called Armistice Day has been known as Veterans Day since 1954.

Our correspondent in Montreal shares these moving photos of the commemorations at McGill University.


Among the wreaths are those from the USA, France and South Korea.

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                                            (Board of Election Polling Sign New York)

U.S. Election

President Re-elected--Inherits Obama Economy!

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Autumn in Vermont

Fall Foliage, Pumpkins, Halloween!

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Paris/Hollywood

France's fascination with American movies is well known.  Just walk around Paris and see the kiosks advertising what's playing in les Cinemas.

Equally Hollwood is enchanted with the City of Light.  Our correspondent in France bring us news of the new expo at Hotel de Ville (city hall) "Paris Seen by Hollywood." Without question Paris is the foreign city most portrayed in Hollywood films. We discover that over 800 movies have been shot either in Paris or in re-creations of Parisian scenes.

Sophisticated stories, romantic comedies, and the famed detective thrillers are all part of the
cinematic heritage.   The memorable Audrey Hepburn films such as Funny Face and Charade recall the era in the 1960's when it was ever so chic to be and film in Paris.   Who can forget the Hepburn film Sabrina (with Humphrey Bogart as a Yale alum executive) where Audrey runs
off to cooking school in Paris? 

Or Silk Stockings (1957) the cold war comedy with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse?

Sabrina (1954) with Oceanliner scenes, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) with Marilyn Monroe (also oceanliner crossing scenes) or Audrey's How to Steal a Million (1966) (great Citroen DS 19 shots),  form part of this wonderful cinematic experience.

In contemporary times the Da Vinci Code (2006), Midnight in Paris (2011) an interesting Woody Allen film, and Hugo (2011) by Martin Scorsese round out the list.   

Paris Seen by Hollywood is on exhibit until 15 December 2012 at Hotel de Ville.  It's free and well worth the time!

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Chinese Moon Festival Celebrated in Paris!

Fete de la Lune


Our correspondent in Paris reports that the Chinese Autumn Festival has been honored
right ouside the City hall for the 13th Arrondissement.

The 13th is home to an increasingly large Chinese ethnic community and is thus celebrated
outside Town Hall near Place d'Italie.   These pictures were taken recently one evening during the Autumn Festival.

Moon Cakes!

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Day of German Unity

3 October 1990-2012

A few thoughts on the Day of German Unity would be incomplete without mentioning HOW is happened.

The fall of the Berlin Wall, a piece of which stands in the UN gardens in New York, was instrumental in bringing the unity of the former "German Democratic Republic" LOL, East Germany, with the truly democratic Federal Republic in the West. 

One must thank the largely Lutheran church demonstrations in the East during the Autumn of 1989, the unwavering  freedom agenda of Chancellor Kohl  and U.S. Presidnt Ronald Reagan, and even Russian leader Gorbachev for "blinking."   The rest is history, as they say.

The united German state is about freedom.  Foreign Minister Westerwelle stated before  the UN General Assembly--

 "As we Germans have experienced what it is to lack freedom in the course of our own history, we will always stand by those who, wherever they are in the world, call for freedom. For freedom of opinion and for freedom of religion. For freedom of the press and for artistic freedom.


Freedom has a daughter. It is tolerance.

And freedom has a son. It is respect.

Respect for other people.

Respect for what is important to others. Respect for what is sacred to others.


Freedom therefore does not mean freedom from responsibility. Freedom always means free­dom to shoulder responsibility."

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Global Storm Clouds Gather for UN Debate


Recession, Syrian Strife, Sahel Drought and Terrorism Shadow
Proceedings

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Burma Democracy Leader Visits UN

Nobel Laureate and longtime Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited the United Nations as part of her seventeen day tour of the USA.  Standing next to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, she quipped "I don't recognize the place, but I am very, very glad to be back. "  In her early years Suu Kyi worked at the UN.

The longtime opposition figure, who spent fifteen years under house arrest for opposing Burma's ruling military regime, won a parliamentary seat in free by-elections earlier this year, as leader of the National League for Democracy. She advocates non-violent change in her country which would include the lifting of Western economic sanctions.

