Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

European Breakfast - Jan. 18

by Fran Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:49:54 AM EST

”You are one of a kind; therefore, no one can really predict to what heights you might soar. Even you will not know until you spread your wings!”

Unknown


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EUROPEAN NEWS
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:50:50 AM EST
Bundestag Likely to Probe German Role in US Invasion of Iraq

Germany's opposition parties agreed Tuesday that there should be an enquiry into the possible involvement of the Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) in the Iraq war. Parliament will debate the issue Friday.
Parliamentarians from the Greens, the Free Democrats and the Left Party all agreed on Tuesday there should be an investigation into the alleged role of German agents in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

A parliamentary debate scheduled for Wednesday to decide on an enquiry was postponed until Friday. It is expected that the opposition parties will get the necessary 25 percent of votes during the debate for the investigation to go ahead.

There are 614 parliamentarians in the Bundestag and the necessary amount of votes in favor to begin the investigation would be 154. The three opposition parties hold 166 seats in the parliament.

Six FDP members have said they will abstain, and one Green parliamentarian, former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, is expected to oppose the probe just as he rejected it in his parliamentary group's vote on Tuesday. However, with the Left Party saying it will vote unanimously for the enquiry, it will still be enough to set the investigation in motion.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will return early from his Middle East tour to attend the debate. Steinmeier is cutting his trip short to answer questions as to what exactly transpired when the former Social Democratic-Green party coalition government retained German agents in Baghdad ahead of the opening salvos of the Iraq war.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:52:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Spiegel Online: THE WORLD FROM BERLIN - Merkel Plays the Anti-Schröder in Moscow

Angela Merkel visited Moscow on Monday. Her frosty relationship with Putin seems a far cry from the intimate friendliness Schröder maintained with the Russian president and German commentators say it's about time for Berlin to distance itself from democratically deficient Putin.

After seven years of Gerhard Schröder's almost obscene love fest with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the sigh of relief in the German press on Tuesday following Chancellor Angela Merkel's decidedly less sickly sweet visit to Moscow on Monday is hard to miss. Schröder, most will recall, consistently refused to publicly criticize his buddy Putin and even called him a "flawless democrat" -- not long after Putin decided that regional governors in Russia should be appointed by himself rather than by a democratic vote. Chechnya was likewise a taboo topic for the two.

Merkel, however, brought up all the hot-button topics Putin would prefer to sweep under the rug: the absence of democracy in Chechnya, curbs on freedom of the press in Russia, plus a new law limiting the freedom of non-governmental organizations in the country. (Putin's somewhat piqued remark during the press conference: "We are very pleased to see how our domestic laws get a lot of attention from our foreign partners.") In other words, she actually gave voice to those concerns that were on everybody's mind anyway. She is generously by the German media on Tuesday.

"The chancellor's feat," writes the center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung, "was that of distancing herself from a Russia that is increasingly distancing itself from democracy while at the same time demonstrating closeness to a Russia whose gas and oil Germany needs and without whose help, the nuclear conflict with Iran cannot be solved." The
paper points out, spoke of a strategic alliance rather than of a German-Russian friendship and, following her meeting with Putin, spoke to representatives of human rights groups active in Russia. But, this is just the first step. After all, "Schröder didn't immediately throw his arms around Putin when they first met either."


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:53:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Le Figaro: German chancellor sets new tone in talks with Putin

It is often said that leaders have little real influence over the foreign policy choices of their states, these "cold monsters" that have "only interests", no principles.

But Angela Merkel attempted yesterday [16 January] to disprove the adage by instilling a new tone, more moral, into German-Russian relations, a break translated by "a frank discussion about democracy" with Vladimir Putin. Criticisms of Chechnya and a controversial law on NGOs were voiced. "The dialogue must be between equals, and it cannot be said that in all the countries of Western Europe everything is going well with human rights," replied Vladimir Putin, whose attitude was visibly colder than with Gerhard Schroeder, with whom he was on a first-name basis.

The former chancellor had a close friendship with the head of the Kremlin, a tie that made it possible for him to very recently become a "super-sales rep" of the gas giant Gazprom by accepting the chairmanship of a Russian-German consortium controlled by the Russian company.

In contrast to this merchant approach where personal interests end up being confused with those of the state, Ms Merkel yesterday broke the framework of the Kremlin protocol for the Russian opposition, or what remains of it. She was thus to meet representatives of the human rights association Memorial, one of the rare dissident voices in an increasingly controlled Russian society. She was also to meet the Committee of Mothers of Soldiers, an embryonic civil society that is trying to identify the young soldiers missing in the moving sands of the Chechnya war.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:44:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Very important to keep track of. Similar case in Italy last year. No probe opened though.
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:30:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

the necessary amount of votes in favor to begin the investigation would be 154. The three opposition parties hold 166 seats in the parliament.

(...) with the Left Party saying it will vote unanimously for the enquiry, it will still be enough to set the investigation in motion.

Excellent news. A formal parliamentary procedure will be much harder to stop.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:08:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
We ought not to get our hopes up too much. These parliamentary probes generally don't generate much in the way of enlightenment.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:23:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: Plot by fathers' rights group to kidnap Leo Blair is thwarted

A plot to kidnap Tony Blair's five-year-old son, Leo, has been foiled by police. The plan is alleged to have involved extremist sympathisers of the Fathers 4 Justice campaigning group.

The intention was to snatch Leo, the Blairs' youngest son, and hold him hostage to highlight the plight of fathers denied access to their children. It was understood the men only wanted to hold him for a short period before releasing him unharmed.

Special Branch officers apparently stumbled across the plot while investigating individuals on the more militant fringes of the Fathers 4 Justice group, according to The Sun newspaper.

Matt O'Connor, the founder of Fathers 4 Justice, condemned the attempted kidnap. "We're in the business of reuniting fathers with their children, not separating them," he said.

"There's evidence to support the fact that there was something going on, because SO13 officers [the Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist unit] had visited some ex-members of the organisation over the Christmas period. That had set alarm bells ringing. We contacted Scotland Yard to see if there was anything we could do to help them."

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:57:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Financial Times: UK productivity growth lags

Gordon Brown's dream of British productivity to rival that of the United States is dealt a blow today with the publication offigures showing the gap haswidened since Labour came to power.

