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Countdown to Christmas in New York!

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Beaujolais Nouveau!!

The Beaujolais Nouveau wine has arrived! I Just tasted the iconic autumn wine at
New York's Sherry Lehmann.

The wine was personally presented for tasting by Franck Duboeuf of the famed Georges Duboeuf wines.

Typically Beaujolais Nouveau is a "young and fruity" wine which is a particularly nice accompaniment to Thanksgiving Turkey!

                                    Franck Duboeuf at Sherry Lehmann in New York.
                                                                 A Votre Sante!

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Hungary Commemorates 60th Anniversary of Revolution    1956-2016

The 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution is being commemorated.

On 23 October 1956 the fight for freedom from the Soviets began in Budapest and soon spread throughout Hungary.   For a brief period Hungarian Freedom Fighters fought the Soviet forces to a standstill.  The free government begged for foreign aid to prevent the inevitable.  Help from the West, though promised, never came  

 The massive Soviet counterattack came on 5 November which 
brutally smashed the uprising.

The Hungarian UN Mission/Consulate in New York is flying the national flag as well as 
the Freedom Flag with the center torn out.  Revolutionaries ripped out communist symbols
from flags in 1956 leaving this Flag with the Hole as a poignant reminder of the ill-fated
uprising.  

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New UN Secretary General: Guterres Gets It

Parabens Portugal!

White smoke has emerged from the Security Council, where the powerful fifteen member body, has selected a new UN Secretary General from among a dozen declared candidates.  Intense diplomatic deliberations among the powers,  hectic lobbying among the candidates, and rife speculation in the international community came to a surprisingly quick conclusion with a unanimous vote electing a respected former Portuguese Prime Minister to head the 193-member organization. 

Antonio Guterres, (67) who was until recently chief of the UN Refugee Agency  (UNHCR) was elected to become the UN’s new Secretary General.   Ending a year of intense behind the scenes politicking, more than a dozen candidates, and an unwritten pledge that the next Secretary General should be a woman from Eastern Europe, nonetheless in the end Guterres got the nod from the Security Council. 

The election of the Secretary General, or more precisely the selection, emerged after the Security Council held a number of unofficial “straw ballots” to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a plethora of candidates.   Antonio Guterres who consistently polled first in six “straw polls”  was a clear favorite from the start, but still faced a possible veto from the Russians.     Over the past six months in a move for overdue transparency, the various candidates were publicly vetted through speeches and town hall type settings. Some contenders such as Bulgaria’s once favorite Irina Bokova or Slovenia’s Daniel Turk failed to get serious traction.        Yet, from the start Antonio Guterres cut an impressive policy swath combining a sense of competence, confidence and charisma in his audition for the UN’s top job.  

Early in the process a number of European Ambassadors told this writer, “You must hear Guterres. He is the best so far.”  

Britain’s Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said that Antonio Guterres “will take the United Nations to the next level in terms of leadership” and furthermore be “a moral authority at a time when the world is divided on issues.”  

So as the two term tenure of South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon comes to an end, what does Antonio Guterres really inherit?  

Antonio Guterres is an electrical engineer by profession but later went into politics an subsequently become Portugal’s Prime Minister between 1995-2002.  A member of the Socialist party (though from its more moderate wing), his tenure was marked with close relations to the European Union (EU) and the USA.  

 Given that the world is facing the largest refugee crisis since the end of WWII, with more than 65 million fleeing their homelands, it may be fitting and indeed wise to select a candidate who has distinguished himself  over a decade in humanitarian efforts to help the displaced.   As I often say, the UN has done an admirable job in treating the staggering humanitarian symptoms of global crises but has failed to solve the actual problems causing the refugee flows.  Syria, Libya and Afghanistan come to mind.

The UN system is confronted by a world in crisis; humanitarian missions, the spread of ethnic/religious conflict, widening peacekeeping mandates, and trying to break the rigid diplomatic logjam in the Security Council are but a few of the challenges.   More distressing remains the Crisis overload from a plethora of failed states and dystopian regimes which have created a humanitarian tsunami facing any new Secretary General.
May I mention a few names? Afghanistan, Congo, Central African Republic, Libya, Syria, Somalia,  Sudan, Yemen.  Then there’s North Korea’s nuclear weapons.  

 As a longstanding member of NATO and the European Union, Portugal, and Guterres by extension had the support of Britain, France and later the USA.  He was apparently able to cajole both Russia and China from using their vetoes to block his candidacy, though one expects him to appoint a Deputy Secretary General of Moscow’s liking from Eastern Europe to close the deal. 

We wish him well and good luck!!   

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Steuben Parade in New York

The 59th annual German American Steuben Day Parade
marched up Fifth Avenue to the tunes of brass bands and
yes, even bagpipes!

The parade route went from 68th Street to 86th Street on the Upper East Side, ending
in Yorkville once the thriving cultural hub of the German/American community.

The event  honors the important role played by
Baron Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben in helping and training
America's Revolutionary Army during the War of Independence.