While Western sanctions pressured the rulers of Myanmar, aka Burma, the effect has run its course. 

Suu Kyi was in Washington earlier to receive the Congressional Gold Medal awarded in absentia during the Bush Administration in 2008. 

Few may recall that George W. Bush and West European governments especially Britain, France and Germany worked closely together to isolate Myanmar's left-wing military rulers.

First Lady Laura Bush was a particular advocate of Burmese democracy.

Next week  Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein will address the UN General Assembly.  Observers will be watching carefully to assess just how much the current regime is really willing to reform.

Speaking alongside UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Suu Kyi told correspondents "As I have been saying ad nauseum--it is now time that the Burmese people took responsibility for their democratization of the country."

Looking tired but hopeful she added, "I think peace begins in the hearts of people.  So if we want peace, we've got to remove hatred."

Soft words from a woman who has suffered so very much but who retains a strong but silken political patina.

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UN Assembly Session Opens Amid Global Strife


The UN General Assembly has opened amid global storm clouds and economic gloom. As Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings and Potentates gather in New York for the 67th annual session, to the backdrop of spreading violence in the Middle East, a looming nuclear weapons program in Iran, a food and humanitarian crisis in much of the developing world, and the undertow of worldwide recession, delegates will be confronted and likely confounded by challenges which have long- simmered but are now at a boiling point.


Surprisingly the new President of the Assembly is Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic who was elected in June after a strong Russian lobbying effort for the year-long post. Though the youngest Assembly President ever at 37, (not to be confused with the Secretary General) British-educated Jeremic has become well-known for his lawyerly Security Council presentations on the issue of the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo.

To think that fewer than twenty years following the breakup of former Yugoslavia and the indictment of many Serb war criminals in international courts of Justice that a Serb, albeit from a different regime, would gain the prestige to lead the Assembly is quite a diplomatic feat. Significantly two of his advisors include former Russian Premier Yevgeny Primakov (a once legendary KGB Mid-East expert) and former Spainish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos of the Socialist Party.

“Peace and security is a prerequisite for the stability needed for global economic growth, sustainable development and social progress,” stated Jeremic,  President of the General Assembly.


As for the actual debate, which begins on September 25,  the speakers list includes  Presidents and Prime Ministers from the UN’s 193 member states. U.S. President Barack Obama, France’s Francois Hollande, and also the Presidents of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Lithuania.  The Kings of Morocco and Jordan will also speak on that  first day.

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Quebec Vote Signals Political Uncertainty for Canada

Back to the Same Old Game, eh?



MONTREAL—Political uncertainty shadows Quebec in the aftermath of a contentious provincial election campaign. Now in the wake of the vote, the specter of separatism has re-emerged in the multi-ethnic Canadian province where the political rhetoric by the French-language focused Parti Quebecois could return economic instability and undermine fragile business confidence.

In a tightly contested three-way race, voters went to the edge but stopped short of giving the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) a majority. Still the shadow has not passed, as the PQ shall now form a minority government albeit with a plurality of 32 percent of the vote.

Emotions and tragically violence marred the end of the campaign with a shooting, killing a bystander, at the PQ’s victory rally in downtown Montreal.


Now after nine years in power, Quebec’s federalist Liberal party had run out of ideas, steam, and luck. The final straw for longtime Premier Jean Charest was trying to institute lukewarm education reforms where University students would pay an additional $254 a year for their studies (that’s about the cost of a few sweatshirts, not classes at American Universities). Still some 84% of the total University costs are paid by the taxpayers.

Not surprisingly Quebec is the most indebted of all Canadian provinces; yet the PQ wishes to expand the layer cake of public benefits. Already tax payers face a combined 14.9 percent sales/value added tax.


Protests started in the Spring and before long radicals had seized the movement. The Premier called snap elections which in turn served to jumpstart opposition parties to get back into the fray to take on an unpopular, corrupt and clueless government. Charest lost his own seat in the election, though the Liberals still got 31 percent of the vote. A new party Coalition for Quebec’s Future (CAQ), holding some conservative (with a small c) values, gained 27 percent.

