To listen to the debate in Europe over the chaotic retreat of United States troops from Afghanistan is to be struck by what a huge vocabulary Europeans have developed over the centuries for describing military calamities. What we just witnessed has already been described as a débâcle, a débandade, a dégringolade and a déroute, not to mention a “rout,” a “fiasco” and a “humiliation.”
The question at the heart of these discussions is whether the botched withdrawal is a failure serious enough to merit a rethinking of European-American defense arrangements. The Afghan war was a NATO operation, involving the core of the trans-Atlantic alliance system that dates from the Cold War. American fecklessness has left European leaders infuriated. In Germany, Armin Laschet, who is running to replace his Christian Democratic colleague Angela Merkel as chancellor in national elections this month, speaks of “the greatest debacle NATO has suffered since its founding.”
Read more at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/opinion/afghanistan-europe-nato.html
Showing posts with label Divorce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Divorce. Show all posts
9/10/21
7/15/18
3/8/18
USA: Trump sued by pornstar, Melania may have grounds for divorce - by Mo Barnes
Porn star Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, dropped a bombshell on
President Trump by announcing a planned lawsuit. A few months ago made
the explosive claim that she had engaged in a series of sexual
encounters with Trump during 2006 and 2007. Among the more salacious
details of her claim was that she spanked Trump on his butt with a
rolled up copy of Forbes magazine, During this time Melania Trump had recently given birth to Barron Trump.
When it became apparent that Trump would rise to the office of president, his lawyer, Michael Cohen, reached a deal with Daniels that included $130K payout and a nondisclosure agreement in 2016. In the document, aliases were used for both Daniels and Trump. Trump is referred to throughout as David Dennison, and Clifford as Peggy Peterson. There is a side letter to the agreement that reveals the true identities of Clifford and Trump.
When news of the affair became public a few months ago, there was an obvious change in the demeanor of First Lady Melania Trump. She traveled separately from the President and would not show him the slightest of affection on camera. Now things are about to get even nastier after Daniels has revealed to the Daily Mail that Trump failed to properly initial and sign the non-disclosure agreement and his lawyer attempted a bogus arbitration agreement with Daniels in 2018 to stop her from talking.
But according to Daniels not only is she talking, she is suing. She filed court documents in Los Angeles Superior Court to void the NDA agreement. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, posted to Twitter:
“Earlier today, we filed this complaint seeking a ct order voiding the alleged ‘hush’ agreement between our client S. Clifford aka Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump.”
Over the weekend as President Trump and Melania were descending the stairs from the presidential helicopter Marine-1, the first lady clearly knocked away his hand when he reached down. Things clearly are not going well within the White House between the most powerful man in the world and his third wife. Trump is only the second U.S. president who has been a divorcee, and there is a strong chance he might be served divorce papers while in office.
Read more: Trump sued by pornstar, Melania may have grounds for divorce
When it became apparent that Trump would rise to the office of president, his lawyer, Michael Cohen, reached a deal with Daniels that included $130K payout and a nondisclosure agreement in 2016. In the document, aliases were used for both Daniels and Trump. Trump is referred to throughout as David Dennison, and Clifford as Peggy Peterson. There is a side letter to the agreement that reveals the true identities of Clifford and Trump.
When news of the affair became public a few months ago, there was an obvious change in the demeanor of First Lady Melania Trump. She traveled separately from the President and would not show him the slightest of affection on camera. Now things are about to get even nastier after Daniels has revealed to the Daily Mail that Trump failed to properly initial and sign the non-disclosure agreement and his lawyer attempted a bogus arbitration agreement with Daniels in 2018 to stop her from talking.
But according to Daniels not only is she talking, she is suing. She filed court documents in Los Angeles Superior Court to void the NDA agreement. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, posted to Twitter:
“Earlier today, we filed this complaint seeking a ct order voiding the alleged ‘hush’ agreement between our client S. Clifford aka Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump.”
Over the weekend as President Trump and Melania were descending the stairs from the presidential helicopter Marine-1, the first lady clearly knocked away his hand when he reached down. Things clearly are not going well within the White House between the most powerful man in the world and his third wife. Trump is only the second U.S. president who has been a divorcee, and there is a strong chance he might be served divorce papers while in office.
