Ever since Nicolas Sarkozy became French president, he has been bewildering the German government with one controversial idea after another. The latest shocker? The new man in Paris has offered German Chancellor Angela Merkel French nuclear weapons. French President Nicolas Sarkozy didn't mention the bomb right away. Instead, he took a little detour by way of atomic energy: Whoever is serious about averting global warming should build more nuclear power plants, he told Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier... Then came the surprise offer. Seeing as they were discussing the benefits of all things atomic, the French president continued, he had another suggestion as well: Because the French nuclear umbrella protected France's neighbors as well as La Grande Nation itself, perhaps the Germans would consider taking a political stake in the French atomic arsenal? Both the chancellor and her foreign minister were speechless. The idea of possessing nuclear weapons is taboo in Germany. Sarzoky's predecessor Jacques Chirac cautiously brought up the issue 12 years ago, but he quickly realized it was pointless to pursue it. Steinmeier was the first to regain his composure, explaining that Germany did not seek to become a nuclear power, which is why the country had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975. Merkel offered a friendly smile and backed up her foreign minister.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy didn't mention the bomb right away. Instead, he took a little detour by way of atomic energy: Whoever is serious about averting global warming should build more nuclear power plants, he told Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier... Then came the surprise offer.
Seeing as they were discussing the benefits of all things atomic, the French president continued, he had another suggestion as well: Because the French nuclear umbrella protected France's neighbors as well as La Grande Nation itself, perhaps the Germans would consider taking a political stake in the French atomic arsenal?
Both the chancellor and her foreign minister were speechless. The idea of possessing nuclear weapons is taboo in Germany. Sarzoky's predecessor Jacques Chirac cautiously brought up the issue 12 years ago, but he quickly realized it was pointless to pursue it.
Steinmeier was the first to regain his composure, explaining that Germany did not seek to become a nuclear power, which is why the country had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975. Merkel offered a friendly smile and backed up her foreign minister.
Just what the world needs is more nuclear weapons proliferation.
At some point, if Europeans are serious about having a common foreign policy, this HAS to be on the table. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
That's because you see nothing wrong with owning nuclear weapons, and don't seem to realise that rejection of those is held by an even wider majority in Germany than for nuclear power plants. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
And maybe the German point of view can prevail, who knows? But sticking their heads in the sand is silly. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Which will very soon mean that there is not the slightest bit for any common energy policy.
Why is it impossible for the Germans to answer "we welcome France's willingness to discuss energy weapons. As you know, our position is that we should not have nuclear weapons and we hope that this could be an opportunity to bring our French friends to our position?"
Saying that it should not even be debated is sticking heads in the sand. Just like Greenpeace antics to disrupt nuclear waste convoys do zero to deal with existing waste. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Still, the debate on foreign policy will need to get into tough issues at some point if it is to get anywhere. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Saying that it should not even be debated is sticking heads in the sand.
Jérôme, this is hilarious. They answered, quote,
Germany did not seek to become a nuclear power, which is why the country had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975.
Do you have a lower opinion of the NNPT than George Bush, or why don't you take that for an answer? *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
And, from an European pov, there cannot be a common policy until this question is resolved - and, like pregnancy, there's no halfway position: either you have them, or you don't. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
So basically, german autism on the existence of the french deterrent kills any hope of a joint military program, and shoots a bullet in the foot of a joint foreign policy (because no soft power is as good as the one you back with the immanent threat of hard power).
In that respect, the british "deterrent", being a US trojan, is no more helpful. And of course, the US rejoice at this situation. Pierre
Wait, no, Russians? ...Iranians?
Ah, got it: The British. From invading, of course. Oh, the British would kill for a bit of land on the continent. And better food.
</running away now> Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
It's not quite the same as offering an Arab minister a 3-martini lunch to celebrate the start of Ramadan, but it's close. "Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
In these circles it is most important to bring this type of topic up in preliminary meetings so that no one forces a head of state into a position that is not easily gotten out of or where they lose face.
As NordicStorm says, the German response was very adroit. After having so many SarkMoments, they probably practice for them. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
As long as the French governments promote a policy with nuclear weapons and the German governments have not changed their stance of one without, these attempts to get a discussion going appear utterly futile to me, and at worst, potentially damaging to the relationship between the two countries.