The province of Quebec holds a unique legacy and indeed political fault-line. The two founding peoples were the French and later English-speaking settlers. Quebec formed the keystone of New France in North America until the British toppled French rule in 1759 and steadily supplanted control over this part of Canada. To this day car license plates “Je Me Souviens” I remember” post a less than subtle reminder to a romanticized history.

As late as the 1960’s , French Canadians, though the majority, faced discrimination. Such grievances planted the seeds of the early separatist movement. The Parti Quebecois has morphed from a self-styled defender of French cultural and linguistic rights into a political movement when it gained power in 1976 under the charismatic, if controversial leader, Rene Lesveque. The party was best known for its draconian linguistic legislation which has marginalized English and stigmatized anyone who does not view Quebec through blue colored lenses.


Originally the PQ was populist with conservative, nationalist, and social reformers under one tent. Lysiane Gagnon of the La Presse newspaper opined that Premier elect Pauline Marois, “the first PQ leader to anchor the party resolutely to the left, a sharp break with the tradition of building a large coalition of right and center-leaning sovereignists.”

But it’s the PQ political rhetoric, which causes discord. In a blunt interview with Toronto’s Globe and Mail, Pauline Marois said the federal government in Ottawa will have to treat Quebec like a nation, not a province. “We won’t be satisfied with getting more powers, What we want is Quebec sovereignty.” She stressed her party would press for a referendum on the issue of what amounts to independence from Canada.


Yet other eagerly awaited referendums on “sovereignty” from Canada fell flat in 1980 and 1995 when the majority of French-speaking Quebeckers refused to take the final step of secession. Last week a CROP Poll survey showed that merely 28 percent of Quebeckers would vote Yes if a referendum were held. Though a very hot political issue in the 1970’s, the long simmering embers of Quebec separatism seemed settled.

Since the onset of the PQ rule in the late 1970’s large sectors of the Anglo business community left Montreal for Toronto; the legacy remains the empty building of some of Canada’s greatest banks and businesses. Saint James Street/now Rue Saint Jacques, once the Wall Street of Canada, is a near-lifeless canyon of magisterial mostly-closed banks and firms, now either with For Rent signs (in French of course) or being turned into pricy apartments.

In the aftermath of the vote, the Townshippers Association, a Sherbrooke business group reflecting the interests of the English-speaking community, urged Madame Marois to focus on what the majority wants, “economic development, job creation, and debt reduction.”


Yet the resource-rich province, remains part of the G-8 industrial world’s most successful economy, Canada. Quebec holds much of the attributes of a classic “nation”; language, culture, identity and she guards them jealously. Still what is rarely said is that much of this unique and separate status is financially subsidized by Ottawa.

Political perceptions matter as much as reality. Quebec may now have to face the consequences of the PQ’s rhetoric.

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Year After Irene Floods-- Vermont Strong

 

It’s been a year since Tropical Storm Irene unexpectedly crashed into Vermont, causing unprecedented flooding and damage throughout much of the Green Mountain state. Yet despite Irene’s wrath across much of the Northeast, Vermont’s near singular resilience and steadfastness in the face of the storm remains an enduring lesson. This was a lesson not in what big government can do, but what small townspeople did to help themselves and their neighbors.

Initially Irene’s arrival in landlocked Vermont looked like a bad rain storm with high winds which would soon break up in the mountains. But the unrelenting rain turned small streams, brooks and rivers into crashing torrents which by the end of the day were cutting roads and isolating towns. By late in the day, mountain towns and ski resorts such as Ludlow, Killington, and Waterbury were cut off and social media such as You tube were showing pictures of small brooks being turned into what looked like high-pressure hoses blasting through villages. The scenes appeared surrealistic.

 

The next day we viewed some of the damage in southern Vermont; in the town of Londonderry roads were not flooded but gouged-out by relentless water. Somebody’s front porch complete with flowerpots was caught in a bridge and entangled in state road signs. Nineteenth century buildings were still standing but perched on stilts of their foundations. A stretch of the main road along a picturesque brook near Stratton Ski area was not flooded; it was gone.