Read more: Trump sued by pornstar, Melania may have grounds for divorce
1/30/18
EU-US Relations: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace
US president Donald Trump has promised to put America first. His
protectionist stance on trade, his implicit threats to pull military
protection from countries that do not contribute sufficiently to NATO,
and his decision to pull the US out of the Paris agreement on climate
change are all designed to rebalance what Trump sees as a drain on
American resources. But the net result may be to put America last, as
allies in every part of the world seek out new relationships to shore up
an international system on which they depend.
As the US loses influence, however, other countries will find opportunity. While Russia and China have aggressively courted influence, Europe, too, could be a beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace—if it plays its cards right.
Washington’s dirty secret is that America’s lead over the rest of the world—economic, military and political—has been in steep decline for decades. After World War II, the US constituted half of the global economy. Today, that share is closer to 25%, according to an analysis of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Database. Meanwhile, challenger nations such as China have gone from having a GDP equal to less than one-fifth of the US economy in 1990 to exceeding it today (at least if GDP is adjusted for differences in purchasing power).
The miracle of American foreign policy has been the ability of successive administrations to maintain influence in the face of their country’s relative decline. US governments have attempted to ensure that every region of the world maintains a balance of power that ultimately favors American interests. This means that Washington could afford to lose weight in relative terms so long as smaller players in each region allied with America against the rising regional power—whether that regional power was China, Russia, or Iran.
The secret sauce of this strategy was the way Washington allowed its allies to share in the benefits of American hegemony. Europeans, for example, were allowed to benefit from US military spending and the security is provided without having to come up with equivalent spending on their own. Today, however, under the slogan “America First,” Trump is ripping up that playbook—and the net result could be that many American allies are forced to develop relations with regional challengers to hedge against their abandonment by Washington.
As a result, the US might well end up poorer, less influential, and less secure. The risk is not so much that the US incurs losses in individual diplomatic conflicts or isolated trade disputes. However, if America’s allies are forced into new alliances with America’s foes, the new system that emerges will be less conducive to America’s interests.
Trump’s proposals on trade policy and his Republicans tax plan has set the US on a collision course. Were Trump to implement a tariff on cars produced in Mexico, it would not only attract the wrath of Mexico—the German government could also be forced to act, given its car producers’ reliance on plants in Mexico.
Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan for a corporate tax with border tax adjustment would have effectively put a tariff on imports into the US from everywhere in the world, and would have created the equivalent of an export subsidy for everything produced in the US.
Read more: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace — Quartz
As the US loses influence, however, other countries will find opportunity. While Russia and China have aggressively courted influence, Europe, too, could be a beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace—if it plays its cards right.
Washington’s dirty secret is that America’s lead over the rest of the world—economic, military and political—has been in steep decline for decades. After World War II, the US constituted half of the global economy. Today, that share is closer to 25%, according to an analysis of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Database. Meanwhile, challenger nations such as China have gone from having a GDP equal to less than one-fifth of the US economy in 1990 to exceeding it today (at least if GDP is adjusted for differences in purchasing power).
The miracle of American foreign policy has been the ability of successive administrations to maintain influence in the face of their country’s relative decline. US governments have attempted to ensure that every region of the world maintains a balance of power that ultimately favors American interests. This means that Washington could afford to lose weight in relative terms so long as smaller players in each region allied with America against the rising regional power—whether that regional power was China, Russia, or Iran.
The secret sauce of this strategy was the way Washington allowed its allies to share in the benefits of American hegemony. Europeans, for example, were allowed to benefit from US military spending and the security is provided without having to come up with equivalent spending on their own. Today, however, under the slogan “America First,” Trump is ripping up that playbook—and the net result could be that many American allies are forced to develop relations with regional challengers to hedge against their abandonment by Washington.
As a result, the US might well end up poorer, less influential, and less secure. The risk is not so much that the US incurs losses in individual diplomatic conflicts or isolated trade disputes. However, if America’s allies are forced into new alliances with America’s foes, the new system that emerges will be less conducive to America’s interests.
Trump’s proposals on trade policy and his Republicans tax plan has set the US on a collision course. Were Trump to implement a tariff on cars produced in Mexico, it would not only attract the wrath of Mexico—the German government could also be forced to act, given its car producers’ reliance on plants in Mexico.
Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan for a corporate tax with border tax adjustment would have effectively put a tariff on imports into the US from everywhere in the world, and would have created the equivalent of an export subsidy for everything produced in the US.
Read more: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace — Quartz
1/16/18
EU-US Relations: Will the EU-US relationship ever be the same again? by Rolf Mützenich
On 9 November 2016, the unthinkable happened: Donald Trump was
elected 45th President of the United States of America. Since then the
US has not only lived up to the worst anti-American clichés touted by
the extremes of Left and Right – it has surpassed them. A year of
‘America First’ has put a serious strain on ties between the US and its
European allies. But is the relationship really in crisis?
Let’s start with the positives. The US president may have offended numerous heads of state and government, but he hasn’t (yet) provoked a war. At home, Trump has only managed to push two major projects through Congress: a long-anticipated tax overhaul and the appointment of the conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Otherwise, it seems America’s famed system of ‘checks and balances’ is still functioning pretty well – especially when compared with the creeping authoritarianism we see in some EU member states such as Hungary and Poland. It’s no Russia or China either.
Following Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, a number of US states created a ‘Climate Alliance’ committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Several American cities are offering refuge and support to immigrants from Latin America facing deportation. US courts have blocked plans preventing transsexuals from joining the military, and knocked down three attempts to ban Muslims from certain countries from entering the US. (The Supreme Court has since reinstated the ban.)
Trump’s efforts to do away with ex-president Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms have failed. Plans to build a wall along the Mexican border have also come to nothing. Encouragingly, the US Department of Justice appointed Robert Mueller to oversee an FBI investigation into the president’s Russian connections and those of his entourage. So despite countless presidential tweets attacking the system, the separation of powers is still working.
A joint European security and defence policy is long overdue, and PESCO is just the latest in a long list of initiatives and experiments. As we have seen, Europe is highly inefficient when it comes to defence spending. Much work is needlessly repeated: the EU has 17 types of tank, 29 types of frigates and destroyers, and 20 types of fighter jets. Procedures for joint missions are complex, the financing arrangements risky.
PESCO is a first step in the right direction. It doesn’t herald the ‘mega-army’ some have predicted. Rather it puts forward an ambitious aim of cooperating intelligently and boosting military capabilities by avoiding unnecessary duplication and using limited resources more effectively.
This includes the establishment of a joint European Defence Fund (EDF) of €500 million; the European Defence Agency, founded in 2004; and the creation of smaller EU battlegroups (military units) to respond to and prevent crises. If successful, PESCO will represent a first step towards greater European independence in the area of security policy.
We should also take care to ensure justified criticism of Trump does not lead to defeatism, cynicism, self-righteousness or anti-Americanism. European countries have no other option but to continue working with the Trump administration as best they can, whilst seeking to maintain contact with Congress and work with American politicians who take an interest in Europe, as well as with NGOs and think tanks.
We must do everything in our power to ensure that not only is there life after Donald Trump, but that the project of the ‘West’ still exists. It is also important that the EU, when there is disagreement, stands in unity against Britain and America, the former leading powers on each side of the Atlantic.
We need both: more Europe and more democracy on the one hand, and the preservation of transatlantic foundations for the post-Trump era on the other. Democracies must respond to the advance of authoritarian structures and individuals by democratising their security policy, because democracy and peace are inextricably linked.
We must observe and enforce rules and standards, and we need credible sanctions against those who break them. We need to expand international (criminal) jurisdiction and to strengthen international organisations and the rights of national parliaments and civil society at home and abroad. If Europe is to overcome the significant challenges facing our world, it must involve the authoritarian superpowers of China and Russia.
However, that cannot replace a newly-aligned transatlantic partnership, where Europe and the US stand on an equal footing. Trump is not America and he will not be in power forever. The goal must be to ensure that the next American president does not take office with the western world in ruins.
Read more: Will the EU-US relationship ever be the same again? | International Politics and Society - IPS
Let’s start with the positives. The US president may have offended numerous heads of state and government, but he hasn’t (yet) provoked a war. At home, Trump has only managed to push two major projects through Congress: a long-anticipated tax overhaul and the appointment of the conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Otherwise, it seems America’s famed system of ‘checks and balances’ is still functioning pretty well – especially when compared with the creeping authoritarianism we see in some EU member states such as Hungary and Poland. It’s no Russia or China either.
