Comment du Jour

French Elections in New York City/Round One

French citizens voting in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn.


French around the world voted in their homeland's hotly contested national elections. 
In the first round of voting more than ten candidates from the political mainstream 
to the nut fringe were ballot choices.  

In the New York area there were 9 polling places to cast the ballots.

As in France itself, center Left candidate Emmanuel Macron came in first;
here in New York local voters gave him 52 percent of the total.
Conservative candidate Francois Fillon came in second in America with 
29 percent but failed to place in France for the upcoming second  round.

Marine Le Pen the nationalist firebrand placed second in France but 
barely scored in the USA garnering a mere 3 percent of the vote.  

This is the first time in the history of the French Fifth Republic in that candidates from the major parties are not represented in the Second Round of voting.

Macron faces off against Le Pen in the runoff on 7 May.   

Comment du Jour

Sultan Erdogan’s Uneasy Turkish Turban

There’s troubling news from across the Bosphorus, the narrow slip of water separating Europe from Asia-minor.  In a decisive but dividing referendum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan narrowly gained the political blessing he sought by winning 51 percent of the nationwide vote.  Erdogan’s divisive victory (51/49 percent), allows the increasingly authoritarian Turkish ruler to gain sweeping powers to change the constitution and to allow him near unrivaled power until 2029.  

Turkey remains a key piece on the geopolitical board linking Europe to the Mid East and the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.  But its strategic situation has been sadly compromised by its border with Syria whose civil war continues to spill over into Turkish territory both in terms of violent terrorism and humanitarian hosting of nearly three million refugees.  

Contrary to many assumptions, Turkey’s economy in recent years was strong and growth- oriented.  Turkish tourism was booming and deservedly so.   The Syrian crisis changed the equation dramatically.  Tourism has taken a dive downwards. 

The once staunchly secular Turkish Republic of Kemal Ataturk was founded in 1923.  The new 18  article constitutional changes focus on granting of executive powers to an elected President and the abolition of the Prime Minister.  Equally Cabinet Ministers can be chosen from outside the Parliament.  The ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) has changed the rules of the game. Erdogan became Prime Minister in 2002 and was elected President in 2014. 

So who backed Erdogan in this controversial vote?  While the ruling AK pressed for a Yes vote,

the “No” vote prevailed in Istanbul and Ankara the capital.  In coastal Izmir, a secular stronghold No gained 69 percent.  Equally the restive ethnic Kurdish regions voted No.  

Yet in the vast Islamic religious Anatolian interior and the Black Sea, Erdogan’s support was rock solid.  A commentator dubbed it “Anatolia versus the Metropolis.”   

Tragically Turks apparently voted to elect a dictator. 

Crucial to the campaign was Erdogan’s lobbying the 5 million plus Turkish vote overseas, mostly in Europe and especially in Germany and the Netherlands.  Tensions were high as Erdogan’s minions shamelessly campaigned in Europe; in the Netherlands the Yes reached 71 percent, France 64 percent and in Germany 63 percent.  

The Turkish vote in the USA on the other hand, was resoundingly against Erdogan with 83 percent voting NO!

During the heated campaign President Erdogan’s gloating rhetorical rants against European democracies as “crusaders” and “Nazis and fascists” reminded Euro-skeptics of their initial reservations about Turkey’s fitness to join the European Union.  Erdogan’s unalloyed authoritarianism is often masked through using Islam as a legitimizing force to rule.

Hurryiet Daily News columnist Semih Idiz opined, “Turkey’s parliamentary system of 94 years has been replaced with a presidential one that is not restricted by any checks and balances. This can’t be reversed…  This hardly augers a good start for a Turkey visibly divided along active social, religious and ethnic fault lines.”

Sultan Erdogan has been emboldened but remains nervous over his slim mandate. So did Turks choose to elect a dictatorship?   Turkey’s populism has been unleashed but its outcomes are decidedly unpredictable.  Despondingly, Turkey’s once staunchly secular state has morphed into an increasingly authoritarian Islamic system which has apparently chosen to look more like the Middle East than Europe.

Comment du Jour

St. Patrick's Day Parade/NYC


A sea of Green flooded Fifth Avenue for the 255th annual St. Patricks Day Parade.
Just days after a debilitating blizzard and ice storm which slammed the metropolitan area,
City sanitation crews swept the Queen of Avenues clean for the annual parade honoring Irish
Americans.

Bagpipes and marching bands from the New York Police and Fire Departments were joined from marchers across the country and world, including Ireland, France and Spain, in the Big Apple's biggest parade.  The New York State Police marched honoring its centenary of service.

The parade which traces its roots to 1762 or more than a decade before the American Revolution, celebrates   Tradition and Irish Pride.

As a  particularly poignant part of the Parade,  the New York City Fire Department (NYFD) 
 marched with 343 American Flags, each banner honoring one firefighter killed during the 
September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on America.  