Though thankfully few people were killed or injured, the toll on infrastructure was staggering; 500 miles of State road were damaged, 280 bridges were damaged significantly or gone, 200 miles of railroad track was damaged. In total thirteen towns were marooned. Parts of the state were without electric power.

The comeback was amazing. Of the 73,000 customers without electric, more than half were restored in 24 hours by Central Vermont Power and in a few days most of the state was back on line. Town and state road crews started what would be a procession of dump and gravel trucks which would relentlessly start filling and fixing roads and culverts one by one. National Guard helicopters ferried supplies to isolated mountain towns.

Given that Vermont is a small state with a population of only 625,000, there’s not the layer-upon-layer of public employees. Fire departments are volunteer, state and local police are few, and the whole bureaucracy of town workers and public servants are simply not many. Yet local citizens were quick to help and pitch in. A relatively small number of 7,215 families registered for FEMA assistance.

Though verdant valleys and hills mask some of the destruction, there are still the brutal cuts and gashes from nature.

Yet even a year later, according to the New England Cable Network, some displaced victims in places like Jamaica are still waiting for FEMA funds! Ironically the Irene tragedy of 2011 recalled the more devastating Vermont flood of 1927 when the state was submerged by November floods killing 84 people and washing away 1280 bridges.

Back then President Calvin Coolidge, a stoic Vermonter himself, was faced with the tough decision as to whether to follow his philosophy of local responsibility or allow for a larger central government role in reconstruction. Prior to the flood of 1927, individual towns were financially responsible for bridge and road repairs. Following the flood, the state and indeed federal government played a wider role in the recovery.

Nonetheless, the locally based can-do oriented recovery effort in the 2011 flood stands as a testament to a tradition of local grassroots government. Thus despite modern Vermont electing liberal Democrats on the national and state level, the state nonetheless embraces a very decentralized and accessible local government.

There are lighter moments too. The Long Trail Brewery near Killington produces a “Goodnight Irene” ale. The state is briskly selling special-edition license plates, “I am Vermont Strong” to show solidarity and support for affected families.

President Coolidge touring the state in September 1928 made his memorable speech at Bennington Station; “I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people.” Eighty-four years later, Irene tragically refocused his words to the contemporary era.

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Dead Batteries??

As would be expected, France's socialist government is enchanted with electric cars.  Well in theory a good idea, but...

With falling sales at Peugeot/Citroen (among petrol powered) and a generally lackluster economy, the concept of  revived and practical electric car models at Renault seem to put the spark back into  the debate.  

Renault is planing a big battery production site in France in cooperatin with Korea's LG Chem. The plan is to produce affordable battery cells to power Renault Zoe models.

With great fanfare, the company announced that electric car sales in Europe were one half of one percent in 2011, are expected to hit a whopping one perent this year, and in 2017 would soar to just over 3 percent!! 

Juste pour rire??

Automotive Industry Data asserts that Opel and Chevy Volt are market leaders now;
Opel sales being 2,800 and Volt hitting 3,100.  About 11,000 electric cars were sold Europe wide in the first six months of 2012.

In the meantime though, it's now possible to rent electric autos in Paris at select plug in sites.  Maybe with gasoline at about $7.50 a gallon this does make some sense?

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Notre Dame Cathedral--Most Popular Site in Paris


The Cathedral of the Notre Dame, the splendid gothic structure alongside the River Seine, remains the most popular place for tourists to visit in Paris.  The Le Figaro newspaper reports that in 2011 fully 13.6 million visitors went to the historic church.   Second for visitors is the Basilica  of Sacre Coeur with 10.5 million!!  Sacre Coeur stands on a hill overlooking the City of Light.

Visiting Notre Dame just days ago, it's obvious that the Church attracts a deluge of visitors from round the world. 

Other popular sites include the Louvre Museum with 8.9 million (it appears that at least one million of them appear to be there on any given day!!), and of course the majestic Eiffel Tour with 7 million visitors.