Following Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, a number of US states created a ‘Climate Alliance’ committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Several American cities are offering refuge and support to immigrants from Latin America facing deportation. US courts have blocked plans preventing transsexuals from joining the military, and knocked down three attempts to ban Muslims from certain countries from entering the US. (The Supreme Court has since reinstated the ban.)
Trump’s efforts to do away with ex-president Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms have failed. Plans to build a wall along the Mexican border have also come to nothing. Encouragingly, the US Department of Justice appointed Robert Mueller to oversee an FBI investigation into the president’s Russian connections and those of his entourage. So despite countless presidential tweets attacking the system, the separation of powers is still working.
A joint European security and defence policy is long overdue, and PESCO is just the latest in a long list of initiatives and experiments. As we have seen, Europe is highly inefficient when it comes to defence spending. Much work is needlessly repeated: the EU has 17 types of tank, 29 types of frigates and destroyers, and 20 types of fighter jets. Procedures for joint missions are complex, the financing arrangements risky.
PESCO is a first step in the right direction. It doesn’t herald the ‘mega-army’ some have predicted. Rather it puts forward an ambitious aim of cooperating intelligently and boosting military capabilities by avoiding unnecessary duplication and using limited resources more effectively.
This includes the establishment of a joint European Defence Fund (EDF) of €500 million; the European Defence Agency, founded in 2004; and the creation of smaller EU battlegroups (military units) to respond to and prevent crises. If successful, PESCO will represent a first step towards greater European independence in the area of security policy.
We should also take care to ensure justified criticism of Trump does not lead to defeatism, cynicism, self-righteousness or anti-Americanism. European countries have no other option but to continue working with the Trump administration as best they can, whilst seeking to maintain contact with Congress and work with American politicians who take an interest in Europe, as well as with NGOs and think tanks.
We must do everything in our power to ensure that not only is there life after Donald Trump, but that the project of the ‘West’ still exists. It is also important that the EU, when there is disagreement, stands in unity against Britain and America, the former leading powers on each side of the Atlantic.
We need both: more Europe and more democracy on the one hand, and the preservation of transatlantic foundations for the post-Trump era on the other. Democracies must respond to the advance of authoritarian structures and individuals by democratising their security policy, because democracy and peace are inextricably linked.
We must observe and enforce rules and standards, and we need credible sanctions against those who break them. We need to expand international (criminal) jurisdiction and to strengthen international organisations and the rights of national parliaments and civil society at home and abroad. If Europe is to overcome the significant challenges facing our world, it must involve the authoritarian superpowers of China and Russia.
However, that cannot replace a newly-aligned transatlantic partnership, where Europe and the US stand on an equal footing. Trump is not America and he will not be in power forever. The goal must be to ensure that the next American president does not take office with the western world in ruins.
Read more: Will the EU-US relationship ever be the same again? | International Politics and Society - IPS
12/10/17
Brexit: EU leaders welcome Brexit divorce deal -by Eszter Zalan
EU leaders welcomed the Brexit agreement on the terms of divorce and
said they were ready to launch discussions on the future relationship.
British prime minister May's fellow leaders in Europe welcomed Friday's hard-won Brexit agreement on divorce, but Berlin in particular warned that the more 'highly complex' part of negotiations is to come.
Read more: EU leaders welcome Brexit divorce deal
British prime minister May's fellow leaders in Europe welcomed Friday's hard-won Brexit agreement on divorce, but Berlin in particular warned that the more 'highly complex' part of negotiations is to come.
Read more: EU leaders welcome Brexit divorce deal
12/1/17
EU-US Relations: After a year of Trump, good news for Europe – he doesn’t care about us - by Natalie Nougayrède
One year on, what has been the impact of Donald Trump
on Europe? How have governments reacted to him? Though the scenario
once feared of a populist tidal wave unleashed on the continent by
Trump’s victory in the US did not materialise, it would be naive to
think Europe’s problems have disappeared.