Comment du Jour

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

The 57th annual Antiquarian Book Fair in New York

The mid March event brought together over 200 American and international book dealers

for an extraordinary four day event . Held at the venerable Park Avenue Armory, the Fair attracted an overflow and enthusiastic crowd of patrons from the USA and Europe.

   

One of the amazing selections came from New York dealer Seth Kaller, with an
ALEXANDER HAMILTON collection of important original letters, documents and
imprints from this key figure in the American Revolutionary period and the early
American Republic.  Material relating to the Revolution, the Federalist Papers, and
Hamilton's key role in the Founding of the Republic are in the collection. So too is a
Hamilton love letter to Eliza Schuyler.

 
Whitmore Rare Books from California brought along an edition of Casino Royale
the early Ian Fleming spy thriller.  Beyond being a coveted First Edition, the book
has a rare dust jacket which was sparingly used in the first printing.  Very rare, quite
pricey.


European dealers, especially from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands were a mainstay of the show.

Equally sellers from as far away as Australia again rejoined the show with fascinating selections. 
Asian Bookroom, Canberra, Australia


Naturally the Fair is renown for its sweepingly beautiful maps and color volumes,  which are presented below.

Comment du Jour

Ukraine's Smoldering Conflict

 The rumble of artillery and the cracks of Kalashnikovs shatter the Winter chill.

The refugees, the displaced and the injured have become part of the broken landscape which reflects the agony of previous battles. Yet the wider silence is broken by the unwavering voices who remind us that this is not beleaguered Syria in the Middle East nor Sudan in Africa but Ukraine in Europe.

Russian backed rebels have attacked Ukrainian government positions along the unstable ceasefire line. A ranking UN official asserts, there’s been a “dangerous intensification of the conflict.”Ukraine’s smoldering conflict has flared up again with a sharp upsurge in fighting in the disputed Donetsk region in the east of the country.

A Security Council meeting, sponsored by Ukraine, set the stage. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, who serves as the Council’s President for February, stated “Altogether 20 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 134 were wounded by the Russian hybrid forces and Russia-backed militants since the beginning of this year in the area around Avdiyivka.” He stressed that Moscow-backed forces had broken the Minsk ceasefire accords and were destabilizing Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Russia blames Ukraine for starting the recent round of fighting.

Nearly 10,000 people, military and civilians have been killed since the conflict began in 2014.

U.S. Ambassador Haley ’s debut address before the UN Security Council condemned Russia’s “aggressive actions” in eastern Ukraine and warned: “Until Russia and the separatists it supports respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, this crisis will continue.”

Amb. Haley lamented that it was “unfortunate” that she had to condemn Russia during her first Security Council appearance, adding “we do want to better our relations with Russia.”

Significantly, the recent flareup up in Ukraine comes amid moves by the Trump Administration to improve relations with Russia.

Some analysts question why Moscow would wish to reignite a conflict which would immediately put it at loggerheads with the new American Administration.

Russia suggests that Ukraine plans to present itself as the victim to precisely forestall U.S./Russian rapprochement. A third option may involve the vodka soaked separatists themselves who want to keep the pot boiling to avoid being sacrificed as part of a Putin political deal with Washington.

Improving the severely strained USA/Russian relationship should not come at the expense of a sovereign Ukraine.

In earlier comments to the press, Ukraine’s Ambassador Yelchenko stated that Nikki Haley, the new U.S. Ambassador, was well-informed about the situation in his country.

“She had confirmed that the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

Indeed during Ambassador Haley’s strong condemnation of Russian actions in eastern Ukraine she added, “The United States continues to condemn and call for an immediate end to the Russian occupation of Crimea. Crimea is a part of Ukraine. Our Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control over the peninsula to Ukraine.”

Importantly according to a story in Politico, President Donald Trump promised Ukrainian opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko that the U.S. won’t lift sanctions on Russia until it pulls out of Ukraine.

Nonetheless despite the renewed geopolitical posturing, the continued conflict in Ukraine’s eastern regions has created a terrible and growing humanitarian crisis.

Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s Humanitarian Chief told the Council, “Over three years into the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in what has become yet another protracted humanitarian crisis, we are now faced with a significant deterioration in the situation following the sudden and recent escalation in violence… The current escalation in violence is causing severe damage to critical infrastructure, water, electricity and heating. Combined with low winter temperatures, the result is a deteriorating humanitarian situation.”

Tragically, O’Brien added, “This latest escalation in violence is exacerbating the ongoing needs of an estimated 3.8 million civilians who continue to bear the brunt of this protracted conflict… There are 700,000 more people in need this year compared to 2016.

More than 60 per cent of those in need, reside in non-government controlled areas.”

Civilians on both sides of the artificial divide are suffering from the conflict.

Britain’s Ambassador Matthew Rycroft admonished: “The responsibility of the inception and continuation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine lies squarely with Russia and the separatists it supports.”