So I disagree Jerome. It's an appalling display of lack in diplomacy (there's probably no news in that). Sarkozy's is France s figurehead and he knows all too well he's in the media's spotlight. I don't understand why Sarkozy has to step in and share around head-butts everywhere when he (or certainly his staffers) should be well aware of Germany's current position. Still character building? Brazen idiocy is how it looks to me.
My sentiments exactly. I'd love it if the UK were to join in but sadly that is extremely unlikely given the delusional nature of current British national mythologies.
There are too many nukes in the world and going on about how other countries shouldn't have them is hypocritical. The need of politicians to possess the capability to destroy the world several times over goes beyond any form of sense into a form of mania that should be certifiable.
We need a nominal deterrent force, preferably under UN control and the rest should be scrapped. keep to the Fen Causeway
If you don't have nukes and you're being threatened by someone who does, you have two choices - fireball, or surrender.
If you do, you can threaten a retaliatory strike, and balance is restored. (In a rather insane way.)
So it's hard to see what the UN would do with nukes if it had them and no one else did.
They're somewhat heavy-handed for peace keeping.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An EU court has upheld a European Commission decision to fine software giant Microsoft €497 million for abusing its dominant market position and to order the US-based company to share information on its programming systems. The EU's second highest court - the Court of First Instance (CFI) - on Monday (17 September) went against Microsoft's appeal case to annul the EU executive's 2004 decision, with Brussels calling it an "important precedent" for other antitrust cases. "The court...essentially upholds the commission's decision finding that Microsoft abused its dominant position," the CFI stated, adding that it had annulled certain parts of the decision relating to the appointment of a so-called "monitoring trustee", which it said had no legal basis in EU law. The EU executive welcomed the ruling. Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said that the judgment "confirms the objectivity and the credibility of the commission's competition policy."
LUXEMBOURG: Europe's second-highest court delivered a stinging rebuke to Microsoft Monday, but the impact of the decision upholding an earlier antitrust ruling may extend well beyond the world's largest software maker to other high-technology companies. Software and legal experts said the European ruling might signal problems for companies like Apple, Intel and Qualcomm, whose market dominance in online music downloads, computer chips and mobile phone technology is also being scrutinized by the European Commission. "The decision is a strong endorsement for what in the United States would be considered aggressive policy on dominant firms," said Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University. "And that's going to continue to play out in other kinds of cases." The 13-member European Court of First Instance, in a starkly worded 244-page summary, reaffirmed that Microsoft had abused its market power by adding a digital media player to Windows, undercutting the early leader, Real Networks.
LUXEMBOURG: Europe's second-highest court delivered a stinging rebuke to Microsoft Monday, but the impact of the decision upholding an earlier antitrust ruling may extend well beyond the world's largest software maker to other high-technology companies.
Software and legal experts said the European ruling might signal problems for companies like Apple, Intel and Qualcomm, whose market dominance in online music downloads, computer chips and mobile phone technology is also being scrutinized by the European Commission.
"The decision is a strong endorsement for what in the United States would be considered aggressive policy on dominant firms," said Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University. "And that's going to continue to play out in other kinds of cases."
The 13-member European Court of First Instance, in a starkly worded 244-page summary, reaffirmed that Microsoft had abused its market power by adding a digital media player to Windows, undercutting the early leader, Real Networks.
Why don't we give voting rights to companies, too? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
The German defense minister's comments about shooting down hijacked planes set off a burst of political squabbling. But the debate raises important issues, even if it's motivated by political maneuvering, observers say. Politicians of all stripes have taken the opportunity to comment on German Defense Minster Franz Josef Jung's statement to Focus magazine on Sunday, Sept. 16, that he would give the command to shoot down a hijacked passenger plane, though such an order has been ruled illegal by Germany's highest court. Leaders from the opposition Greens have called for his dismissal or at least for public chastisement while his colleagues in Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have tended to back him up by calling for a re-examination of constitutional questions in the face of a modern terrorist threat. Also on Sunday, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the risk of a terror attack remains high in Germany, and that the country is "in the sights of Islamist terrorism."
Politicians of all stripes have taken the opportunity to comment on German Defense Minster Franz Josef Jung's statement to Focus magazine on Sunday, Sept. 16, that he would give the command to shoot down a hijacked passenger plane, though such an order has been ruled illegal by Germany's highest court.
