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Looking Ahead at the World in 2014

It’s that time to consult the snow globe and try to peer ahead at some of the key stories, crises and opportunities which await the world as we prepare for a new year.  Indeed 2013 has been marred by new levels of violence, humanitarian disasters, and a perceptible lack of leadership from the USA on the foreign policy front.   

So what are we looking at in the year ahead?

Sadly the Middle East remains in the forefront of senseless and often religious violence.  Syria’s civil war continues unabated;  as a nexus of competing proxy forces, Islamic fundamentalist fighters, and the widening humanitarian disaster befalling the civilian population.  Though the Obama Administration nearly blundered into an active military role in this fight, the seething hatreds and sectarian divides will not be solved by Washington but by the Syrians themselves.  

The upcoming UN sponsored Syria peace conference in Switzerland allows for this.

In his Christmas Message from the Vatican, Pope Francis pleaded for all sides in this conflict to allow humanitarian access to civilians.  He stated “Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. “  He also called for peace in Iraq, where 37 Christians were killed in Christmas day violence. 

Indeed in our world of hypersensitivity and feigned caring, few people seem to notice the plight of ancient Christian communities in Iraq, Syria or Egypt. 

In Africa the news is sadly mixed.  The French helped topple an Islamic fundamentalist insurgency in Mali which had threatened to turn the country into a “Taliban style” fiefdom. 

In Western Europe, the undertow of unemployment and stagnant economic growth continue.

Static socialist policies don't help the situation.

Germany has a new government with Chancellor Angela Merkel heading into a third term.  Though Merkel's CDU/CSU parties won a resounding victory in the September elections, they fell a few seats short to form a conservative government in the Bundestag. Thus after three months of horse-trading Merkel's CDU formed a Grand Coalition with the Social Democrats, the SPD.  High flyers in the new Cabinet include Germany's first female Defense Minister from the CDU, as well as a return of the SPD's Frank-Walter Steinmeier as Foreign Minister.

 Greece holds the six month Presidency of the European Union and the Baltic state of Latvia has adopted the Euro as its currency. 

Elections to the European Parliament will be held in late May. 

Elsewhere in Europe,   Ukraine’s political crisis will continue as the country looks to Western Europe or to Russia.   Naturally Moscow has played hardball with this former Soviet republic but at the same time the opportunity of closer ties with the democratic European Union may eventually prove stronger. 

With the approach of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the host country Russia is on best behavior, releasing imprisoned dissidents and stressing soft power.  

Meantime Brazil will host the Football World Cup in June; European teams like Germany, Portugal and Spain are serious contenders to win the World Cup.   

 Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations,” remains  seminal reading.  The thesis is basically that clashes between countries will not occur along purely ideological divides as in the Cold War, but along religious and civilizational fault lines as we currently witness throughout Africa, South Asia, and even Europe if we view the Balkan conflicts or contemporary Ukraine.

In many of these cases a vacuum of clear U.S. policy or its retreat from the world, have allowed for lost opportunities or lessened influence.  

Comment du Jour

Happy New Year 2014!!!!

Health, Happiness and Prosperity to our Readers!

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Christmas time in the City

December sparkles in New York!  The lights, the smells and the evergreen trees all add to the festive atmosphere. Pictured above and below are the Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center and the Christmas Tree, an annual feature since the 1930's.

And just blocks away, the amazing Radio City Music hall, a splendid Art Deco landmark which attracts visitors from round the world.

                                                          MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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The SS United States

Oceanliner in Waiting

The SS United States seen in Philadelphia across from the IKEA store.

  Berthed in Pier 82 in south Philadelphia, the SS United States, the fastest ocean liner in the world, awaits its fate.  The clock is ticking...

Designed by renowned naval architect William Francis Gibbs, the 990 foot vessel was completed in 1952. The ship was a sleek platform of American innovation.

While the pride of United States Lines in the 1950's and 1960's, the ship was surpassed by jet travel and the sad reality that people don't want to or can't take five days to sail to Europe.  The ship made crossings from New York to Southampton in the UK and Le Harve in France.

Looking at the ship up close and personal, we simply can't allow this American icon to rust away!

                                               

There used to be an ad, "You have a Friend in Pennsylvania."  Agreed.  While peering at the
Big U through the chain linked fence outside the dock, as close as you can get, a shipyard foreman came by and asked about our interest in the ship.  After telling him that I made the transatlantic crossing on the ship back in 1962,  he immediately escorted us into the pier area for a close up view.

Thank you Frank for the unique privilege to get as close to the ship as I have been in fifty years!

After revisiting the SS United States a few years back--an inspiration for this blog by the way--I became keenly interested in the fate of this iconic American ocean liner.  So on a cold and windy day, I returned to see the ship which is a MUST visit for maritime aficionados!!

Now let's focus, there's an amazing organization trying to save and preserve the SS United States from a fate we won't even discuss during the holidays.  It suffices to say that one click on the site 

www.ssusc.org 

and you will see the need to get involved NOW to help this worthy historical preservation group.

   

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                                              Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing 1955


"Art of the Automobile" Sotheby's Auction in New York

Presenting a stunning display of  rare and iconic motorcars, Sotheby's in cooperation  with RM Auctions put an amazing display of vintage cars on view. 

British Jaguars and Rolls, a French Delahaye and Talbot-Lago,  Italian Ferrari, Buggatis, and Maseratis, German BMW's and Mercedes, not to mention a Stutz, Duesenberg, and Cadillac from the USA and you begin to see the picture. According to observers this was the first major vintage auto auction held in New York City in over a decade.

                   Delahaye Type 135 Teardrop Coupe 1936--French Art Deco par excellence
 

 

 

Some would argue that the French Talbot-Lago Teardrop Cabriolet of 1938 (seen below) is even more alluring

 

 

 

 

Then there's the Lincoln Indianapolis prototype from 1955 which has Italian coachwork and was previewed at the Turin Auto Salon 

And Yes there were many Ferraris most notable among them the 250 LM 1964 pictured below which was described as one of the first and finest original examples of mid engine car.  The catalogue described the auto as an Italian operatic masterpiece of sound and color.  

 

 

 

 

 

And why not end with a Duesenberg Model SJ Beverly 1933?

 

 

Congrats to both Sotheby's and RM Auctions for a beautiful presentation. By the way the cars were displayed on the tenth floor of Sotheby's New York headquarters!

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Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrive



It's the third week of November which means the new wine from the Beaujolais region of France is here!

As is our tradition, we sipped the fruity new wine at Park Avenue's Sherry Lehmann wine store which was graced as usual by Franck Dubeouf, scion of the celebrated wine family.  

The bottle labels for the new harvest are specially designed  by American artist Wayne Ensrud who is pictured here below signing posters.



                                    

A Votre Sante!!

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Veterans Day in America


Remembrance Day in Canada and the Commonwealth

11 November 

At 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.