Another poor year of productivity growth in 2005 has opened an even wider gulf between Britain and the US, according to Conference Board, the global business organisation and a recognised world authority in economic comparisons reports.

Since Labour came to power in 1997, Britain's output for every hour worked has fallen further behind that in the US, mirroring weaknesses in France and Germany. In contrast, the efficiency of Britain's economy had been gradually catching up with the US under previous governments.

The figures suggest thatMr Brown's central ambition to raise the relative performance of British productivity has not yet been achieved.

In 2005, Britain's output per hour worked rose by 0.9 per cent, according to the Conference Board. The level was the same as in Germany but well below the 1.8 per cent rise recorded in the US, the 1.9 per cent increase in Japan and the 1.5 per cent rate in France. The European Union recorded a sharp fall overall but these figures have been distorted by an amnesty for illegal immigrants in Spain.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:11:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Financial Times: US beats old EU states on productivity

Another year of poor productivity growth sealed a decade of underperformance by leading European economies that are falling further and further behind the US, the world's most authoritative guide to productivity shows today.

Figures for 2005 produced by the Conference Board, the global business organisation, report productivity growth in the 15 old members of the European Union of only 0.5 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent in the US and 1.9 per cent in Japan. In contrast, productivity in the 10 new members, mostly in eastern Europe, grew rapidly in 2005, rising by 6.2 per cent as they took advantage of EU membership to increase both the hours worked in their economies and the value of the output of every worker.

Annual growth in national output for every hour worked in the EU 15 averaged 1.4 per cent between 1995 and 2005, compared with 2.4 per cent in the US.

This weak record hampers long-standing EU members' ability to raise their living standards. Labour productivity is one of the most important building blocks of economic prosperity because it governs the ability of economies to turn individuals' efforts into goods and services that can be consumed at home and abroad.

The figures for Japan were all the more impressive as productivity grew alongside an increase in hours worked. In the previous two years, Japan was able to keep up with the US only because the number of hours worked in a sluggish economy was falling.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:13:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Another "notch": I note that productivity growth for the EU is not given - only that for the EU15, which is lower. With the 10 new members representing about 10% of the EU GDP, their 6.2% productivity growth brings the EU number to about 1%, not an unsignificant difference.


In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:20:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Britain's output for every hour worked has fallen further behind that in the US, mirroring weaknesses in France and Germany.

(...)

In 2005, Britain's output per hour worked rose by 0.9 per cent, according to the Conference Board. The level was the same as in Germany but well below the 1.8 per cent rise recorded in the US, the 1.9 per cent increase in Japan and the 1.5 per cent rate in France.

I'd say that you should write:


Britain's output for every hour worked has fallen further behind that in the US and France, mirroring weakness in Germany.

Notch this as a sample of the permanent bias against France I've been talking about.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:58:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Indeed.

Do you have any thoughts on what France is doing that Germany isn't?

How does outsourcing and offshoring affect this kind of picture?

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:02:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Short term productivity numbers are usually most affected by the precarity of work: if labor becoems more "flexible", lower end jobs are created, which tends to depress productivity numbers...

I tend to think that productivity growth numbers make sense mostly when you also have increasing incomes, otherwise it just means that the same income is spread over more or fewer workers depending on how easy it is to hire/fire them.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:12:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: NHS Crisis

We're spending £94bn on the health service this year, compared with £52bn six years ago... so why are wards shut down, operations cancelled and trusts in turmoil?

Doctors: Half the extra cash has gone on staff pay

Since 1997, NHS spending in the UK has doubled to £94bn this year. Consultants and GPs have had salary increases worth up to 50 per cent over three years, taking the average GP through the £100,000 barrier for the first time, making them the highest-paid doctors in the world outside the US. Nurses have had smaller but still substantial rises.

More than 190,000 extra frontline staff have joined the NHS since 1997. Health is a labour-intensive activity and well over half the extra billions invested - 56 per cent - has been spent on pay and pensions for staff. When the NHS Plan was launched six years ago there was plenty of money but a shortage of staff and capacity. Today, the capacity is there but there is a shortage of cash. Too much has been spent to deliver too little - NHS productivity has not risen in line with the resources. In the end, the NHS has ended up costing more but delivering less value for money.

Hospitals: Big debts left by pre-election spree

Funding increases have averaged more than 7 per cent a year in real terms for the past five years, double the long-term trend. Yet wards are closing, operations are being delayed until the new financial year and outpatient appointments are being deferred or cancelled.

In the run-up to the last election, ministers ordered NHS managers to hit the Government's targets to cut waiting times and increase treatments at all costs. No expense was spared as NHS trusts hired temporary staff and sent patients to the private sector to clear lists. There were "no Brownie points for balancing your books".

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:35:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Arrrrgh.

Where to begin with this report. I absolutely hate the right wing of my country, mainly because they are so willfully pig ignorant about economics. And I'm fed up of newspapers repeating their talking points with no analysis.

Firstly, Doctor pay went up to attract more recruits and persuade retired GPs and consultants to come back because there was (and to some extent still is) such a shortage of doctors.

(As an aside, since my Dad is a GP I can note that in this area there are two complications to the story.

The first is that under the old contract, GP salary reflected take home pay, with other expenses accounted for separately, the new "Global Sum" scheme means they may be receiving over £100,000 on the face of it, but there are various staff, emergency cover and other expenses that come out of that.

The second is that this contract contains a large element of performance related pay. The government thought that GPs were basically lazy and inept and
putting them on this scheme would be a good way to hold back GP pay whilst increasing the attractiveness of the profession to hard working types. Turns out that most GPs are quite prepared to put the hours in for patient benefit and are even smart enough to acheive some targets. So all of a sudden, most of them are making out well and commentators claim that the incentive scheme was too easy to acheive.)

Nurse pay was an even bigger disaster area. Nurses were leaving the profession to become hairdressers, as that paid better.

Of course productivity has not risen, it was artificially high to begin with! Doctors and nurses were working miracles on low budgets and gradually burning out and leaving. Productivity was bound to descend towards the private sector average. (Not to mention that the majority of the productivity measures used are pretty meaningless anyway.)

Another point to remember is that after 30 years of neglect an awful lot of money needed spending on simple infrastructure repairs and replacement. But none of that shows up in productivity. Equally however, it needs to be understood that it was needed.