Ukraine’s delegate Yelchenko summed up the situation: “The remedy to stop this Russian aggression against my country and to avoid further civilian sufferings is rather simple. What the international community needs to do is to step up pressure on the aggressor and urge Russian Federation to get out of Ukraine.”

Comment du Jour

La Boulangerie Bakery in Forest Hlls, New York 


Galette des Rois 

Kings Cake

A traditional pastry celebrating the Epiphany (6 January) the Galettes de Rois are popular in France and Quebec during most of January.  The puff pastry with a layer of delicious frangipane also has versions which are popular in New Orleans.

While the cake is known as as offering to the Three Kings, each pastry holds a small porcelain figurine usually of a religious nature.  The person who finds the prize La Feve becomes King for a day but often gains the obligation to purchase the next cake for the family.

The paper crown can also be worn by the lucky person who discovers the Feve.!

Discovering  the Feve in the pastry is half the fun.  The treasure is seen above.

And here we see some typical Feves retrieved from delicious cakes!!!

Comment du Jour

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What's Ahead for 2017?

 It’s once again time to consult the crystal snow globe and peer ahead into what events 2017 may bring.

After a surprising, tumultuous and truly roller-coaster year just past, we certainly can hope for a more stable period. But should we?

Despite the unprecedented electoral triumph of Donald Trump in the American presidential election, the incoming Trump Administration inherits a combustible mix of global chaos.

London’s respected Spectator magazine dubs 2017 as “Europe’s Year of Rage.” The winds of political populism have hardly abated; after Brexit in Britain with the UK’s intent to leave the European Union, unpredictable forces of populism have yet to crest on the continent.

Elections: France and Germany will hold crucial national elections. In France the populist hard-right National Front may make serious inroads over the incumbent and incompetent Socialist government. In Germany Angela Merkel’s Christian democratic coalition will probably win despite the fearful backlash to Germany’s accepting over one million Mideast migrants.

Afghanistan: Can an invigorated Taliban Islamic insurgency topple the U.S.-backed Kabul government? And importantly, what would be the stand of the new American administration? An Afghan showdown could be an early test in 2017.

Turkey: A crucial country at the crossroads but facing dangerous domestic trends which include the increasingly authoritarian Islamic government of President Tayep Erdogan. Not your father’s Turkey; the tried and true Turkey which was a stable linchpin of NATO has fundamentally changed in recent years and especially in the wake of the ill-fated but suspicious military coup in July 2016 which gave Erdogan the excuse to massively crackdown on opposition politicians, the security forces and the media.

Terrorism: The recent Christmas-market bombings in Berlin and the attacks in Nice, Istanbul and Brussels earlier in the year underscore the clear and present danger from international terror. Massive refugee flows and threat of Islamic Jihadi violence in USA and Europe persist. The decline of ISIL’s pseudo state will likely be offset by the rebirth of the Al Qaida hate franchise. Syria remains the epicenter of violence and the Islamic internationalist cause.

The Islamic Republic of Iran: has truly gotten away with murder. Now with American and European economic sanctions lifted, both countries plan to profit with lucrative trade deals with the Teheran regime. Both Boeing aircraft and Europe’s Airbus couldn’t wait to do business with the Islamic Republic to sell planes and technology to Teheran.

United Nations: The UN has elected Portugal’s Antonio Guterres as its new Secretary-General. And while the overload of widening refugee crises, conflicts and natural disasters confronts the UN system, a simmering new imponderable has emerged in the wake of the Obama Administration’s controversial action in the Security Council. The widespread bipartisan backlash to a U.S. vote to abstain from and thus allow a crucial resolution condemning Israeli settlements, has flared up a smoldering resentment in the U.S. Congress. Given that the USA remains the world organization’s largest donor at 22 percent of the budget, such an anti-Israel stance could cause a major reappraisal in both Congress and the new Administration. Expect the power of the purse strings to be played at the UN.

China: Part of the Trump Trade Template focuses on massive deficits between the People’s Republic of China and the USA. In 2015 the deficit with Beijing hit $367 billion. It may ease marginally for 2016. There’s also China’s expanding military moves into the disputed waters of the East and South China Sea. Also expect Beijing to bully Taiwan’s democratic government and reassert the claim that Taiwan is part of the PRC.

Russia: Interestingly on Dec. 31, 1999, Vladimir Putin was elevated to Russian president in the wake of Boris Yeltsin stepping down. Seventeen years later Putin’s authoritarianism is in full stride. He’s stifled domestic opposition, dismembered neighboring Ukraine, has successfully intervened in Syria’s gruesome conflict, and outmaneuvered Obama’s humiliating complacency.

Korean Peninsula: A real danger reemerges on the divided peninsula as a bellicose and nuclear armed North Korea could misread democratic South Korea’s political turmoil in the wake of the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye.

Japan: During his recent summit in Hawaii, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed remorse and continuing reconciliation between Japan and the USA for Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago. Significant improvement of the U.S.-Japan relationship can be expected as the Trump team tilts towards Tokyo as a counterweight to Mainland China.

May my readers have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!