France celebrates Bastille Day Tuesday with a grand military parade down Paris's majestic Champs Elysees, joined by a detachment of Indian troops. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the guest of honour this year. France celebrates Bastille Day Tuesday with a massive military parade down Paris's majestic Champs Elysee followed by concerts, fireworks and garden parties as the country marks the 1789 storming of the infamous Bastille prison that marked the start of the French Revolution. The main feature of the day is a huge military parade involving 5,000 men, about 300 military vehicles, 83 motorbikes, 280 horses, 68 planes and 37 helicopters, according to French officials. The parade moves down the Champs Elysees, from the capital's landmark Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde. Security is tight across Paris, with nearly 10,000 policemen and gendarmes spread around the city's landmark sites, including the Eiffel Tower, where French rock hero Johnny Halliday will perform at a public concert later Tuesday.
France celebrates Bastille Day Tuesday with a massive military parade down Paris's majestic Champs Elysee followed by concerts, fireworks and garden parties as the country marks the 1789 storming of the infamous Bastille prison that marked the start of the French Revolution.
The main feature of the day is a huge military parade involving 5,000 men, about 300 military vehicles, 83 motorbikes, 280 horses, 68 planes and 37 helicopters, according to French officials. The parade moves down the Champs Elysees, from the capital's landmark Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.
Security is tight across Paris, with nearly 10,000 policemen and gendarmes spread around the city's landmark sites, including the Eiffel Tower, where French rock hero Johnny Halliday will perform at a public concert later Tuesday.
The night ahead of France's national day was marked by widespread vandalism as 317 cars were burned across the country, a slight increase over the same period last year, according to the police. AFP - French youths burned 317 cars and wounded 13 police officers overnight during the now traditional bout of street violence on the eve of the Bastille Day national holiday, police said Tuesday. As French troops and their guests of honour from the Indian army made last minute preparations for the July 14 parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris, the suburbs of major cities were contemplating another clean-up operation. By 6:00 am (0400 GMT), police headquarters in Paris had recorded 317 burnt out cars -- up 6.7 percent on 2008 -- and 240 arrests, almost double the total for the same period last year. These numbers were expected to increase as fresh reports came in.
AFP - French youths burned 317 cars and wounded 13 police officers overnight during the now traditional bout of street violence on the eve of the Bastille Day national holiday, police said Tuesday. As French troops and their guests of honour from the Indian army made last minute preparations for the July 14 parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris, the suburbs of major cities were contemplating another clean-up operation. By 6:00 am (0400 GMT), police headquarters in Paris had recorded 317 burnt out cars -- up 6.7 percent on 2008 -- and 240 arrests, almost double the total for the same period last year. These numbers were expected to increase as fresh reports came in.
French youths burned 317 cars and wounded 13 police officers overnight during the now traditional bout of street violence on the eve of the Bastille Day
IOW they celebrated in style. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
LOL! Perhaps, if France is so very offensive to Sikhs, the Indian PM should have declined the invitation? Yet he and all the Indians participating yesterday looked extremely happy to be in Paris. (As they should be: nice weather, they put on a fine parade, they were applauded and made welcome).
The turban, by the way, is forbidden to schoolboys in state schools, nowhere else.
(I indeed found criticisms of him on Sikh action group pages.) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Secondly why it was not declined - because India does not want unnecessary problems with her elevation to UN SC where France enjoys undue influence of veto-wielding member.
But it could much better if French politicians finally woke up to reality and realized their real place in the world.
Twelve European companies on Monday signed a deal for a 400-billion-euro ($560 billion) project to build solar farms in Africa and the Middle East to produce energy for Europe. The companies, which include leading German energy giants RWE and E.ON, electro-engineering group Siemens, and major insurer Munich Re, signed an agreement in Munich on Monday. "Today we have taken a step forward (towards the project's realization)," said Nikolaus von Bomhard, head of Munich Re, which hosted the signing. The firms grouped under The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) plan to build solar power generators in North Africa and the Middle East which could provide up to 15 percent of Europe's electricity needs by 2050.
The companies, which include leading German energy giants RWE and E.ON, electro-engineering group Siemens, and major insurer Munich Re, signed an agreement in Munich on Monday.
"Today we have taken a step forward (towards the project's realization)," said Nikolaus von Bomhard, head of Munich Re, which hosted the signing.
