Penelope Chester wrote a post today that I highly recommend on the double standards increasingly demonstrated by European countries, especially France. One clear example is when it comes to issues of immigration. On the recent call by France and Italy to revise the Schengen Agreement that allows people to cross the borders of member states […]
It was supposed to be the final stage of a nearly decade long peace process. It was supposed to finally put to rest the civil war that tore the country apart in the 1990s. It was supposed to be the start to a new chapter in Cote d’Ivoire’s history, one not marked by geographic and […]
As my fruit salesman on the market at Barbès (an Arabic neighbourhood in the North of Paris) proclaimed with a wide smile this morning pointing to the Tunisian flag his stand boasted ‘C’est la revolution! On voit la vie en rose maintenant.’ (It’s a revolution! We see life through rose-colored glasses now.) Evidently this Jasmine […]
The current best-selling book in France is called “Indignez-vous!” It is said to capture France’s prevailing attitude about the moribund state of the world better than any other publication since the global recession began. Its author, Stéphane Hessel, is 93 years old, a veteran of the Resistance and a drafter of the Universal Declaration of […]
There is a number of terribly unexciting and obvious, or maybe rather dubious candidates for a European Person of the Year award of course. Thus Benedict XVI slackened his church’s stance on the sinfulness of condoms, yet he was forced to deal with (or at times: ignore) constantly recurring pedophilia revelations in Ireland as well […]
This is nothing new per se of course, it has been argued before that European integration proceeds only when faced with an important obstacle. In that sense once again the financial crises have led to a number of heretofore unimaginable cooperative steps of governments giving up national sovereignty. The French President Sarkozy has proposed an […]
Europe in the past has seen its fair share of successful (and unsuccessful) mass movements descending in the street and clamoring for justice of course. The 1968-69 demonstrations spectacularly failed (Prague) or led to ambiguous changes in the social life styles of society difficult to measure (Germany, France). The 1989 mobilizations were an unequivocal success […]
A spectre is haunting Europe once again, yet unlike during the 1840s it is not Communism but instead the continent-wide popular appeal of modern far right, xenophobic politicians and beliefs which menace the traditional parties’ grip on power. While the specific situations in European countries differ widely, common trends and forces are clearly discernible.Let us […]
Can democracy survive 21st century capitalism? In October, the courts of France dismissed a suit by Transparency International (and other plaintiffs) that sought to investigate how three African dictators in Francophone Africa came to possess hundreds of millions of dollars even though the people of their countries were amongst the poorest in the world. The […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/URFn9IdecLY” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Last week ended on a huge Iran shocker: discovery of a new enrichment plant near the city of Qom. This week is also starting with a bang: Iran has tested two long-range missiles which defense analysts say are capable of hitting Israel or US bases in the Gulf region. […]
All the newspapers are buzzing with one news: the disclosure of a clandestine uranium enrichment plant in Iran. Here is President Obama’s statement on the Iranian nuclear facility that he made along with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Sarkozy today at the G-20 meeting. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good morning. We are here to […]
Looks like this year Qaddafi will be the center of attention at the UN. While Ahmadinejad’s speech had some classic “blame West” moments, it just did not match the diatribes found in Qaddafi’s speech (For more on Qaddafi’s speech, check out the Foreign Policy Association’s Human Rights Blog). Ahmadinejad’s speech was more subdued, but that […]
Looks like the United States will not be alone in pushing for tough sanctions on Iran. Both French and German leaders have warned Iran that it could face new sanctions if it does not show a willingness to negotiate on its nuclear program. Speaking after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, the […]
Current relations between Pakistan and Europe are defined by cooperation. Through humanitarian and supply assistance offered, European states are also working with Islamabad in collaborating on development projects as a form for debt relief to Pakistan. This cooperation comes with Pakistan’s commitment to democracy and successes in uprooting terrorism.