Still, much has changed in that year. Remember how, on the day of Trump’s election, the leader of the French far-right, Marine Le Pen, tweeted elatedly: “Congratulations to the American people, free!” Florian Philippot, one of her close aides, cast the US political earthquake as a portent for liberal Europe: “Their world is crumbling,” he said. “Ours is being built.” One year on, not only has Le Pen suffered defeat at the ballot box, but she now finds herself struggling: her party split, her credibility in shambles.
Meanwhile, a young, centrist French president makes sweeping speeches on rejuvenating Europe’s unique brand of democracy – market economy and social justice combined – as opposed to US market economy without social justice, and China’s state capitalism without either social justice or democracy. Emmanuel Macron’s election and Angela Merkel’s re-election (even if weakened) can indeed both be read as a response to Trump; proof that Europe can stabilize rather than break apart.
Read more: After a year of Trump, good news for Europe – he doesn’t care about us | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian
Still, much has changed in that year. Remember how, on the day of Trump’s election, the leader of the French far-right, Marine Le Pen, tweeted elatedly: “Congratulations to the American people, free!” Florian Philippot, one of her close aides, cast the US political earthquake as a portent for liberal Europe: “Their world is crumbling,” he said. “Ours is being built.” One year on, not only has Le Pen suffered defeat at the ballot box, but she now finds herself struggling: her party split, her credibility in shambles.
Meanwhile, a young, centrist French president makes sweeping speeches on rejuvenating Europe’s unique brand of democracy – market economy and social justice combined – as opposed to US market economy without social justice, and China’s state capitalism without either social justice or democracy. Emmanuel Macron’s election and Angela Merkel’s re-election (even if weakened) can indeed both be read as a response to Trump; proof that Europe can stabilize rather than break apart.
Read more: After a year of Trump, good news for Europe – he doesn’t care about us | Natalie Nougayrède | Opinion | The Guardian
11/26/17
FACEBOOK: How to quit Facebook and end the relationship: "it is not as hard as you think"
- I just deactivated my Facebook account
- I think the product Facebook offers — its core social network — isn't very attractive anymore
- I'll walk you through how to do the same
It wasn't a snap decision, but a culmination of a lot of things that peaked with some of the revelations about how the Russians used the platform to spread targeted ads and widen political divisions in the U.S. during the last presidential election.
I also found that the product is no longer the one I used to love — the one I found useful in college to learn more about friends I was meeting and whether we shared classes.
Instead, it seems more like a wasteland of political opinion, memes and cartoons I don't find interesting and snippets of video I have no interest in watching. It's become an outlet for opinion and random entertainment instead of a place to connect with other people.
There are some things I'll miss. I've found Facebook useful for managing my social life, particularly with the invites to events that other Facebook friends are attending. I'm willing to give that up for now, though, and maybe it'll help me learn to reach out to people more directly, like over the phone, instead of with a quick "like" on a post or an automatic "happy birthday" comment.
If you're like me and want to do the same, here's how:
Click here to find out how to do it: How to quit Facebook
10/8/17
EU Unity: Merkel, Macron pledge to lead EU forward post-Brexit
French President Emmanuel Macron won backing from
Angela Merkel for plans to reform the European Union after Brexit,
founded on what the German chancellor called “intense” cooperation
between Paris and Berlin.
Read more: Merkel, Macron pledge to lead EU forward post-Brexit
But many leaders
remained wary of ambitious new projects, doubting the appetite of voters
for giving up national control and fearing the continued strength of
anti-EU sentiment that is taking Britain out of the bloc and saw the
far-right win dozens of seats in the German parliament in Sunday’s
election.
“Last night’s discussions showed
there’s a common realization of a need for a leap forward in Europe,”
Macron told reporters on Friday after an EU summit dinner that stretched
beyond midnight in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
“Today we’re all convinced Europe must move ahead faster and stronger, for more sovereignty, more unity and more democracy.”
Macron
voiced satisfaction with summit chair Donald Tusk’s commitment to
report back to EU leaders when they meet again in three weeks with
proposals for concrete steps to be taken.
Note EU-Digest: A very positive series of proposals came out of thisTallinn Summit . Hopefully the statements by Merkel and Macron will not just fall on deaf ears..
Europe must redirect its foreign policies towards a more independent European focused position and not continue to follow blindly in the footsteps of the US., which has totally different objectives than those of Europe.