On second thought it is easy to see why Paris is so popular!

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Team USA #1 Brings Back the Gold!


Great Olympic News!! Team USA ranked first in medals for the London Summer Olympics surging ahead of the People’s Republic of China. USA Gold Medal total was 46 to 38 for Mainland China. The close competition during the past weeks brought Team USA into an amazing standing due in no small part to Michael Phelps AND so many other great American athletes.

Great Britain, the host of the games, came in a powerful third place with 29 Gold. Just as an aside when the Brits participate as Great Britain as compared to the country’s official name United Kingdom (as in the UN) their teams seems to excel.

Russia sans steroids came in fourth. South Korea placed fifth!!! Amazing!

Germany showed a strong performance with 11 Gold and 44 medals, followed by an impressive French team with 11 Gold and 34 medals overall. Italy gained 8 Gold.

I’m happy to say Team Hungary scored an amazing 8 Gold medals and ranked number nine in overall standings. Bravo for the small Danubeian Republic!!! Hungary was the ONLY one of the former East Bloc countries to perform so well..  The Czech Republic reached nmber nineteen however.

Australia came in number ten with 7 Gold followed by Japan as number 11 in standing with 7 Gold.

Thus of the G-8 Economic Club, the United States, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan scored in the top eleven. Where was G-8 member Canada???

Canada came in 36th with one gold medal and 18 total. But just wait till the Winter Olympics in Sochi, eh?

Big Congrats go to London for hosting a wonderful and safe Olympics! Despite all the naysayers (including so very many British) before the Games, the old motto “Keep Calm and Carry on” carried the day! Well Done!!

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Olympic Haute Cuisine

While the Summer Olympics are about sporting excellence, the French Team also
has gone one step further--to offer an exceptional culinary achievement.

The Parisian high end food store Fauchon, caters the Team France, or at least their VIP Space.  Fauchon, offers a tribute to culinary excellence with a wondeful window display at their Place Madeleine store.

Savor and Enjoy!

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Olympic Gold

"In London a Harvest of French Medals," proclaimed the daily Le Monde.

Indeed the French Team has been doing extraordinarily well in London--keeping in third place until a few days ago. 
Now France is in fifth place having earned eight Gold medals.

The real contest is between China and the USA.  China still  holds the First Place position with Team USA slightly behind but in striking distance.  

The other day I was thinking that the Summer Olympics still tend to favor the economic powerhouse countries--the G8 for example.
Though China is not in the G 8,  the USA, Great Britain (now having surged to third place), France, Germany, Italy and Russia are. So too are Japan and Canada.   Tokyo has performed well but so far not Team Canada.

So is it a G8 Olympics?  

Equally the East Asian countries have surged--China, South Korea (number four), North Korea (number nine), and Japan down a few more notches.

By the way London is probably the real winner--all the criticism of the pre-planning aside, the Games are turning out to be a very class act. 

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London Olympics--Viewed from Paris!

The Paris City Hall, Hotel de Ville, has provided the venue to watch the Summer Games.   So to the backdrop of Notre Dame and the Seine, here are a few photos of the rather unique setting!

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London Summer Olympics!!!

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Franco/German Peace; Fifty Years of Friendship

The fabled Gothic Cathedral city of Reims in eastern France was the setting for an extraordinary entente between two former enemies.

Reims, which was devastated by artillery fire in WWI, thus became an unlikely place to seal a peace pact.

But on 8 July 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle and West Germany's Chancellor Konrad Adenauer met and signed the
documents which would put an end to a brutal cycle of conflict which started in 1870 and lasted to 1945.

These two statesmen of foresight and vision paved the path for the formal Elysee Treaty which would be signed the following year.

Today a half century later French President Francois Hollande met with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to reaffirm the friendship and reconciliation.
Paix 

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Happy 4th July!!

Celebrating America 1776-2012

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Spain Wins Euro-Cup 2012

La Roja Turns on the Style and Substance

In what was the showdown in Kiev, Spain trounced Italy 4-0 in the Final match of the football UEFA Euro-Cup.  