Finally, I hate how the money wasted on various PFI boondoggles, expensive IT implementations messed up by big management consulting companies and the oceans of money diverted away from patient care into management to set up all these performance measurement schemes is never mentioned as a possible reason for the decline in value for money.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:24:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I definitely have a diary about PFI on my to do list and I will take your comments on board, Metatone. I was lucky enough <s> to witness the evolution of PFI from inside, as a representative of one of the parties involved.


Do not let me get away with this! ;-) Wchurchill also made really noteworthy comments in the thread I posted on Healthcare in France : following the UK example

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 10:30:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Hehe, I will hold you to it!

I have a diary about Islam to write myself, hold me to that. Perhaps we should attempt to motivate each other.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:32:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
with a caveat on my side of the contract : I am spending the week-end in London and will be computer deprived there ; despite having a laptop, I have to get off the internet when I'm there, for the sake of my couple. Basically no means to write before Tuesday.
However, as I have in the topic Islam the sheer interest of a neophyte, rest assured I will hassle you until I get to read your piece  :-)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Thu Jan 19th, 2006 at 07:07:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Reuters: Britain rejects European-style prostitution zones

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has rejected plans to set up so-called "tolerance zones" for prostitution, saying a worldwide study had shown there was no evidence they offered greater protection for women.

Instead, the government announced plans on Tuesday to relax laws on brothels so that prostitutes could work together in the same premises.

But an international campaigning group for prostitutes said the new laws did not go far enough to prevent sex workers suffering rape and violence.

The government had been considering allowing special zones in what would have been the biggest shake-up of British prostitution laws for 50 years.

"We rejected that option because if you look at the international examples where there are managed zones (of prostitution) it seems not to reduce criminality," Home Office minister Fiona MacTaggart told reporters on Tuesday.

"It seems not to reduce the exploitation of women by usually criminally associated and dangerous men."
The British-based campaigning group International Collective of Prostitutes (ICP) had urged the government to decriminalize the world's oldest profession and a former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, published plans in 2004 to change the law.

Instead, the Home Office said on Tuesday it would work to protect women in the sex industry and help them find alternative work.

It will also target the men who traffic women from abroad into the British sex industry.


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:41:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Again, as I've written before, Dutch studies show that legalised zones resulted in a drastic decrease of  the exploitation of (illegal) women from abroad. Granted, problems remain aplenty, such as illegal brothels, exploitation of underaged and violent pimps forcing their "girlfriend" into prostitution.

Alternative work? How blindsighted are those people?? Go ahead and try to contact these women as long as they are considered to have an illegal profession... Good luck to them.

by Nomad (Bjinse) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:23:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
link Legalising prostitution : a lesser evil

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 07:17:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: Are dead dolphins the price paid for catching sea bass?

The first cause for concern came several weeks ago when a scarred, decomposing dolphin carcass washed up on a beach in the Cornish fishing village of Coverack. It was the start of a gruesome period in which carcasses have been appearing with increasing regularity, on one occasion 11 in a single day, along a stretch of coastline from Falmouth to Whitsand Bay.

Post-mortem examinations have yet to be carried out on any of the 20 dead cetaceans which have washed up but the scars on some suggest they are the victims of pair trawling, a practice illegal in British waters but still practised by some foreign trawlers, in which a large net is strung up between two craft to improve a catch of fish.

Cornwall braces itself for the consequences every January when French trawlers lay nets and prepare to fish for lucrative sea bass. Several dolphins and porpoises were caught up in the nets and killed last year but the appearance of so many in this year's early "by-catch" (as the creatures caught accidentally are known) suggests that the season's toll may be worse than ever.

Maddi Precious, who staffs a 24-hour strandings hotline for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT), is aware of the damage this form of fishing has caused. "The phone has not stopped ringing," she said. "Distressed members of the public keep calling us to tell us of yet more bodies."

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:54:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Dawn: Italy polls and mud-slinging

ROME: Electoral races in Italy are not known for sophisticated debate and polite exchanges between candidates, but the virulence of this year's campaign from the start has dismayed even the most seasoned observers.

With the vote still three months away, the past week has seen a crescendo of threats, insults and recriminations as both Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the opposition ignored pleas to tone down their rhetoric by the head of state.

"We are already facing a duel to the death that doesn't do any good not just to our country's image, but to its democracy," Enzo Biagi, a respected political commentator, wrote at the weekend in Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"So far, nobody has quite understood what the two blocs intend to propose to Italians to get their votes, and above all to pull the country out of economic crisis," he said.

Electoral issues have been drowned out by the noise of vitriolic attacks.

An increasing number of Italians are struggling to make ends meet as the economy stagnates, but all they hear about from their politicians are ructions over an arcane bank takeover scandal that seems remote from their daily concerns.

"People's lives have disappeared from the electoral campaign," said a recent editorial in la Repubblica daily.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:05:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'll give this article three stars. It only mentions the banking scandal that brought down Fazio, Ricucci, Gnutti, Fiorani and presently alleges involvement of five or six top members of B's government.

As in the mani puliti operation the accused party managed successfully to smear the opposition at the time by accusing the judges of being one-sided. It's an established urban legend that the Milan judges were commies who ignored leftwing corruption. (It is of course fairly difficult to be corrupt when you're not in power.)

The same mechanism seems to be at work here. By accusing the left of being involved in the BNL takeover, B can then attack the judges as being ideologically inspired when nothing comes of his accusations and play the victim as the real scandal involving his government unravels. A genius who stops at nothing. Let's hope voters can see through his antics.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:45:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
IHT: Turin Olympics awaits the snow

 

What Turin could use most, people here seem to agree, is a bit of snow.

Less than a month before the 2006 Winter Olympic Games begin, the venues - from the ski jump to the much-adjusted bobsled run - are ready.

The city and the venues up in the Alps still look more like construction sites than shimmering stages for amateur sports. Ticket sales could be much better. But no particular problem overwhelms. Organizers say they are sleeping well, if not much.

Yet, the ineffable quality of enthusiasm, Olympic fever perhaps, is not yet in the air - or for that matter on the ground, almost untouched by snow this month.

Ticket sales are important both for revenue and also because full arenas build excitement. With a selling goal of 830,000 tickets, only 600,000 tickets were sold by the end of last week, with sales to Italians sagging particularly. Only about 60 percent of the tickets have been sold for the great pageant of the opening ceremony.