This will require a lot of soul searching within the EU, including, looking more closely at the EU's participation in NATO'S military adventures, and even its long-term relationship with Russia.
What is good for America might not always fit the real needs of Europe.
What is good for America might not always fit the real needs of Europe.
Read more: Merkel, Macron pledge to lead EU forward post-Brexit
7/3/17
Brexit: Prolonging Brexit talks ‘should not be excluded’, says key EU power broker - by Sarantis Michalopoulos
The complexity of the Brexit negotiations means extending the talks
by one year should not be excluded, according to the spokesperson of the
European People’s Party (EPP), the leading power broker in the EU
institutions.
The declaration by Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan, spokesperson of the European People’s Party (EPP), is the first time the EU’s leading centre-right political family publicly admits that Brexit talks may have to be prolonged.
If that extension eventually materialises, it would be a major concession to the government of UK Prime Minister Theresa May which only managed to kick off negotiations on 19 June, one year after the historic referendum on EU membership.
Read more: Prolonging Brexit talks ‘should not be excluded’, says key EU power broker – EURACTIV.com
The declaration by Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan, spokesperson of the European People’s Party (EPP), is the first time the EU’s leading centre-right political family publicly admits that Brexit talks may have to be prolonged.
If that extension eventually materialises, it would be a major concession to the government of UK Prime Minister Theresa May which only managed to kick off negotiations on 19 June, one year after the historic referendum on EU membership.
Read more: Prolonging Brexit talks ‘should not be excluded’, says key EU power broker – EURACTIV.com
4/5/17
Brexit: EU has strong Brexit negotiating position, says German Foreign Minister
In his official statement after British Prime Minister Theresa May officially triggered the UK's application to leave the European Union, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that Berlin was glad the waiting was finally over.
"The EU-27 made good use of the run-up to the formal British application," Gabriel said. "We know what we want. We have a clear differentiated negotiating position and will give the EU Commission a strong mandate."
The EU, and not Germany, will negotiate the specifics of Brexit with London, but the views of Germany - the bloc's biggest member - will carry considerable weight. Now that the process is officially underway, the next step is for the other 27 EU countries to agree a mandate on the principles according to which the bloc will attempt to hammer out a favorable agreement. That should take place by late April.
Gabriel said negotiations would be carried out without acrimony.
"The sentence 'Let's stay friends,' which often rings hollow in personal relationships, is the right one here," Gabriel said. "We need one another. We should do everything to continue to maintain good, friendly relations with London in the future."
But just as in a romantic relationship between individuals, there are limits to how far the post-Brexit friendship between the EU and the UK will go."
First the divorce, then further talks
Read more: EU has strong Brexit negotiating position, says German Foreign Minister | TOP STORIES | DW.COM | 29.03.2017
"The EU-27 made good use of the run-up to the formal British application," Gabriel said. "We know what we want. We have a clear differentiated negotiating position and will give the EU Commission a strong mandate."
The EU, and not Germany, will negotiate the specifics of Brexit with London, but the views of Germany - the bloc's biggest member - will carry considerable weight. Now that the process is officially underway, the next step is for the other 27 EU countries to agree a mandate on the principles according to which the bloc will attempt to hammer out a favorable agreement. That should take place by late April.
Gabriel said negotiations would be carried out without acrimony.
"The sentence 'Let's stay friends,' which often rings hollow in personal relationships, is the right one here," Gabriel said. "We need one another. We should do everything to continue to maintain good, friendly relations with London in the future."
But just as in a romantic relationship between individuals, there are limits to how far the post-Brexit friendship between the EU and the UK will go."
First the divorce, then further talks
Read more: EU has strong Brexit negotiating position, says German Foreign Minister | TOP STORIES | DW.COM | 29.03.2017
6/24/16
Brexit: A pyrrhic victory? Boris Johnson wakes up to the costs of Brexit - by Gaby Hinsliff
 |
| Party is over Britain: you are on your own |
Like the good intellectual that he’s vigorously pretended not to be of late, Boris Johnson will probably know that line. It’s from the Greek historian Plutarch’s account of the battle that gave us the phrase “pyrrhic victory”, the kind of victory won at such cost that you almost wish you’d lost.
In theory, Johnson woke up on Friday morning having won the war. After David Cameron’s announcement that he would step down come October, Johnson is now the heir presumptive – albeit at this stage very presumptive – to the Tory leadership, perhaps only four months away from running the country.