The firms grouped under The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) plan to build solar power generators in North Africa and the Middle East which could provide up to 15 percent of Europe's electricity needs by 2050.
ps Where are the panels being made ? Has local manufacturing been considered ? keep to the Fen Causeway
Lawmakers in the Icelandic parliament, the Althingi, reconvened a marathon debate on Monday to decide if the Reykjavik government should formally apply for membership of the European Union. Iceland's wish to join the European Union received a setback on Sunday when five Green party members sided with the conservative opposition to block a resolution giving approval to the government proposal. The Greens have hinged their support on the coalition government giving the green light to a national referendum on EU membership. Social Democrat Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir is opposed to idea of a referendum delaying accession talks and wants a quick vote so she can deliver Iceland's application on July 27 when Sweden's Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson will be hosting a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Iceland's wish to join the European Union received a setback on Sunday when five Green party members sided with the conservative opposition to block a resolution giving approval to the government proposal. The Greens have hinged their support on the coalition government giving the green light to a national referendum on EU membership.
Social Democrat Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir is opposed to idea of a referendum delaying accession talks and wants a quick vote so she can deliver Iceland's application on July 27 when Sweden's Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson will be hosting a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The question is whether enough fishery stocks can survive at a level that allows them to recover before global warming does them in and causes a radical shift in the entire ocean ecosystem.
New Study First To Identify National Economies That Are Likely To Suffer Most As Climate Change Imperils Fisheries
With climate change threatening to ruin ocean reefs, push salt water into freshwater habitats and produce more coastal storms, millions of struggling people in fishery-dependent nations of Africa, Asia and South America could face unprecedented hardship, according to a new study published today in the February issue of the peer-reviewed journal Fish and Fisheries. The study by a team of scientists at The WorldFish Center, the University of East Anglia, Simon Fraser University, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, the University of Bremen, and the Mekong River Commission is the first to identify individual nations that are "highly vulnerable" to the impact of climate change on fisheries. WorldFish is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
New findings on climate change and fisheries
The disturbing results demonstrate for the first time: There will be a large-scale re-distribution of species, with most moving towards the Pole On average, fish are likely to shift their distribution by more than 40km per decade and there will be an increasing abundance of more southern species Developing countries in the tropics will suffer the biggest loss in catch [...] The invasion and local extinction of species may disrupt marine ecosystems and biodiversity "Our research shows that the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and fisheries is going to be huge," said Dr Cheung. "We must act now to adapt our fisheries management and conservation policies to minimise harm to marine life and to our society.
Another idea would be to let people/companies/organisations lease large areas where they had a fishing monopoly. Then they would have an incentive to maintain strong populations to secure big future catches which only they would have access to. As fishes move around, these areas would need to be very big. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
The lease idea wouldn't work because the usual Market Bollocks would reward short term performance over long term husbandry, and strip-fishing would earn more than long term fish management.
Once the owners run out of fish, they can always move to something else, like blowing the tops off mountains for coal.
The fact that the fish would remain extinct wouldn't be a problem for them.
The most, and may be the only practiceable point for control is the ship (e.g. the number, size and technology allowed). This calls for traditional command and control policy.
We should be shredding a lot of the larger ships.
The European Parliament is set to elect its new president, and former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek has already won backing from the powerful conservative and social democrat parliamentary groups for the post. The election of the new president is to be among the parliament's first tasks as it begins its own new five-year term in Strasbourg. The liberal-conservative Buzek, who has been a member of European parliament for five years and sits on the committee for industry, research and energy, would be the parliament's first president from the former-communist east. His election is believed to be now just a formality. The move is said to reflect the growing influence of the EU's new member states from Central and Eastern Europe.
The election of the new president is to be among the parliament's first tasks as it begins its own new five-year term in Strasbourg.
The liberal-conservative Buzek, who has been a member of European parliament for five years and sits on the committee for industry, research and energy, would be the parliament's first president from the former-communist east. His election is believed to be now just a formality.
The move is said to reflect the growing influence of the EU's new member states from Central and Eastern Europe.
s Europe really willing to express its aversion to Israeli settlements in the West Bank by slapping customs duties on products made in them? A tax court in Hamburg might soon provide an answer to this touchy issue. The Israeli settlement known as Maale Adumim sits fortress-like atop a red stone plateau. In the Bible, the road to the plateau was known as the "steep red road." Yossi Zamir The Soda-Club factory in the Isreali settlement of Maale Adumim is the center of a storm that is about more than just customs duties. As the largest Israeli settlement in the Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank, Maale Adumim is home to 40,000 people. Bulldozers are clearing lots for new houses on its outskirts. Its population is growing by the week and, in recent years, it has grown faster than any other settlement. On the edge of the settlement's industrial zone, there is a factory operated by a company called Soda-Club. The steel gate is painted blue and green to match the company's curvy, modern-looking logo. A camera records the movements of anyone approaching the gate. The plant produces tabletop devices that add carbonation to flat water, like the ones used in many German kitchens. And for those who prefer a sweeter taste, there's also syrup coming out of Maale Adumim.
s Europe really willing to express its aversion to Israeli settlements in the West Bank by slapping customs duties on products made in them? A tax court in Hamburg might soon provide an answer to this touchy issue.