"We are not satisfied with this number," said Alberto Acciari, head of marketing for the Turin Olympic Organizing Committee.

There are signs that Italy's excitement deficit is shrinking - not least because the Italian skier Giorgio Rocca this week won his fifth world cup slalom. The nation's biggest newspaper, Corriere della Sera, called the wholesome Rocca "the perfect antidote" to criticism of "the feeling for the Games inside the home country," as media coverage and advertising are beginning to go full steam.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:11:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
BBC: Arctic cold snap tests Russians

Schoolchildren are missing classes and boiler faults have left some households shivering as Arctic cold grips Russia.

It is the coldest January in Moscow for at least a decade and forecasters predict the temperature will plummet to minus 34C in the city this week.

Traffic police have been told they can wear felt boots to work, to go with their winter underwear and fur hats.

Meanwhile, a circus in Yaroslavl is reportedly giving its elephants vodka.

"We warm them up with alcohol," their trainer Andrei Kornilov was quoted as saying.

Help for homeless

The cold was blamed for boiler problems across Russia. One hospital in Ulan-Ude, eastern Siberia, was left without heating in minus 40C.

Moscow's homeless - estimated to number about 10,000 - are seeing some benefits from the cold, however, the Izvestia newspaper reports.

The police have been told to be kinder than usual towards them, and helpful signs at railway stations and markets tell them where they can get hot food and medical attention, Izvestia says.


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:15:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Moscow Times: Putin Quietly Signed NGO Bill Last Week

President Vladimir Putin last week quietly signed into law the bill that will increase state control over nongovernmental organizations, but the news was not made public until Tuesday, when it was published in the official government newspaper.

The seven-day delay appeared to be an attempt to avoid embarrassing questions from new German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made her first visit to Moscow on Monday and met with NGO leaders after her talks with Putin.

The bill flew through both houses of parliament amid mounting public criticism late last year, and Putin approved it on Jan. 10 -- exactly 14 days after it reached his desk. By law, Putin has only 14 days to decide whether to sign a bill.

The law will come into force April 10.

The notice about Putin's signing was published in Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday.

A similar notice could not be found in the section of the Kremlin web site devoted to new laws on Tuesday night. The presidential press service explained that the web site was reserved for laws that the public needs to know about, Gazeta.ru reported.

Asked why Rossiiskaya Gazeta had waited a week to publish the announcement, the newspaper's deputy editor, Timofei Kuznetsov, said, "This is not a pressing law. It does not come into force from the moment it is published, but within 90 days [of being signed]," Gazeta.ru reported.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:32:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: Moscow says 'nyet' to rudeness of civil servants

Seven decades of Communism have left Russia's civil servants with a well-deserved reputation for being unhelpful and downright rude. It is easy to believe that their favourite word is nyet, usually pronounced with unseemly relish before a shutter or door is slammed in the face of yet another long-suffering citizen.

But tolerance of such behaviour is wearing thin and Moscow's city fathers are among the first to try to put the civility back into Russia's civil service. The Russian capital's chinovniki (officials), reputedly among the most brusque in the country, are being sent on an "art of business communication" course designed to encourage them to treat the public with a modicum of respect.

According to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, those on the course are being taught never to say nyet or pochemu (why) to a member of the public because such words "tire people and put them at a distance". In the next six months more than 800 city officials will also be lectured on the niceties of how to stand and hold themselves when addressing a member of the public, how to dress, and of course how to smile. Officials are reportedly being told to view Russian President Vladimir Putin as a model of how to talk to the public, as opposed to the former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Mr Putin allegedly looks slightly down and to the left when he is addressing anyone, an approach said to show that he is always in full command of what he is saying. Mr Gorbachev's speech was apparently peppered with too much officialese. In a culture where smiling in public has not always been approved of (smiling too much is interpreted by some as a sign of idiocy) the course's consultants are working hard to get people to use muscles in their face they never knew they had.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:56:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Traffic police have been told they can wear felt boots to work, to go with their winter underwear and fur hats.

I may not have my eyes open properly yet, but I have this vision of a policeman in fur hat, long johns, and felt boots, directing traffic.

Afew Snark Technology ™
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:59:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
by asdf on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 11:10:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Financial Times: Ports in an EU storm

Like waves crashing on a seawall, another attempt to free up the provision of port services looks likely to dash itself on the rocks of the European Parliament later today. Despite having agreed in recent years to liberalise virtually every other area of European transport - airlines, road haulage, shipping routes and even rail freight - the European Parliament appears set to throw out a draft directive on port services more decisively than it did last time in 2003.

For the measure is not only now opposed by leftwing parties and the dockers' unions. It has also lost some of the rightwing backing it had in 2003, partly because of united opposition from British MEPs to a measure that they feel ignores the different ownership structure of their country's ports.

Ports are the conduit for nearly 90 per cent of the European Union's external trade. They therefore need to function efficiently, and increasingly they have. They are now more efficient overall than, for instance, US ports which are still largely dominated by the longshoremen's unions. But there are black spots of resistance to competitive market forces, especially in France. So the Brussels Commission has come up with proposals to require port owners to let companies compete to provide port services ranging from piloting ships to handling cargoes, and to prevent state aid enabling public operators to compete unfairly with private ones.

One big problem, however, is that this draft directive is essentially tailored for continental Europe where ports are usually owned or controlled by state or regional bodies that are also responsible for investment, and not for Britain where most ports are now entirely in private hands. The complaint of the UK port owners is that the directive could force them to let other companies use facilities that they themselves paid for. It is true that ports in the UK as everywhere else are a local monopoly. But unlike most other EU countries, the UK is an island with lots of ports that compete against each other. So a directive chiefly aimed at creating competition within ports may be irrelevant to a country with competition between ports.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:26:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Goodness.. Blanket liberalisation law fails to account for local conditions. Colour me shocked...
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:56:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
So, in some cases, competition is good, but in others it's not? How do we tell?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:22:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nope. In some cases, monopoly is good, in others bad. How do we tell?

Private monopoly = good.
Public monopoly = bad.

Sheesh.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:45:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
BBC: Bees reared in cities 'healthier'

Bees reared in cities are healthier and more productive than their country cousins, a study by French beekeepers' association Unaf has found.