He has everything he ever wanted. It’s just that somehow, as he fought his way through booing crowds on his Islington doorstep before holding an uncharacteristically subdued press conference on Friday morning, it didn’t really look that way.
One group of Tory remainers watching the speech on TV jeered out loud when a rather pale Johnson said leaving Europe needn’t mean pulling up the drawbridge; that this epic victory for Nigel Farage could somehow “take the wind out of the sails” of anyone playing politics with immigration. Too late for all that now, one said.
he scariest possibility, however, is that he actually meant it. That like most of Westminster, Johnson always imagined we’d grudgingly vote to stay in the end. That he too missed the anger bubbling beneath the surface, and is now as shocked as anyone else by what has happened.
“People talk about reluctant remainers, but I think there have been a lot of reluctant Brexiters around, people who voted leave thinking it wouldn’t happen but they’d be able to vent and to tell all their friends at dinner parties they’d done it,” said one Tory minister.
“He thought what all those reluctant Brexiters thought: it would be a vote for remain, he would be seen as having stood up for a principle.” After which leave’s newest martyr could simply have bided his time for a year or so before being triumphantly installed in Downing Street.
It’s perfectly possible, of course, that the Tories on both sides who suspect Johnson was never an outer in his bones are plain wrong, that the anonymous Labour MP who hotly accused him on Friday of jeopardising thousands of ordinary people’s jobs just to secure one for himself was doing him a terrible injustice.
Perhaps Johnson really did have a last-minute epiphany, declaring for leave in the sober realisation that this was always how it might end – Scotland demanding independence, Northern Ireland’s fragile political settlement at risk, Marine Le Pen jubilant, the Bank of England stumping up £250bn to stabilise the market. Perhaps he’s still convinced all will be fine eventually.
And let’s hope to God he’s right. Any remainer who doesn’t pray to be proved wrong about Brexit is callous, wishing disaster on people who are unable to afford it. But right now, what scorched earth Johnson stands to inherit – a nation febrile and divided, teetering on the brink of economic and constitutional crisis. It’s all over for David Cameron now. But it feels, too, like the end of a broader modernising movement to which both he and Johnson belonged.
Johnson is far from a buffoon. He’s an agile thinker, gifted communicator and natural opportunist who made a reasonable fist of governing London after recruiting some reliable deputies (enter Michael Gove). He’s smart enough to have learned from the recent Labour leadership campaign – in which managerially competent candidates were slaughtered for being on the wrong side of a visceral grassroots argument – that elites only survive in this febrile climate by pleasing the masses. Perhaps somehow it will all come together.
It’s just that on Friday morning Johnson didn’t look like a man with a plan that’s all working perfectly. He looked more like a king unable to take more such victories.
Note EU-Digest: Following Brexit the EU must make sure not to sign any agreement with Britain which gives them preferential treatment.on Trade,Visa,Tax excemptions and immediately treat their Government and Citizens exactly as they would any other non EU country.
In doing so it will also send a clear message not only to Britain but also to other EU nations that if you are a member of the EU you can't have your cake and eat it also.
Read more: A pyrrhic victory? Boris Johnson wakes up to the costs of Brexit | Politics | The Guardian
11/21/13
Is Europe headed for divorce? - by Timothy Garton Ash
Now that the German elections are over, Germany and France will
launch a great initiative to save the European project. Marking the
centennial of 1914 and World War I,
this will contrast favorably with the weak and confused leadership
under which Europe stumbled 100 years ago. Before the May elections to
the European Union
Parliament, the Franco-German duo's decisive action and inspiring
oratory will drive back the anti-EU parties that are gaining ground in
so many European countries.
In your dreams, Mr. and Ms. Pro-European Union. A new German government won't be formed until just before Christmas. In the German coalition negotiations, European affairs are being handled by — wait for it — a subgroup of the working group on finance. For the three participating parties — Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, the Bavarian Christian Social Union and the opposition Social Democrats — the hot-button issues are all domestic: the minimum wage, energy policy, dual citizenship, a proposed road toll; these things count for more than the future of the continent.