Leaders from the opposition Greens have called for his dismissal or at least for public chastisement while his colleagues in Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have tended to back him up by calling for a re-examination of constitutional questions in the face of a modern terrorist threat.
Also on Sunday, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the risk of a terror attack remains high in Germany, and that the country is "in the sights of Islamist terrorism."
Germany's Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung has sparked fury by saying he would order a hijacked passenger jet to be shot down if necessary -- even though the country's highest court ruled last year that such a move would be illegal. Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung is courting controversy with his latest comments. German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung is under fire for declaring that he would order a hijacked passenger jet to be shot down if it were being used in a terror attack, despite last year's Constitutional Court ruling that it would be illegal. Jung, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, told Focus magazine in an interview published on Monday: "If there is no other way I would give the order to fire to protect our citizens." He admitted that the Federal Constitutional Court had ruled that a hijacked plane could only be shot down if only terrorists and no innocent people were on board. But he added: "If it poses a general threat or the fundamental liberal democratic order is threatened, other rules apply."
Germany's Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung has sparked fury by saying he would order a hijacked passenger jet to be shot down if necessary -- even though the country's highest court ruled last year that such a move would be illegal.
Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung is courting controversy with his latest comments. German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung is under fire for declaring that he would order a hijacked passenger jet to be shot down if it were being used in a terror attack, despite last year's Constitutional Court ruling that it would be illegal.
Jung, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, told Focus magazine in an interview published on Monday: "If there is no other way I would give the order to fire to protect our citizens."
He admitted that the Federal Constitutional Court had ruled that a hijacked plane could only be shot down if only terrorists and no innocent people were on board.
But he added: "If it poses a general threat or the fundamental liberal democratic order is threatened, other rules apply."
the person giving that order would have to be shot as well, afterwards, i.e. it would include itself amongst those sacrificed for the greater good. How about it? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Since then, the very outraged military pilots' association called on its pilots to ignore such orders from Jung. To which the reply came, such orders cannot be ignored in any case -- that's no more fantasizing in the press, that sounds like an order itself! Jung forgot that since Nuremburg, "I had my orders" is no excuse. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,506276,00.html
Jung rekrutiert befehlstreue Piloten für Alarmrotten
Jung is recruiting pilots that are 100% prepared to follow orders and shoot down planes.
However, he (the defense minister) would resign straight afterwards, if there is no law to justify his actions.
the argument against is also base on the soldiers law that puts under punishment to execute orders that lead to a crime.
and then the panic at the end: "Wir können doch nicht zusehen, wie ein Flugzeug in ein Stadion mit 70.000 Menschen rast", sagte er (Unions-Verteidigungsexperte Jürgen Herrmann) dem Blatt.
We would not want to let it happen, that a plan flies into a football stadion with 70.000 people in it.
All quotes and stuff from the article linked.
Franz Joseph is of course a hugely popular name in Bavaria.
If it poses a general threat or the fundamental liberal democratic order is threatened, other rules apply.
In other words, we must destroy ourselves before the terrorists get to us.
If A threatens to destroy B, destroy B.
I'm sure there's a fancy Latin phrase for that particular line of reasoning. But in plain English: fucking stupid. "The basis of optimism is sheer terror" - Oscar Wilde
EUOBSERVER/BRUSSELS - The EU ombudsman has criticised the European commission for not dealing with a citizen's complaint concerning the implementation of working time rules for doctors, a sensitive issue in several member states. The case is almost six years old and concerns a German doctor who complained to the commission that Germany was breaching an EU directive on working time, particularly regarding doctors and their time spent on call. The complainant argued that Germany was not respecting EU jurisprudence under which the time spent on call should be counted as working time. Consequently, German doctors were overloaded and their health as well as the health of their patients were at risk, said the complainant.
The Dutch government is struggling to take a decision on whether to hold a referendum on the EU's Reform Treaty. In a meeting on Friday (14 September), the Dutch cabinet decided to postpone the tricky decision by one week after discussing a key report by the Council of State, the Dutch government's highest advisory body. The Council of State last week said in an opinion that there is no legal requirement for a referendum since the new EU treaty does not include "constitutional" elements. Europe minister Frans Timmermans said after Friday's meeting that the government had had a "good discussion" on the Council of State report. "But good and very extensive advice also deserves a good and careful reaction," he stated according to ANP press agency.