Urban bees enjoy higher temperatures and a wider variety of plant life for pollination, while avoiding ill-effects of pesticides, the study said.

At the same time they can filter out city pollution such as exhaust fumes.

The study prompted Unaf to start a campaign promoting beekeeping in urban parks, on balconies and on roofs.
Beekeepers say urban bees' productivity can be up to four times that of their rural counterparts.

In town, the bees go out more," apiarist Jean Paucton told AFP news agency.

Disorientation

Another beekeeper said urban hives had maintained a steady mortality rate while in the countryside many bees were dying.

"I would find great carpets of sick bees, all trembling," Loic Leray said.

The Union of French Apiarists (Unaf) is campaigning against pesticides, which it says are destroying the industry.


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:40:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'd need to dig out the source, but I read not so long ago that Paris actually had surprising biodiversity and the largest number of animal species anywhere in France (and I don't think that counted exotic animals abandoned in the sewers by careless owners)

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:01:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I've seen similar reports about London's biodiversity. Big cities are much better for some animals that one might think.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:58:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Deutsche Welle: Dutch Town Fights Dope Tourism With "Weed Boulevard"

A Dutch town near Germany wants to quell booming soft-drug tourism by creating a strip especially for smokers -- outside city limits.

Germans, Belgians and French tourists flock to the Dutch border town of Maastricht for the shopping -- but also for ready access to the hashish and marijuana legally sold in its coffee shops.

The city in Holland has proposed a plan to move the legal cannabis cafes to a stretch of road close to the Belgian border, much to the dismay of the city's Belgian neighbors.

Union's Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992. But because it sits at a crossroads of two major highways, coming from Belgium and Germany, it has also become a key stopping point for Belgians, Germans and French who enjoy Holland's lax laws on soft drugs.

Booming tourism trade

"Each day between 3,500 and 4,000 tourists come to the coffee shops in the city center, making up a total of 1.5 million cannabis users annually. Two-thirds come from Belgium, Germany or France," said Mark Josemans, chairman of an organization representing the 16 officially licensed coffee shops operating in Maastricht.

But the soft-drugs tourism is causing increasing problems for the town, according to Maastricht officials, such as cannabis tourists taking up the limited parking spaces, petty crime and hard drugs dealers offering their goods in the vicinity of coffee shops.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:51:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Airbus outstrips Boeing after sales surge

A stellar sales performance in December allowed Airbus to surprise the aerospace industry by announcing it outsold Boeing last year, winning more new orders for commercial aircraft than its US rival for the fifth successive year.

The European aircraft maker trailed well behind Boeing for much of the year, but it said yesterday that it had secured 1,111 gross new orders in 2005, compared with the 1,029 claimed by Boeing earlier this month. Airbus also disclosed it had booked 38 per cent of its orders in December alone.

However, while Airbus's sales in 2005 represented 52 per cent of the world airliner market by units, Boeing won 55 per of the market by value, helped by its success in selling long-haul aircraft.

I was expecting a ton of articles arounf this date about Boeing overtaking Airbus again, with the obvious conclusions about the superiority of the American model, Airbus being hampered by its European roots, political interference, and its slow lumbering ways.

You can see the frustration of the press with this unexpected announcement that Airbus managed to remain in front (below, from the FT market comment, behind sub. wall)


Airbus needs direction (5 January)

After having overtaken Boeing, Airbus is now again losing ground to its old foe. For the first time in five years, Boeing claims to be outselling Airbus. Boeing has made up so much ground it could soon reclaim the number one spot.

Having focused so much effort on its A380 jumbo, Airbus was taken aback by the success of the new Boeing Dreamliner. It responded belatedly with the A350.

In the process, it seems to have lost its direction. Its new pilots now need to reposition the company, shaken by last year's power struggles.


Meaningless numbers game (today)

As everyone knows, European governments are experts in cooking their economic figures to make them look better. The disease is now spreading to the civil aircraft industry judging from Tuesday's surprise announcement from Airbus that it had - after all - outsold Boeing last year.

Only two weeks ago, Boeing had told the world it had at long last overtaken Airbus. But is this numbers game really helpful to understanding the health and prospects of the industry? Surely in an already highly concentrated business, it does not matter whether one has gained a point or two over its rival.

In any duopoly, what is important for the market and customers alike is to maintain a 50-50 split to ensure healthy competition. As for manufacturers, the crucial issue is how much money they are making and hence at what price they are selling aircraft.

So it is encouraging to hear the new Airbus boss, Gustav Humbert, insisting he is not aiming at market share for the sake of it.

Yet with Boeing making a strong comeback - whatever the numbers - pressure is building on Airbus. It was caught napping this year by delaying its response to Boeing's successful new Dreamliner.

This could happen again if Airbus continues to delay development of a new generation of narrow-body aircraft. Unless it moves quickly, there are strong chances Boeing will seize the initiative in this vital sector, and such aggressive innovation is a factor far more significant in the longer term than are sales figures.

Sore losers.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:04:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I have a further annoyance with this. The Boeing cheerleaders in the press have swallowed absolutely the Boeing concept of small airliners making runs between small cities, thereby obsoleting both the 747 and the big new Airbus.

Trouble is, this analysis comes out of Boeing alone. All the trends that include rising fuel prices predict a swing back towards hub and spoke because the spokes can be switched from air to ground if the passenger so desires such a cost saving...

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:20:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I don't see Boeing being proved right on this one with rising fuel costs and with the growth in the aviation market being in China, India and the Pacific region.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:36:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, me either, but there's a huge cheerleading against the A380 in the English language press. I find it quite odd.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:43:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, the image is Airbus = French project with big government subsidies.

No matter that the UK industry has a huge stake in the project (ownership-wise and industrial-wise); no matter that Airbus has fully repaid all state aid that it is more profitable than Boeing.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 07:28:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You'll see when British Airways buys a few A380s for its London-Hong Kong and London-Singapore nonstop flights.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 07:36:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Won't be any different I suspect than being crammed in the cattle class of a BA 747 from London to Hong Kong and back as I was over the New Year. British Airways = Teh Suck if you can't afford "higher class travel."
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:35:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Since the US has no rail to speak of, it is possible that Boeing's position makes sense within the US.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 07:38:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, this is a complex argument, but it isn't an accident that hub and spoke was prominent for a long time in the US. Sure Southwest is doing well at the moment, but that's more about various other things they do.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:37:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Jérôme, you who read the FT daily: there are three FT excerpts in this thread, on productivity, docks, and Airbus/Boeing, that seem to take a fairly strong, if not even virulent, neoliberal, pro-American (unions excepted, of course), Euro-sceptic line.