The Israeli settlement known as Maale Adumim sits fortress-like atop a red stone plateau. In the Bible, the road to the plateau was known as the "steep red road."
Yossi Zamir
The Soda-Club factory in the Isreali settlement of Maale Adumim is the center of a storm that is about more than just customs duties. As the largest Israeli settlement in the Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank, Maale Adumim is home to 40,000 people. Bulldozers are clearing lots for new houses on its outskirts. Its population is growing by the week and, in recent years, it has grown faster than any other settlement.
On the edge of the settlement's industrial zone, there is a factory operated by a company called Soda-Club. The steel gate is painted blue and green to match the company's curvy, modern-looking logo. A camera records the movements of anyone approaching the gate. The plant produces tabletop devices that add carbonation to flat water, like the ones used in many German kitchens. And for those who prefer a sweeter taste, there's also syrup coming out of Maale Adumim.
Iraq has offered to supply enough gas to fill half the capacity of the proposed Nabucco pipeline, the prime minister said, giving the project a boost even as heads of government met to sign a historic agreement approving the plan.The offer from the Iraqi government to supply 15bn cubic metres a year of gas by 2015 helps address the greatest obstacle to the 3,300km pipeline from eastern Turkey to Austria: the prospect of there not being enough gas to fill it.
The offer from the Iraqi government to supply 15bn cubic metres a year of gas by 2015 helps address the greatest obstacle to the 3,300km pipeline from eastern Turkey to Austria: the prospect of there not being enough gas to fill it.
They claim the law was tailor-made to suit a group of powerful women, including the designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, who claimed titles held by male relatives. Ruiz de la Prada claims the title of Marquess of Castelldosrius from an uncle who received it from his elder brother - skipping Ruiz de La Prada's now deceased mother.
"The law should not be retroactive. There will be fights in all the noble families because of this," said Miguel Temboury of the Spanish Nobles Association, a recently created conservative faction within Spain's 2,500-strong nobility.
That last bit is a bonus reason to support this law.
What practical value is there to noble titles in Spain? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
It probably also helps in making restaurant reservations. Anything else?
I am not sure such a law can be made retroactive. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
So, why is it regulated? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The grandees have also tried to drag King Juan Carlos into the row. "We beg your attention and understanding in finding a solution that will resolve the violation perpetrated on us," they wrote to him. The rebels see the fact that male primogeniture survives in the royal family, regardless of the fact that the current king's oldest child is a daughter, as one reason for striking down the law."We feel the monarchy and the nobility should go hand-in-hand," said Mr Temboury. At a tense meeting of the Disputation of Grandees, as the official club for Spanish nobles is known, King Juan Carlos made it clear that he did not back the rebels. "The new regulations for noble titles should make you look to the future," he said in a letter to those congregated there in March.King Juan Carlos's heir, Prince Felipe, has two daughters. The Spanish constitution would have to be changed if a son were born to allow the elder daughter to inherit the crown.
The grandees have also tried to drag King Juan Carlos into the row. "We beg your attention and understanding in finding a solution that will resolve the violation perpetrated on us," they wrote to him. The rebels see the fact that male primogeniture survives in the royal family, regardless of the fact that the current king's oldest child is a daughter, as one reason for striking down the law.
"We feel the monarchy and the nobility should go hand-in-hand," said Mr Temboury. At a tense meeting of the Disputation of Grandees, as the official club for Spanish nobles is known, King Juan Carlos made it clear that he did not back the rebels. "The new regulations for noble titles should make you look to the future," he said in a letter to those congregated there in March.
King Juan Carlos's heir, Prince Felipe, has two daughters. The Spanish constitution would have to be changed if a son were born to allow the elder daughter to inherit the crown.
The Spanish Constitution "protects" certain sections (including the one on fundamental right and freedoms, and the chapter on the Crown) by 1) requiring a strong supermajority to reform them; 2) triggering a constitutional convention if "the principle of the reform" is approved by the Parliament. In other words, suppose Spain wanted to become a Republic and the Congress and Senate voted in favour of the proposed Constitutional reform by ample majorities. This would trigger a dissolution of the Parliament, and elections to a Constituent Parliament which would draft a new Constitution. This is eminiently sensible if you're going to change the form of the State. But now, the inheritance of the Crown is codified in the Constitution (also eminently sensible since Spain had 3 civil wars in the 19th century over a dynastic dispute involving... you guessed it, whether women could acceed to the Crown). Which means that removing the gender discrimination in royal succession (something everyone in Parliament agrees to) would trigger Constitutional Elections. Of course the new Constituent Parliament could just approve the exact same Constitution we have now, with amendments, but the fear is that it would not happen as the Spanish polity is more fractious now than in 1977 (less political violence on the streets, but more fractious nonetheless) and bad things would occur if the whole constitution were up for grabs.