The win for the Spainish Team--La Roja--was historic as it was the third consecutive win for Spain in the 2008 Euro Cup, the 2010 World Cup, and the 2012 Euro Cup.   Equally the score of 4-0 was the highest score ever in a Euro Cup Final football match. 

Sports commentators described the win as Spain "being the best team ever."

Days ago, Spain defeated Portugal in semi-Finals. 

Then came the big upset--Italy who had won its match over England, defeated favorite Germany in a 2-1 game.  Italy was seen as the comeback kid and on a roll to make history.

But in the Finals, Spain simply outclassed the resurgent Italians and scored the historic 4 goal game.

All in all a good Euro Cup, jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

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(Spain's Xabi Alonso and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo)


Countdown to Kiev--Euro Cup Football Semi-Finals

Well the chips are down and the teams are ready to face-off.

The Iberian Showdown comes first on Wednesday when Portugal takes on on world champion Spain.  The match is expected to be tense between the peninsular rivals and their star players Portugal's Team Captain Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain's Xabi Alonso.

On Thursday Germany plays Italy in what is expected to be an amazing match between two very powerful teams.

The two winners to emerge move on to the Finals in Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday 1 July.

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Euro Football 2012

Pubs along New York's Second Avenue have been busy afternoons recently as the games of the  UEFA Euro Cup have captivated soccer fans even in the USA.  Now we are in the  Quarter finals of the Euro Cup which is being played in stadiums in both Poland and Ukraine.

So far powerhouse teams have performed well; England, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.

Already there have been surprises too especially as the Netherlands is out as are Greece, the Czech Republic and Ireland among others.

As the matches continue, all eyes focus on the final contests in Warsaw and Kiev.

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Queen's Jubilee Overseas

Not all the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee are in Britain or the Commonwealth.

Yale University's amazing "Center for British Art" as one would expect, has hosted a exhibit for the Jubilee.  The art museum in central New Haven, Connecticut holds one of the world's premier collections of British art, with especially splendid assembly of
paintings.

Shown here is one of the more "modern" renditions; Andrew Logan's "Her Majesty 1992-2012" which is a mix of faux bijoux and mirrors.

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Britain’s Royal Jubilee—It’s About Tradition Not Celebrity

The world needs a good party and reason to forget, even fleetingly, the conflicts, crises and economic doldrums which have befallen us. Thus Britain’s  Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II, brings us that wistful respite but more importantly a lesson; that Tradition trumps trendy, and often celebrity too.

The pomp and pageantry of the four day spectacle including the magisterial Thames River flotilla (in the midst of a driving Londonwind and cold rain) saw the Royal Family   cheered on by over a million well-wishers, and flanked by a thousand boats. The local block parties, the  bonfires, and the bunting all form part of the ageless magic which renews and revives a country.   

Such royal pageantry provides the perfect place to celebrate. The massive concert outside Buckingham Palace, with both classical and pop stars set to a son and lumiere spectacle,

showcased festivities for a modern monarchy.  A day later the ceremonial finale on the Buckingham Palace balcony closed the curtains after four days of resplendent pageantry.  

Thus the magnificent and splendid spectacles in London commemorating Queen Elizabeth are as much about this amazing woman of dignity and duty as they are the chance for the British and people throughout many former colonies, in the multi-cultural fifty-fourmember Commonwealth from Australia, to African states, Canada and the Caribbean islands, to celebrate.

The Diamond Jubilee in itself is historic being only the second time since Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1897 that there was such a celebration.

Let’s face it, the regal portrayal of Britain’s  classy monarchical grandeur is still something with near global appeal. The House of Windsor (originally the German House of Hanover and later Saxe-Coburg) re-branded in 1917 during WWI with a more John Bull British theme, embodies an enduring legacy of excellence, symbolism, and tradition.