The FT was always for economic liberalism, but was it always this marked? Have you noticed a change since the editorial switch a few weeks ago? Or is the paper still, overall, balanced?

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 08:22:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I have been following this closely since the editorial switch was announced (and was explicitly described as a return to "tried and tested" financial reporting and a move away from "fluffy" pieces of more general interest), but have not yet noticed a major trend.

There has always been an editorial line that is "traditional" for an English business newspaper, and which is obviously not too sympathetic to things French (or Russian, or German), public or tax-funded, and some columns (like the European comment one quoted above) have always fallen in that category.

But their news are mostly factual, and their op-ed pages have been very open. Changes in the latter item might become visible faster than in the former, but they are not obvious yet.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 09:46:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
WORLD NEWS
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:51:21 AM EST
Santiago Times: CHILE'S BACHELET HOLDS FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE

Cabinet Nominations Could Come As Early As This Week

(Jan. 17, 2006) Fifty-seven years after the right to vote was conferred on Chile's women (1949), President-elect Michelle Bachelet held her first press conference following her run-off victory Sunday over businessman Sebastián Piñera. Bachelet won by a spread of more than six points: 53.5 percent for Bachelet, 46.5 percent for Piñera.

Bachelet was cheerful late Monday morning, although visibly tired. She had celebrated her victory well into the evening and then shared an early morning breakfast with President Ricardo Lagos and his wife at Bachelet's residence in Vitacura.

Bachelet said she would not be hurried in selecting her cabinet. "Making use of the autonomy and independence that rightfully belongs to the President of the Republic, I will take all the time that I need to name those who can best serve in my cabinet," she said.

Still, the president-elect noted that the four years she will be in office will be considerably less than the six years served by Lagos, and that she would like to name her cabinet members as soon as possible, perhaps even this week.

Bachelet had promised during her campaign that one half of her cabinet would be women, and that here would be no "repeat" performers in her government.

Although these promises endeared her to many of the voters - tired of seeing the same political leaders playing musical chairs with cabinet positions during three successive Concertación governments - they may be difficult promises to keep.


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 12:54:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Scotsman: Powell: Iran is going down Iraq's path

COLIN Powell yesterday warned that Iran was heading down the same path as Iraq had done before the 2003 invasion and could not be trusted to tell the truth about its nuclear programme.

The former United States secretary of state said he believed Iran posed a serious threat to the rest of the world in the same way that Iraq had done, and he refused to apologise for the action the US took against Saddam Hussein's regime.

However Mr Powell, who was in Glasgow to address a Jewish group, admitted that the military campaign against Iraq was based on "bad intelligence" and that it was now clear that Saddam had not managed to amass any stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview with The Scotsman, Mr Powell said it was clear that negotiations with Iran had come to a dead end and efforts now had to concentrate on preventing it taking the same path as Iraq had done.

"We are trying to keep it from being that way," he said. "Iraq actually had nuclear weapons capability that they were within a couple of years of bringing to weapons status. The UN found that after the war, even though Iraq denied it."

But he questioned whether Iran could be trusted: "Iran has a nuclear energy programme, they say, but the concern is that for so many years they have denied full access to what they are doing and have deceived the international community.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:00:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Pravda: US, EU urge Russia and China to support sanctions against Iran
US and EU officials intend to urge Russia and China to support the diplomatic action against Iran when the U.N. Security Council hold a meeting in London on Monday. Iran's decision to resume its nuclear activities has raised serious concerns with the West which fears the regime intends to build an atomic bomb. Iran insists it only wants to produce electricity.

Speaking before the talks, Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the "onus is on Iran" to prove its program is peaceful. He said the international community's confidence had been "sorely undermined by a history of concealment and deception" by the clerical regime.

Britain, France and Germany last week declared more than two years of tense negotiations at a "dead end" and, backed by Washington, want Tehran referred to the Security Council.

But they need the support of Russia and China, which have close commercial ties with Iran and have in the past resisted such a measure. Straw said dialogue with the two countries, who wield a veto on the Security Council, was of "crucial importance."

He again ruled out military action against Iran over its nuclear program. "I have ruled it out enough times in the past. Military action is not on the agenda and it is certainly not on the agenda at this meeting," he added.

Monday's talks aim to build consensus on what action to take, ahead of an emergency board meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, expected in early February.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Zhang Yan, director of its Arms Control Department, would attend.


by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:01:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The Times: Europe softens line on Iran to woo swing votes

BRITAIN and its European allies yesterday backed away from threatening economic sanctions against Iran if the country is referred to the United Nations Security Council over its controversial nuclear programme.

As Britain, France and Germany began drafting a resolution before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer Iran to the UN, an official at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that Britain favoured a gradual, sustained build-up to force Tehran to comply with its international obligations.

"We do not see this leading straight into sanctions," said the official. "We see a gradual build-up of moves that will take place over time. We are not going to [the UN Security Council in] New York to introduce punitive sanctions against Iran. That is not our approach."

Although the UN Security Council has the power to impose sanctions, and even authorise the use of force, punitive measures are not being considered by the British.

"The Security Council has weight and authority on the issues," said the FCO official.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:23:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: Europe wants UN to force Iran into nuclear freeze

European powers are pressing ahead with plans to refer Iran to the UN Security Council - hoping to force Tehran to resume a nuclear freeze - despite lacking support from China and Russia.

A senior Foreign Office official said the Europeans intended to use the Security Council to bring to bear "gradual sustained pressure over time" on Iran.

"Security Council involvement will have an impact - it has weight and authority. A country cannot ignore it without cost," said the official, who chaired talks in London on Monday attended by the five permanent members of the security council as well as Germany.

Britain, France and Germany want the Security Council to oblige Iran to return to a freeze on enriching uranium, by making such a requirement legally binding. "After that, we can explore a range of other measures down the track," the official said.

Economic sanctions have so far been ruled out as an option to punish Iran for ending a two-year voluntary moratorium on enriching uranium at its Natanz site.

The Iranian move last week prompted Britain, France and Germany to break off talks, heralding a new phase of confrontation.