The trouble with grand coalitions is that because mainstream, centrist parties are burdened with the responsibility of government, the field of opposition is left wide open for the protest parties. On the other hand, if the anti-parties succeed at the polls, it could at last mobilize a younger generation of Europeans to defend achievements they take for granted.
It won't be 1914, but 100 years on, Europe will again be living in interesting times.
Note EU-Digest: always great pessimism about Europe from our "Anglo-Saxon Partners" .
Read more: Is Europe headed for divorce? - latimes.com
In your dreams, Mr. and Ms. Pro-European Union. A new German government won't be formed until just before Christmas. In the German coalition negotiations, European affairs are being handled by — wait for it — a subgroup of the working group on finance. For the three participating parties — Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, the Bavarian Christian Social Union and the opposition Social Democrats — the hot-button issues are all domestic: the minimum wage, energy policy, dual citizenship, a proposed road toll; these things count for more than the future of the continent.
The trouble with grand coalitions is that because mainstream, centrist parties are burdened with the responsibility of government, the field of opposition is left wide open for the protest parties. On the other hand, if the anti-parties succeed at the polls, it could at last mobilize a younger generation of Europeans to defend achievements they take for granted.
It won't be 1914, but 100 years on, Europe will again be living in interesting times.
Note EU-Digest: always great pessimism about Europe from our "Anglo-Saxon Partners" .
Read more: Is Europe headed for divorce? - latimes.com
6/6/13
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila divorce
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila have said their marriage is over.
Mrs Putin had rarely been seen in public in recent months, prompting much speculation in Russian media.
She is known to dislike publicity, and told the TV reporter that flying was difficult for her.
The divorce was "civilised" and the couple would "always remain close", she said. "I am very grateful to Vladimir... that he still supports me. And the children, he really cares for them and the children feel this," she added.
Mr Putin confirmed on TV that the two were no longer living together.
Read more: BBC News - Russia's Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila divorce
2/5/10
Morality: Is an affair a sackable offenc
We are living in liberal times; we are more tolerant of homosexuality, divorce and illegitimacy than ever before. Yet talking about sex even inside a good relationship is still difficult for many people. Meanwhile, fidelity has acquired a new importance. A Gallup poll in 2006 found that Americans were more tolerant of polygamy and human cloning than infidelity.
We no longer need to get married to have sex or children and many now enjoy a range of sexual experiences with different people before they "settle down", at which point being faithful to that special person is completely bound up with our feelings of love for them. Given how long we live and expect to be together, achieving this can be very difficult.
The only way a relationship can be made to work in these sex-obsessed times is with an understanding that we should never take each other for granted. Monogamy and fidelity cannot be expected from another person as a right. It is a gift offered from one mature human being to another because they care enough about their feelings not to want to hurt them. That's the deal most of us strike, and most of us do our level best to keep to it.
For more: Is an affair a sackable offence? | From the Guardian | The Guardian
We no longer need to get married to have sex or children and many now enjoy a range of sexual experiences with different people before they "settle down", at which point being faithful to that special person is completely bound up with our feelings of love for them. Given how long we live and expect to be together, achieving this can be very difficult.
The only way a relationship can be made to work in these sex-obsessed times is with an understanding that we should never take each other for granted. Monogamy and fidelity cannot be expected from another person as a right. It is a gift offered from one mature human being to another because they care enough about their feelings not to want to hurt them. That's the deal most of us strike, and most of us do our level best to keep to it.
For more: Is an affair a sackable offence? | From the Guardian | The Guardian
10/20/07
IHT: Cécilia Sarkozy tells her story - by Elaine Sciolino
The Sarkozy's in better times
For the complete report from the International Herald Tribune click on this link
Cécilia Sarkozy tells her story - by Elaine Sciolino
"We tried everything, I tried everything," she said. "What happened to me has happened to millions of people: One day you no longer have your place in the couple. The couple is no longer the essential thing of your life. It no longer functions; it no longer works."
Sarkozy will live at the Élysée palace and Cécilia Sarkozy at their apartment in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. According to the divorce settlement, they will share custody of their 10-year-old son, Louis. Cécilia Sarkozy, who also has two grown daughters by a previous marriage, said she intended to spend more time with her family. She also said that although she had no projects at the moment, "I want to do many things and I feel I have the possibility to help others - that has always been my nature."
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