A senior French official has raised the question of scrapping a clause in the French constitution which says that future enlargement of European Union should first be voted on in a referendum. "Should we maintain or erase this clause?", Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France's state secretary for European affairs, asked last week in front of the Balladur committee - a high-level committee on institutional reform set up by French president Nicolas Sarkozy. "This could put France into difficulty as regards countries which have an indisputable and undisputed vocation to join the EU, such as Macedonia or the Balkans", he said, Le Figaro reports. "France would risk blocking [their] membership process, while all the conditions would be present", he went on to say.
I'm not saying that because the clause is a mistake, but if you view it as one, then just because it's in the constitution shouldn't mean it gets to stay for 10 years before it is corrected?
The British government on Monday night stepped in to guarantee the savings of customers of the beleaguered Northern Rock bank as it moved to prevent panic from gripping the entire UK banking sector. Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer, pledged the government would fully guarantee people's savings and the Treasury said similar assurances would be available to customers of any other lender that ran into difficulty in the current turmoil.Customers queued in their thousands to withdraw money from the mortgage lender for a third day and the stock market showed signs of fear spreading to other banks.The government's move, which goes far beyond the current scheme for protecting depositors, came amid signs that the crisis of confidence in Northern Rock was spreading to other lenders. Shares in Alliance & Leicester, Britain's eighth-biggest bank, plunged more than 30 per cent after fears - denied by the bank - that it had been forced to follow Northern Rock in calling on the Bank of England for support.
The British government on Monday night stepped in to guarantee the savings of customers of the beleaguered Northern Rock bank as it moved to prevent panic from gripping the entire UK banking sector.
Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer, pledged the government would fully guarantee people's savings and the Treasury said similar assurances would be available to customers of any other lender that ran into difficulty in the current turmoil.
Customers queued in their thousands to withdraw money from the mortgage lender for a third day and the stock market showed signs of fear spreading to other banks.
The government's move, which goes far beyond the current scheme for protecting depositors, came amid signs that the crisis of confidence in Northern Rock was spreading to other lenders. Shares in Alliance & Leicester, Britain's eighth-biggest bank, plunged more than 30 per cent after fears - denied by the bank - that it had been forced to follow Northern Rock in calling on the Bank of England for support.
The Government made an unprecedented intervention in the Northern Rock crisis yesterday by publicly guaranteeing all the bank's deposits. The intervention, by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, capped a dramatic day that had seen further mass queuing outside Northern Rock branches and billions wiped off banks' shares on fears of contagion. The worst hit of the other banks was Alliance & Leicester, which tried to stem fears that it would be the next bank to seek emergency funding. Bradford & Bingley was another to feel the pain. The slump in Alliance & Leicester's shares raised fears of its customers making mass withdrawals of their savings in a second run on a British bank, and the Leicester-based mortgage lender had to act quickly. But it was the Northern Rock crisis that continued to cause the most concern. The bank's shares fell by 35.4 per cent, and mass withdrawals continued, bringing the total withdrawn in the past week to £2bn.
The Government made an unprecedented intervention in the Northern Rock crisis yesterday by publicly guaranteeing all the bank's deposits. The intervention, by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, capped a dramatic day that had seen further mass queuing outside Northern Rock branches and billions wiped off banks' shares on fears of contagion.
The worst hit of the other banks was Alliance & Leicester, which tried to stem fears that it would be the next bank to seek emergency funding. Bradford & Bingley was another to feel the pain.
The slump in Alliance & Leicester's shares raised fears of its customers making mass withdrawals of their savings in a second run on a British bank, and the Leicester-based mortgage lender had to act quickly.
But it was the Northern Rock crisis that continued to cause the most concern. The bank's shares fell by 35.4 per cent, and mass withdrawals continued, bringing the total withdrawn in the past week to £2bn.
Darling, Gordo and the BoE (and the FSA, for Chris) really didn't have a choice about doing this. If they hadn't, NR would have gone down. A&L and a number of others would have followed, and it's impossible to say where the carnage would have ended.
Rather than risk a run on the high street, they've shored up confidence.
The smart thing now would be to look at new solvency and trading regulations to make a repeat less likely. (But I'm not holding my breath.)
So, when an investment banker refuses to lend a tiny proportion of his bloated coffers to Northern Rock, that is financial wisdom. When a pensioner no longer wishes to lend them their life savings, that is panic.