But the military option is not on the table. "We are all committed to resolving this by diplomatic means," the British official stressed.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:29:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Powers split over Iran talks bid
The US and UK reject Iran's latest talks offer over its nuclear plans, while Russia and China seek compromise. [BBC News]

Is it me or is the use of "powers" a recent revival? Something about it bothers me.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:46:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Le Figaro: Iranian nuclear power: Russia poses as arbiter

Heavily involved commercially in Iran, with a transfer of nuclear technology and construction of the Bushehr power plant, Russia, like China, has not hidden its reluctance to undertake a clash in the United Nations with such a profitable economic partner.

Could the announcement made yesterday [16 January] by the Russian president, who maintained that Iran "did not rule out accepting (his) proposal" to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia, make it possible to resolve the situation? Vladimir Putin, who was receiving German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Moscow for the first time, called for calm in the uranium crisis. "We must work very cautiously, without abrupt and mistaken measures," he stated following what some have perceived as a warning to the other members of the UN permanent Security Council and Germany, which were meeting at the same time in London.

Spectre of sanctions

If Teheran were to accept the Russian proposal, which was rejected the first time, Moscow could argue that a form of control of the Iranian nuclear activities would now be possible. And the spectre of sanctions imposed on Iran would be removed for a while. Especially since the members of the Security Council were headed towards an internal clash, with the United States, France, Germany and the UK speaking in favour of firm measures against Iran while Russia and China are more hesitant. "All the parties involved must maintain a certain reserve and stick to a solution to the Iranian nuclear question through negotiations," the Chinese foreign minister thus stated yesterday [16 January]. In 2004 China signed a huge contract with Iran providing for the export of Iranian natural gas to China for 25 years. Hence a certain interest in relying on diplomacy as far as possible.

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:47:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I was wondering yesterday when they'd be wheeling Powell out, and hey fucking presto. The lying shit questioned whether Iran could be trusted?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:42:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yup. Harry Belafonte was absolutely right about him.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:56:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Anyone know where I can bet on bombing Iran by November? Bush is sure to try to pull the war election card out it seems to me, so I should at least try to make some vino money out of my analysis.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:00:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, and what's with this again:


"Iraq actually had nuclear weapons capability that they were within a couple of years of bringing to weapons status. The UN found that after the war, even though Iraq denied it."

???

It's not Iran taking the path of Iraq, it's the US taking the path of Iraq in Iran. Repeat false accusations loud enough and it will drown out everything else.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:27:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Guardian: Official US agency paints dire picture of 'out-of-control' Iraq

Analysis issued by USAid in reconstruction effort
· Account belies picture painted by White House

An official assessment drawn up by the US foreign aid agency depicts the security situation in Iraq as dire, amounting to a "social breakdown" in which criminals have "almost free rein".
The "conflict assessment" is an attachment to an invitation to contractors to bid on a project rehabilitating Iraqi cities published earlier this month by the US Agency for International Development (USAid).

The picture it paints is not only darker than the optimistic accounts from the White House and the Pentagon, it also gives a more complex profile of the insurgency than the straightforward "rejectionists, Saddamists and terrorists" described by George Bush.

The USAid analysis talks of an "internecine conflict" involving religious, ethnic, criminal and tribal groups. "It is increasingly common for tribesmen to 'turn in' to the authorities enemies as insurgents - this as a form of tribal revenge," the paper says, casting doubt on the efficacy of counter-insurgent sweeps by coalition and Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, foreign jihadist groups are growing in strength, the report said.

"External fighters and organisations such as al-Qaida and the Iraqi offshoot led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are gaining in number and notoriety as significant actors," USAid's assessment said. "Recruitment into the ranks of these organisations takes place throughout the Sunni Muslim world, with most suicide bombers coming from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region."

The assessment conflicted sharply with recent Pentagon claims that Zarqawi's group was in "disarray".

by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:08:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's comforting to see that USaid's assessment of the situation is similar to European expert intel conclusions (some published here in Italy at the beginning of the year.) Shades of Hanson, Europe doesn't wear blinkers.
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:53:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
TVNZ: Fiji's coup amnesty bill delayed

Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has announced a further delay in controversial legislation which sharply divided the country and raised fears of yet another coup.

The reconciliation bill, which created new tension between the military and the government by granting amnesty to participants in Fiji's 2000 coup, had been expected to come before the national parliament next month.

But Qarase said on Wednesday an amended version of the bill would undergo more consultation before he took it back to parliament.

The prime minister could not guarantee a final vote before elections due later this year.

Looks like the military won then.  While I'm pleased its been delayed, the method in which it was done was unconscionable in a supposedly democratic nation.

by IdiotSavant on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 01:55:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Local news

Alles Guete zum Gebortstag!!!

 

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:40:22 AM EST
Thanks Bob, I am just heading out to buy my self a Birthday present - a new laptop and am a little excited about it.
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:01:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Happy birthday!
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:17:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
<geek>

Which one did you get?

</geek>

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:25:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I didn't get it. They are reorganizing the store. I wanted a HP, I had except for my first IBM computer in the mid 80's always used Compaq and never had any problems with them. The good news, when they get the next HP's in the store they will have new a 100 GB hard disk and a 1GB RAM and that for the same price, so I guess its worth waiting.
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:31:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Get a Mac. You're a front pager, tout de même...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:12:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well deserved...a day to self pamper!! (whatcha gonna get yourself??)

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:26:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje, zyje nam !
The first words of a Polish song for such occasions. Basically it means that we wish you a long life, with all possible fulfilments.

I have a more personal moto for such occasions : may your wildest dreams come true ! The laptop is a good beginning ;-)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:02:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks Agnes for your wishes, which I can use well as I still have some wild dreams.
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:34:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh noooooooo!! Another unexpected sudden birthday and nothing prepared!! Disasters!! Wait! Stay there! I'll be back in a sec! I'm pretty sure there must be scraps underneath the bed, (rumbles), of yes, some old socks and here, what's that underneath the closet? Ah, that's it! A lost He-Man acture figure! That goes well with... this poster from Boyzone I used for darts practice and of course... Gherkins! Yes! Of course! (off to the kitchen, re-appearing covered in flour and chocolate stains after a slight 2.5 hours) Here you are, Fran! A Gherkin flan with a spaghetti whipped chocolate filling! I put the He-Man figure on top, holding that pink stump of candle I found underneath the fridge. Don't forget your friends to enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

by Nomad (Bjinse) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:38:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Thank you Nomad for the lovely birthday gift. However, I am really glad you skipped using the old socks you found in that treasure trove you seem to hide under your bed. :-)
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 02:33:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
  1. anything Burberry
  2. Chav gold chains
  3. ponchos
  4. UGG boots
  5. Cowboy boots
  6. Furry boots
  7. visible G-string
  8. gipsy skirts
  9. socks and sandals
"chav was recently defined in the Collins English Dictionary as 'a young working-class person wearing casual sport clothes'.

