After spending several weeks in France, the mood in France is far from being positive. A series of factors have contributed to some type of national negativism affecting any types of creativity and motivation to drive the country out of this crisis. Rightly so, France is not at its economic, financial and societal peak with […]
Nearly 500 miles of European land mass fell away, the English Channel hollowed out, the great earth shifted and the continent merged with the island to its west. When all came to rest, the medieval cityscape of Strasbourg, France, sat atop London… No, certainly not. But for many a Europe-weary Briton, it felt as such […]
It is said the Vatican thinks in centuries, not years, and, after watching this documentary, the viewer can see why. Despite it being a bit dated, this documentary sheds light on the inner workings of the smallest nation in the world. Narrated by Martin Sheen, it takes the viewer behind the scenes as an army […]
Should Europe care about the Snowden’s leak? Absolutely, but don’t expect too much from the EU and its Member States to fully defend privacy rights of European citizens. Earlier this week, Edward Snowden, a former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton contracted by the NSA, leaked top-secret […]
Two decades of international community administered talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijani territory, have failed to reach a resolution. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s petro-dollar aided exponential increase in defence expenditure amid pitched rabble-rousing and frequent sniper skirmishes in the region has led many to fear that the disputed landlocked mountainous […]
Is it in the interest of the European Union to arm Syrian rebels? Here is the real question. After almost two years of vicious civil war, over 80,000 deaths and 1,5 million refugees, the EU once again led by Paris and London has received flexibility for actions if needed through eventual shipment of weapons to […]
The gesture itself was subtle, but as the collection of briefing notes were set to one side, so with it went a thin layer of pulped political barricade. What remained were two government leaders seated across a table, a Russian president asking a British prime minister to state his case. David Cameron traveled to Sochi […]
The struggle to keep the Eurozone intact threatens the future of a united Europe. It is not, however, the only threat the EU faces, and perhaps not even the primary one. Robert Kaplan, in a new essay (“Europe’s New Map” for The American Interest) gives proponents of a robust EU additional reasons to worry. Many of […]
Even though we are still commemorating great political, social and military achievements, their meanings and symbolisms are fading away. History is all around us, is present and shapes our lives everyday, but remains unknown and too often misunderstood. History should be learned not because it fits a cause, a policy, a vision, but rather because […]
May 8, 1945 symbolized the end of World War II on the European continent. It is a symbol of victory over the Nazis, not Germany. This day is of supreme importance to the making of Europe as we know it. Pictures can only tell a better story than words. This selection of photos below […]
The single band of light slashed across the shelves catches the metallic detailing on the spines of the neatly lined books set upon them. The shine creates what looks to be the only source of real illumination in an otherwise darkened room, perhaps an intentional set up to reflect the gravity of the interview. Seated […]
The conflict between Russia and the territory of Chechnya is the backdrop for this film. In it two Russian soldiers are taken away to a Chechen village after their group is ambushed. The reason they are captured is so that a villager can use them as a trade for his son, who is being held […]
How can the EU still advertise itself on the global stage as being the embodiment of democracy and human rights? This question should be raised and asked in Brussels as many of EU member states are seriously flirting with the extremes. The latest developments in Greece – only to name one out of the group […]
There have been many movies made about Margaret Thatcher in recent years. Now that she has passed, here is a review of three of them. We start with “The Iron Lady” (2011), which stars Meryl Streep. Streep does a fantastic job of playing the former prime minister of the U.K. at the height of her power […]
Margaret Thatcher, also known as the Iron Lady, has died on April 8th. The media and think tank planets have not missed the occasion to discuss her policies, attitudes and legacies. I will neither write an obituary nor a commentary on Ms. Thatcher, but rather list below the most outstanding coverage on the question. […]