Typical of the wunch of bankers that run our fianacial policies in this coutnry that they don't see that it exists to service the economy of the wider community and not just a creator of bonuses for City FatCats. Scum, total scum. keep to the Fen Causeway
most cities would kill for a thriving financial sector that produced highly paid jobs and juicy tax revenues. Big financial firms have fanned out around the globe and are not shy about telling politicians exactly what they want. Many of the things they are looking for--from good infrastructure to low taxes--are helpful for businesses of all kinds, not just financial firms. Being able to attract the right talent is critical too. It is the mix of all these factors that has kept New York and London so far ahead of the rest. They may be shockingly expensive places to live, but top financiers clearly think they are worth it. And there are plenty of lesser financial centres that aspire to become more like them.
It is the mix of all these factors that has kept New York and London so far ahead of the rest. They may be shockingly expensive places to live, but top financiers clearly think they are worth it. And there are plenty of lesser financial centres that aspire to become more like them.
And just above, we see a new version of trickle down...
As the financiers' money cascades across the cities where they live and work, it transforms everything from house prices to shopping patterns. Mr Hamnett draws an analogy with a multi-tiered water fountain, with water flowing first from the financial district to smart residential neighbourhoods, then to slightly less smart areas, and so on. On the other hand, if investment bankers' bonuses dry up, so will their lavish spending.
Because higher house prices - of course - benefit everybody, not just established home owners, right? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Not that I am defending the UK's inadequate deposit insurance, but this is a very slippery slope indeed....
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the world should prepare for war over Iran's nuclear programme. "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," Mr Kouchner said in an interview on French TV and radio. He was speaking ahead of a visit to Russia on Monday, during which Iran is likely to feature prominently. Iran's nuclear programme will also be one of the main issues for the UN nuclear watchdog's annual conference, starting in Vienna on Monday. Iran denies it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and says it only wants nuclear power to generate electricity for civilian purposes.
"We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," Mr Kouchner said in an interview on French TV and radio.
He was speaking ahead of a visit to Russia on Monday, during which Iran is likely to feature prominently.
Iran's nuclear programme will also be one of the main issues for the UN nuclear watchdog's annual conference, starting in Vienna on Monday.
Iran denies it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and says it only wants nuclear power to generate electricity for civilian purposes.
PARIS - A warning from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that the world has to prepare for a possible war with Iran over its nuclear programme triggered alarm in the Middle East and elsewhere on Monday.Iran's official media launched a scathing response to the remarks, made in a broadcast interview Sunday evening, and accused Paris of pandering to the United States. "The new occupants of the Elysee (presidential palace) want to copy the White House," the state-owned IRNA news agency said in an editorial. Accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of taking on "an American skin", it said that "the French people will never forget the era when a non-European moved into the Elysee." Kouchner, a former international charity chief and Socialist health minister, said that the world should negotiate with Iran "right to the end" over its nuclear programme.
PARIS - A warning from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that the world has to prepare for a possible war with Iran over its nuclear programme triggered alarm in the Middle East and elsewhere on Monday.
Iran's official media launched a scathing response to the remarks, made in a broadcast interview Sunday evening, and accused Paris of pandering to the United States. "The new occupants of the Elysee (presidential palace) want to copy the White House," the state-owned IRNA news agency said in an editorial. Accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of taking on "an American skin", it said that "the French people will never forget the era when a non-European moved into the Elysee." Kouchner, a former international charity chief and Socialist health minister, said that the world should negotiate with Iran "right to the end" over its nuclear programme.
Iran's official media launched a scathing response to the remarks, made in a broadcast interview Sunday evening, and accused Paris of pandering to the United States.
"The new occupants of the Elysee (presidential palace) want to copy the White House," the state-owned IRNA news agency said in an editorial.
Accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of taking on "an American skin", it said that "the French people will never forget the era when a non-European moved into the Elysee."
Kouchner, a former international charity chief and Socialist health minister, said that the world should negotiate with Iran "right to the end" over its nuclear programme.