Any comments, gentlemen ?  

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 03:56:27 AM EST
I am just trying to imagine what a Chav, i.e. young working-class person gold chain looks like. And if G-strings are not supposed to be visible anymore, does that mean no G-strings?
by Fran on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:13:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I guess the emperor's new G-string is still ok...

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:26:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
it belongs to the standard outfit of some nouveaux riches populating the trendy night clubs in Paris. It is a very heavy, show-off, bracelet or necklace, the latter going with a generously open collar shirt and hairy chest so mainly worn by men.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:50:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

...hairy chest so mainly worn by men.

mainly? That's a scary thought. How many women with hairy chests at the clubs you go to??

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:55:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well...
I knew there was something wrong with the sentence ;-)
I will not disclose here the full content of my wild nights, but rest assured that there are no women with hairy chests around. Nor men with such a good sense of humour for that matter...

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:05:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"La mode, c'est ce qui se démode"

Funny, just yesterday with friends we were wondering at pictures of trendy 70'ers men with hairy chests in open shirts, thinking how deep we were conditioned today to dislike it, and how in their mind could have been the people in the 70'er to find it fashionable...

And wisely one of us said, we had just to wait a couple of years, and it will come back: thirty years is almost quite late for a complete rotation of the fashion wheel of time.

And how quick can the genetic change: in one generation, you go back and forth from hairy men too hairless ephebes. At least in the people magazine. Or should we forecast unemployment among the esthethician :-)


La répartie est dans l'escalier. Elle revient de suite.

by lacordaire on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:36:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I will definitely put together a diary on all that.


Rien de plus sérieux que la futilité.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:52:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I don't like this word, Chav. It has all sorts of class prejudice attached to it and it's a nasty attitude.

However, it has become part of the language, so here's a link, complete with illustrative cariacature:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:32:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Veblen would have had great fun with it I suspect.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:41:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Just to specify that this fashion crimes list comes from today's edition of Metro or similar kind of paper most commuters read on the London tube when on their way to the City. A proper word choice cannot therefore be guaranteed :-)

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:53:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
but it may be beyond the scope of ET. I have always been puzzled by the gap between the way women dress in order to look attractive and the corresponding appreciation of men on those outfits.

There seems to be a great misunderstanding between what men actually like and what women think men like, that could undermine the whole balance of gender cohabitation;-)
I would like to further this issue, at least this would make a funny diary. What'd you think?

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill

by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:14:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That sounds like fun.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:24:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Great, I will work on it ! And hope for a wild debate!

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:26:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, it certainly has the potential to be very combustible.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:43:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Is it the combination of socks and sandals or sandals alone? If it's the latter, I'll be damning fashion another year. Touch my sandals and die.

For the rest, I can't be remotely bothered...

by Nomad (Bjinse) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:12:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It is wearing socks with your sandals, and as far as I'm concerned that's not just this year's fashion crime. ;-)

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:14:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
then another criminal here, as most sandels chaff with long walks...so, sorry, socks I wear...

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:26:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I guess this was aimed at women wearing sandals and even, what's the English for this again, tongs  ie the kind of shoes you only wear on the beach, along with a suit. I have seen lots of them last August in the City.

When through hell, just keep going. W. Churchill
by Agnes a Paris on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:56:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I tell you, out on a fieldtrip, after 4 hours of cold rain and with your hiking boots soaked, no other shoes brought with you, there is nothing better than sandals and sturdy, thick socks basking nearby a fireplace...

Then again, in those places herding sheep is more important than fashion...

by Nomad (Bjinse) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:28:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You guys hike in your sandals?

But I agree, "fashion crimes" don't apply in the wilderness.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:29:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Czech republic leapfrogs Portugal in wealth terms

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Czech republic has joined Slovenia among new member states with higher levels of wealth per capita than old member Portugal, according to European Commission statistics.

The central European country enjoyed gross income per capita of 73 percent of the EU 25 average last year compared to 71 percent in Portugal, according to the latest estimate by the commission's statistical wing, Eurostat.

The spending power comparison takes into account lower consumer prices in the Czech republic compared to Portugal however, with Portuguese people still carrying more money in their pockets in absolute terms.

Slovenia, which was already ahead of Portugal in 2003, is estimated to have reached 81 percent of the EU average last year.

The poorest countries were the Baltic states, Poland and Slovakia at 50 to 54 percent, while the wealthiest on over 110 percent were Ireland, the UK, the Nordic countries, Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The results have left Slovenia and the Czech republic chasing Greece, on 83 percent, as the next old member state to overtake, with Slovenia set to draw level with Greece by 2007 and the Czech republic to narrow the gap further in the next two years, the study predicts.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:31:46 AM EST
Shouldn't that tidbit be in the EUROPEAN NEWS section so kindly provided by Fran? Sir?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:52:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
EU court in recommendation on Sellafield bid
The legal advisor to the European Court of Justice has recommended that Ireland should be found in breach of EU protocols for attempting to take Britain before a UN tribunal over Sellafield. [RTÉ News]
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 04:54:15 AM EST
Interesting, is there a reason Ireland did not go with an EU route in the first place?
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:23:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I thought it had. I'm not sure; it's a long running argument that I don't think the government care if they win or lose - it's a sop to the environmental movement as far as I can see.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 05:26:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Comment: I REALLY like the EÙROPEAN NEWS and WORLD NEWS sections...great idea, Fran!!

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:28:04 AM EST
How about an Europäischer Frühstück diary?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 06:31:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
More about global warming from Common Dreams and Mr. Monbiot.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0117-23.htm

alohapolitics.com
by Keone Michaels on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 at 11:48:02 AM EST


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