But Elizabeth, now 86,  has been the lady of destiny and duty since she unexpectedly became Queen in 1952 upon the death of her father George VI, the wartime King, who was respectfully portrayed in the recent film the King’s Speech. She has been on the throne for 60 years, has seen 12 Prime Ministers (and 11 American presidents too). But keep in mind she is a constitutional monarch whose ceremonial power and public service role dare not cross into the political realm. 

The weekly Spectator, opined that the Jubilee provides “an extraordinary celebration of monarchy, which is a testament to the Queen’s brilliance at reinvention as much as it is affection for her long service.”

We tend to think that there are only but a few monarchs left in the world today, beyond the Queen of England and the Emperor of Japan. Yet there are still many monarchs in Europe, ranging from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to Belgium, Spain and Denmark,Norway and Sweden. There’s the King of Morocco. And indeed monarchy has been a reliable pillar of  state in both Thailand andJapan.   

In 1977, I was in London for the Silver Jubilee, the 25^th  anniversary of  Elizabeth’s rule.  But this was a very different Britain, beset by strikes and in the stranglehold of the trade unions. The party went on but in a much more nervous and some would say, sullen land.

While critics, then and now, including a vocal minority in the United Kingdom itself, like to complain about the cost of the Monarchy, let’s face it the Windsor Brand is wonderful for tourism, the tabloids, and a kind of national feel-good therapy.

During her six decade reign, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip have traveled the world, visiting both former colonies, independent states, and not all without Controversary. Last year, Elizabeth made a long overdue historic and healing visit to theRepublic of Ireland. 

“Celebrity and Monarchy are natural enemies,” writes John O’Sullivan in the Wall St. Journal, “the first is about enjoying fame, the second is about performing duties. Elizabeth always realized the distinction.”  And it was the celebrity status of Princess Diana, whose auto accident in 1997, and the Queen’s initial distance and stoic emotion over the tragedy, the saw the Monarchy swerve into a bad brush with British public opinion. Through the winds of adversity Queen Elizabeth always seemed to “Keep Calm and Carry On.” 

Nonetheless the younger royals such as Prince William and Harry have revived the appeal as witnessed by the worldwide reaction to the Prince William’s wedding last year to the popular Kate Middleton. . 

Americans love the pomp and ceremony of the British monarchy. But our independence from Britain in was rooted in reaction to an overbearing and  incompetent King George III , the desire for individual liberty, freedom, and the aspirations that we could do better. Indeed we did.

Yet, to our transatlantic cousins we  say, Godspeed.  

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ART DECO/Japan

An absolutely riviting presentation of Art Deco is on exhibit at New York's reknown Japan Society.  And yes, it recalls the heady and memorable art deco period in the Land of the Rising Sun during the 1920's and 1930's.

Fashion, objects d'art, and naturally posters are part of the exhibit which evokes Japan's fascination with the European and American art deco style. Beyond the style, there was the lifestyle of the Moga or Modern Girl who would wear western clotes, dance to western music, and of course smoke. Such a style confronted tradition.

The exhibit recalls a pre-war age where Art Deco captivated Berlin, London, Paris and New York.   Sadly war clouds were on the horizon.

Comment du Jour

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

It's the official start of Summer....but first let's remember.

Memorial Day dates to 1868 and the aftermath of America's horrible Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy. Once Known as Decoration Day, the commemoration saw the placing of flowers on the graves of the fallen soldiers from North and South.

Today Memorial Day honors the fallen in all the wars and conflicts we have fought in from the two World Wars,  Korea, Vietnam and more recently Iraq and Afghanistan.

The monument pictured here, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on New York's Riverside Drive offers a special honor to those who served and fell.  Built and innagurated on Memorial Day 1902, the collonade Beaux Arts monument is a beautiful but often overlooked site on the Upper West Side overlooking the Hudson River. 

And since we are speaking about sailors and the U.S. Navy, it's Fleet Week in New York, the annual military review of the U.S. and various allied navies.  U.S. ,
British, Canadian, and Japanese surface ships are participating in the event as are the famed Tall Ships--the training vessel Sail Ships from a number of navies including France and Spain.

Honor Memorial Day and Remember the Fallen.