The UN's chief nuclear weapons inspector yesterday warned against the use of force against Iran, in what UN officials said was an attempt to halt an "out of control" drift to war.His outspoken remarks, which drew a parallel between Iran and Iraq, appeared to take aim at the US and Britain. They followed comments on Sunday night by the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who said: "We have to prepare for the worst," adding "the worst is war". Article continues "I would not talk about any use of force," Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons."There has been a string of reports out of Washington that the Bush administration is running out of patience with diplomacy and is intensifying its plans for air strikes as a means of halting Iran's disputed nuclear programme.
His outspoken remarks, which drew a parallel between Iran and Iraq, appeared to take aim at the US and Britain. They followed comments on Sunday night by the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who said: "We have to prepare for the worst," adding "the worst is war".
Article continues "I would not talk about any use of force," Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons."
There has been a string of reports out of Washington that the Bush administration is running out of patience with diplomacy and is intensifying its plans for air strikes as a means of halting Iran's disputed nuclear programme.
In a bid to play down the controversy, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday, Sept. 17, that tensions with Iran were "extreme" but insisted there was still room for diplomacy in the nuclear stand-off. "Everything must be done to avoid war," Fillon told reporters. "The Iranians must understand that tension has reached an extreme point." While saying that Kouchner was right to call the situation with Iran dangerous, Fillon added that a confrontation was "the last option that any political leader would want."
In a bid to play down the controversy, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday, Sept. 17, that tensions with Iran were "extreme" but insisted there was still room for diplomacy in the nuclear stand-off.
"Everything must be done to avoid war," Fillon told reporters. "The Iranians must understand that tension has reached an extreme point."
While saying that Kouchner was right to call the situation with Iran dangerous, Fillon added that a confrontation was "the last option that any political leader would want."
ie you lighten up on French investment in Iranian energy and we'll look again at the nuclear (non) issue.
If anyone here has easy access to International press archives I'd be interested in seeing when this Iranian nuclear "issue" first surfaced, and in what publications.
My (very) imperfect memory is that I can't recall reading about it before the US got embroiled in Fallujah in April 2004 or before I first went to Tehran in May 2004.
But I may well have missed it.
There's a serious Diary there for anyone inclined to do the research....
The authorities in Ukraine have approved a giant steel cover for the radioactive site of the world's worst nuclear disaster - Chernobyl. Ukraine has hired a French firm to build the structure to replace the crumbling concrete casing put over the reactor after the 1986 accident. The casing project is expected to cost $1.4bn (£700m). It will take five years to complete and the authorities say they will then be able to start dismantling the reactor. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko hailed the project: "Today is probably the first time that we can openly look into the eyes of the national and international community and say that a solution to the problem that has long been called the Chernobyl problem was formally found," he said.
Ukraine has hired a French firm to build the structure to replace the crumbling concrete casing put over the reactor after the 1986 accident.
The casing project is expected to cost $1.4bn (£700m).
It will take five years to complete and the authorities say they will then be able to start dismantling the reactor.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko hailed the project:
"Today is probably the first time that we can openly look into the eyes of the national and international community and say that a solution to the problem that has long been called the Chernobyl problem was formally found," he said.
is this the modern equivalent of sweeping something under the rug, but scaled up? The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
BERLIN: In its latest bid to inject more competition into Europe's energy market, the European Commission plans to propose measures to make national regulators more independent so they can better resist an opposing push by companies for greater concentration. The directive, scheduled to be introduced Wednesday by Andris Piebalgs, the European energy commissioner, would also include for the first time a "solidarity clause," which would strongly encourage - but not require - regional assistance for any EU member whose supplies were threatened. Among other things, the directive also would require greater transparency about the share-holding structure of European energy companies and limit the term of a national energy regulator to five years. The measures reflect a growing frustration on the commission's part that legislation it has introduced over the past five years has not yet led to a genuinely open and competitive market across the 27-country EU.
BERLIN: In its latest bid to inject more competition into Europe's energy market, the European Commission plans to propose measures to make national regulators more independent so they can better resist an opposing push by companies for greater concentration.
The directive, scheduled to be introduced Wednesday by Andris Piebalgs, the European energy commissioner, would also include for the first time a "solidarity clause," which would strongly encourage - but not require - regional assistance for any EU member whose supplies were threatened.
Among other things, the directive also would require greater transparency about the share-holding structure of European energy companies and limit the term of a national energy regulator to five years.
The measures reflect a growing frustration on the commission's part that legislation it has introduced over the past five years has not yet led to a genuinely open and competitive market across the 27-country EU.