Grand Marshalls included German Ambassador Peter Wittig and former Olympic medalist
Katarina Witt.

Among the groups participating from Germany...

                                             Statt Garde Colonia Ahoj

                                               
Of course football...both European and American.

Marchers from across the New York area, Germany and Austria joined
in the festivities under beautiful September skies.

Groups from the New York City Police and Fire Department Steuben Societies marched along too,

along with ethnic clubs from New Jersey and Long Island.

And of course the Beer Floats!

Until Next Year!!

Auf Wiedersehen!

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Slovakia—Central Europe’s Quiet Success Story

Bratislava Hosts EU Summit

 The majestic Danube River connects Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.  Just 40 miles downriver from Vienna, the historic city of Bratislava rises above the Danubian plain.  Still the turrets of Bratislava castle on the hill are more picturesque than forbidding but are usually missed in a journey between Vienna and Budapest. Yet here awaits a positive story, largely overlooked by the major media but very well known to foreign investors.
.
First a bit of history.  Once part of the Austro/Hungarian Empire, after the First World War,
what is today’s Slovakia formed part of old Czechoslovakia founded in 1918.  Following the Second World War, Czechoslovakia fell under communist control and was part of the East Bloc.  .First a bit of history.  Once part of the Austro/Hungarian Empire, after the First World War,what is today’s Slovakia formed part of old Czechoslovakia founded in 1918.  Following the Second World War, Czechoslovakia fell under communist control and was part of the East Bloc.  
Despite its relative proximity to Vienna, during the Cold War, Bratislava was largely forgotten and forsaken until 1989 when this epic year of freedom, bought Eastern Europe and with it  Czechoslovakia, out of the cold.

In what was called the velvet divorce, Slovakia peacefully separated in 1993 from Czechoslovakia in a move many pundits thought imprudent, but were proven wrong.  Bratislava is the capital of this country of five and a half million people  (5.5 million).

Though certainly in the shadow of opulent Vienna or even Budapest, historically Bratislava, once known by its Hungarian name Pozsnoy, was a city of eleven royal coronations.  During the Ottoman/Turkish occupation of Hungary,  this city served as the seat of Royal Hungary.  In June 1741, Maria Theresa, one of Austria’s most powerful monarchs, was crowned at St. Martin’s Cathedral.   (above picture)

Nonetheless Bratislava, this gem of a once thriving royal city, is not yet a tourist nexus.  
From the dark days of the Cold War and socialist economy, since 1989 through hard work and focused policy, Slovakia has emerged as a multi-party democracy and an economic success story.  Freedom House, the human rights watchdog group adds, “Slovakia has been among the most obvious economic success stories in post-communist Europe, and with economic growth topping 3 percent in 2015, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union (EU). ”

According to the media monitor Reporters Without Borders, Slovakia ranks number 12 globally in press freedoms out of 180 countries;  just behind Austria but ahead of Canada and the USA.


The Washington based Heritage Foundation think tank adds, “A prudent regulatory framework for the financial sector combined with competitive tax rates has fueled Slovakia’s transition into a flexible and vibrant market-based economy with considerable resilience. Openness to foreign trade and investment has positioned the country as one of the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment in Europe.”   

The country has become home to high profile manufacturing industries. Korean firms such as Samsung produce widescreen TV for the European market.
Though Slovakia was traditionally known for its heavy industries during the socialist era, the country has in a sense reinvented itself with far reaching market reforms to attract investors.


Surprisingly Slovakia is one of the world’s largest auto producers with Germany’s Volkswagen, the French PSA Peugeot Citroën and  South Korea’s Kia Motors as major manufacturers. Over a quarter million people are employed in the automotive industry.  Labor costs are far below those of Germany and France.  

American firms such as Dell, HP,  IBM and Microsoft are well established in the computer and IT sector.  Research & Development and computer security centers thrive and form a vital element in Slovakia’s rich high-tech landscape.   

Two way trade between Slovakia and the USA reached $2.7 billion in 2015.  
Last year Slovakia attracted $479 million in foreign investment mostly from Europe and East Asia.  Foreign Direct Investment into Slovakia increased to $2,6 billion in the first half of 2016.

Given that Slovakia is a member of the European Union since 2004, as well as in the Euro currency zone,  the country is well poised for intra-European trade.  Equally, geography and transport routes favor Slovakia which is located as a transit hub between West and East.  However, there’s a dangerous dependence on Russian energy supplies.  

On the international front Slovakia is a member of both the European Union and NATO, a vital insurance policy for the country. Though currently holding the rotating Presidency of the European Union, Slovakia’s tenure has been overshadowed by the British BREXIT crisis.  Slovakia has provided troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan as well as to UN peacekeeping missions.  


Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcek is currently a candidate for the post of UN Secretary General.

 While the mighty Danube binds Slovakia into central Europe, the high Tatra mountains exemplify the spirit of  this small country to excel and reach for the heights.   . 

Comment du Jour

French Police Thwart a serious Terrorist Attack planned near Notre Dame.

Significantly Paris still remains under threat from Islamic State terrorists.