So these male nobles who want to tie their inheritance to the Crown's are just obfuscating. The Spanish Constitution makes no mention of nobility titles: they are considered a matter for civil or even personal law. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
I'm just translating this because I find it picturesque...
A nobility title is not unlike a trademark, then. Now, why is this regulated?
Okay? We keep nobility titles because there is no reason to go through the trouble of abolishing them. But they are purely honorary and equality before the law is supreme.
Not retroactive, then.
Conclusion: The Guardian has its head up its arse. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
The grandees have also tried to drag King Juan Carlos into the row. "We beg your attention and understanding in finding a solution that will resolve the violation perpetrated on us," they wrote to him.
"The new regulations for noble titles should make you look to the future," [the King] said in a letter to those congregated there in March.
as it may allow some women to claim titles retroactively from brothers or uncles who currently hold them.
Though indeed we broke just that principle when we reformed our constitution 35 years ago to make the oldest royal child the next in line, instead of the oldest male. That meant that the crown prince was turned into a prince and his big sister was made crown princess. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
3. La Constitución garantiza el principio de legalidad, la jerarquía normativa, la publicidad de las normas, la irretroactividad de las disposiciones sancionadoras no favorables o restrictivas de derechos individuales, la seguridad jurídica, la responsabilidad y la interdicción de la arbitrariedad de los poderes públicos.
But the Spanish legislators are wary of burdening the courts with the cases that would result from retroactive measures. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
DISPOSICIÓN TRANSITORIA ÚNICA.Single transitional provision En la aplicación de la presente Ley a los títulos nobiliarios concedidos antes de su vigencia se observarán las siguientes normas:In application of the current law to nobility titles awarded before this law came into force, the following norms shall be observed:Las transmisiones del título ya acaecidas no se reputarán inválidas por el hecho de haberse realizado al amparo de la legislación anterior.Transmissions which took place already will not be considered invalid because they were made under the previous law.Not retroactive, then.
That meant that the crown prince was turned into a prince and his big sister was made crown princess.
The Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which pretenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists -- followers of Infante Carlos (later Carlos V) and his descendants -- rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and fought for the cause of Spanish tradition (Legitimism and Catholicism) against the liberalism, and later the republicanism, of the Spanish governments of the day.
Ex-prime minister Tony Blair is the UK candidate for president of the European Council, Europe Minister Baroness Kinnock has apparently confirmed. At a briefing for journalists in Strasbourg, Lady Kinnock said the UK was supporting Mr Blair for one of the most powerful posts in the EU. Asked if this had been discussed with Mr Blair, she said the government "would not do that without asking him". The post depends on Irish backing of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum.
At a briefing for journalists in Strasbourg, Lady Kinnock said the UK was supporting Mr Blair for one of the most powerful posts in the EU.
Asked if this had been discussed with Mr Blair, she said the government "would not do that without asking him".
The post depends on Irish backing of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum.
Sounds like the Irish just got a powerful reason to vote "no". Are the UK trying to sabotage Lisbon?
SARKOZY 'NON' TO BLAIR'S EURO PRESIDENCY DREAM - mirror.co.uk
Tony Blair's bid to land the powerful job of European Union President may have been scuppered - by his old pal Nicolas Sarkozy. The French President has switched his crucial support to Spain's ex-prime minister Felipe González, sources in Brussels have revealed. Without the backing of Mr Sarkozy, allies of Mr Blair privately admit he has no chance of getting the post.
Tony Blair's bid to land the powerful job of European Union President may have been scuppered - by his old pal Nicolas Sarkozy.
The French President has switched his crucial support to Spain's ex-prime minister Felipe González, sources in Brussels have revealed. Without the backing of Mr Sarkozy, allies of Mr Blair privately admit he has no chance of getting the post.
Perhaps it's just a token statement, for national pride sake, before voting for one of the real candidates. Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Gordon Brown is backing Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister, for a return to the world stage as president of the European Council even before the job has been formally created, a top government official disclosed yesterday.The council includes the leaders of the 27 European Union member states, and currently rotates among them every six months. Under the proposed Lisbon Treaty, it would become a five-year post, making its holder one of the most powerful figures in Europe.
The council includes the leaders of the 27 European Union member states, and currently rotates among them every six months. Under the proposed Lisbon Treaty, it would become a five-year post, making its holder one of the most powerful figures in Europe.