If supplies are "threatened" anywhere, it simply means that prices are not high enough. Or are they sayign that markets are not efficient? I am so confused. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Key eurozone members are set to remind France it must cut its public deficit, a German press report said on Monday. The eurozone countries, which were not identified, would send a written warning to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, pressing him to tighten the government's budget discipline, the Financial Times Deutschland said, without naming its sources. The warning would take the form of a European Commission procedure, a so-called "political counsel," which the newspaper described as "declaration of war." The recently adopted procedure is reportedly the most restrictive available to the commission with regard to countries that appear unable to meet fiscal rules laid down in the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
Key eurozone members are set to remind France it must cut its public deficit, a German press report said on Monday.
The eurozone countries, which were not identified, would send a written warning to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, pressing him to tighten the government's budget discipline, the Financial Times Deutschland said, without naming its sources.
The warning would take the form of a European Commission procedure, a so-called "political counsel," which the newspaper described as "declaration of war."
The recently adopted procedure is reportedly the most restrictive available to the commission with regard to countries that appear unable to meet fiscal rules laid down in the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
(Translation and errors mine)
More than a majority of French people (57%) believe that the government's economic policy is a good one, and 69% of them are favorable to France's special pension systems for retirees [régimes spéciaux de retraite], according to a BVA poll. The proportion of individuals polls who were satisfied with the government's economic policy of François Fillon is the same as that recorded in the last survey conducted in June, noted a report for Les Echos and BFM Radio. The proportion of those polled who were favorable to "a reform of the special pension systems for certain categories of civil servants in order to bring them into line with the general pension system" fell from 72% in April to 69%. 68% of those asked considered this reform "bold, for it shows well the government's desire to reform the country significantly ["deeply"]", though 69% think it "risky, for it could provoke strikes that risk paralyzing the country as in 1995." This monthly* poll was conducted on September 14 and 15 over a sample of 1002 people, several hours before a speech that the president Nicolas Sarkozy was to deliver on social issues, in particular, on retirement.
The proportion of individuals polls who were satisfied with the government's economic policy of François Fillon is the same as that recorded in the last survey conducted in June, noted a report for Les Echos and BFM Radio.
The proportion of those polled who were favorable to "a reform of the special pension systems for certain categories of civil servants in order to bring them into line with the general pension system" fell from 72% in April to 69%.
68% of those asked considered this reform "bold, for it shows well the government's desire to reform the country significantly ["deeply"]", though 69% think it "risky, for it could provoke strikes that risk paralyzing the country as in 1995."
This monthly* poll was conducted on September 14 and 15 over a sample of 1002 people, several hours before a speech that the president Nicolas Sarkozy was to deliver on social issues, in particular, on retirement.
*Not sure what baromètre mensuel meant. Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read or write.
The French Retirement System
This poll, and another poll I read about yesterday in Le Monde recalled some diaries from earlier this year that may have renewed relevance. Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read or write.
For those speaking German, read this op-ed and weep:
Grünen-Parteitag: Abschied von Fischers Außenpolitik - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten
Von Hubert Kleinert
Mangelnder Realismus, Großsprecherei, Antiamerikanismus: Das Afghanistan-Debakel der Grünen ist nicht nur eine Bauchlandung der "Regierungslinken", sondern schaltet die Partei auch als möglichen Bündnispartner jenseits von Rot-Grün aus. Die Blamage wird die Partei teuer zu stehen kommen.
Hubert Kleinert [Former Green representative for Hessen state, aide to Joschka Fischer]
Lacking realism, boastfulness, anti-Americanism: the Afghanistan debacle of the Greens is not only a belly landing of the "government Left", but also excludes the party as a potential coalition partner beyond Red-Green. The blamage will be expensive for the party.
No coalition with the CDU, what a tragedy. But Kleinert is right about the conservative reaction: the general secretary of the CDU's Bavarian sister, the CSU, commented the event foaming at the mouth, declaring that the Greens "betrayed" Joschka Fischer!... He just can't think of a party not built as the feudal fiefdom of its leader (like his is). *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Serious people always support war. It is a difficult choice to support war, which provides ample ground to ponder on one's seriousness in doing so.
As Gabor Steingart the born-again neocon says,
Irak-Abzug: Mein Berlin, ihr Bagdad - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten
