Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs
With the Greek financial crisis still working itself out, European politicians are beginning to worry about another country that could go into crisis very soon: With fears growing that Italy could become the latest victim of the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis, and with plans for a second Greek bailout deadlocked, top European officials are [...]
Remember Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the arrogant French aristocrat whose career was ended by a courageous chambermaid, shedding light on a corrupt social system? A funny thing happened on the way to the slammer.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, says fundamentalist Christians are a far bigger problem than Muslims. And, no, he’s not anti-religion.
Russia’s President seems to be setting up the upcoming Presidential election, where his biggest opponent is likely to be his predecessor Vladimir Putin, as a debate over the role of government in Russia’s economy: ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday challenged the legacy of his powerful predecessor, Vladimir Putin, condemning [...]
Via the BBC: Greece: Merkel and Sarkozy urge bail-out The leaders of Germany and France have said that they want a new rescue package for debt-laden Greece to be agreed as soon as possible. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were speaking after Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a cabinet reshuffle. [...] Mrs Merkel and [...]
My latest piece for The Atlantic, “Is the U.S.-European Relationship Really in Decline?” is posted.
Turkey has had elections, and the ruling AKP has retained a majority in parliament. The next major issue appears to be constitutional reform.
Rumors that Robert Gates would deliver a provocative farewell to the European allies were well founded. Going further than he had to date, he bluntly warned that NATO has become a two-tiered Alliance and said it faces a “dim, if not dismal” future. Gates has been displaying increasing frustration with the European Allies and pointedly [...]
To the shock of no one (via the BBC): Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn pleads not guilty The foundation of the case can be found here: The prosecution says it is confident it has DNA samples which prove the woman’s allegations against Mr Strauss-Kahn. Strauss-Kahn lawyer Benjamin Brafman insisted last month that any forensic evidence would not [...]
Despite what appear to be the fond hope of European central bankers that it will just all go away, something needs to be done. But what?
Not in Germany, anyway. Via the AFP: Germany to scrap nuclear power by 2022. This is in response to the disaster in Japan. Of course, with growing concerns about the environmental impact of the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, the abandonment of nuclear power begs the question of where the energy is going [...]
Holland is going to make it harder for tourists to smoke marijuana.
Former Serbian commander Ratko Mladic has been arrested for alleged war crimes committed in the 1990s.
While President Obama has had some amusing gaffes on his trip to London, including getting the year wrong in the guest book and an awkward toast to the Queen, his speech to Parliament today hit all the right notes.
It looks like Vladmir Putin is finished sitting on the sidelines: RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has decided to run for the presidency next year, raising the possibility of a power struggle with his protege Dmitry Medvedev, the incumbent Kremlin leader, say highly placed sources. The once-close relationship between Mr Putin, the tough-talking former KGB [...]
Ben Stein seems to have been out to lunch when he wrote his column about Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Some French politicians and intellectuals seem offended that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being treated like a common criminal.
The free world rallied around the United States after the 9/11 attacks–but not all back the killing of the man who ordered it.
Tomorrow, voters in the UK are being asked whether they want to trade in their current single member district, first-past-the-post electoral system (otherwise known as the same one we use to elect Congress and any number of other offices) for the alternative vote (also known as the instant run-off). For a very basic explanation, watch [...]
Singing the 1974 Carl Douglas classic “Kung Fu Fighting” can get you arrested in England.
The English are so quaint, what with their odd way of spelling colour, those double-decker buses, the way they call elevators “lifts,” and their cute little devotion to the idea of democratically debating whether their country should go to war: London – The British government won overwhelming parliamentary backing late Monday for its role in [...]
Earlier today, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin slammed the United Nations intervention in Libya as a modern-day version of The Crusades: VOTKINSK, Russia (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday likened the U.N. Security Council resolution supporting military action in Libya to medieval calls for crusades. “The resolution is defective and flawed,” Putin [...]
It would appear that the Chancellor of Germany is the primary voice of reason in Europe when it comes to intervening in the Libyan Civil War: Germany has again blocked Anglo-French plans for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. Reports from talks held by G8 ministers in Paris said German objections, backed by [...]
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum thinks we’ve been too hard on the Crusaders.
The last leader of the Soviet Union had some pretty harsh words recently for the current leadership of Russia: Russia under prime minister Vladimir Putin is a sham democracy, Mikhail Gorbachev has said in his harshest criticism yet of the ruling regime. “We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and [...]
Silvio Berlusconi has gotten himself into some hot water: An Italian judge on Tuesday ordered Premier Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl, then tried to cover it up. Berlusconi has stood trial on a number of business-related charges, but this is the first time the [...]
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi latest sex scandal is sparking protests across the country: Hundreds of thousands of women took to the streets across Italy on Sunday to demand better treatment for women, days after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came under investigation for engaging in prostitution with a minor. The nationwide protest followed the filing [...]
Via the Independent of London: Belgium – eight months with no government A week today, the Belgians will wrest from Iraqis the title of the country which has gone the longest after an election – 252 days – without agreeing on a new government. The piece was published on the 13th of February, so the [...]
Via the BBC: Sex ban suggested for Belgian coalition negotiators Socialist senator Marleen Temmerman said after a week of a similar sex ban in Kenya in 2009, a government was formed. [...] It is now 241 days since the elections, and Belgium is fast approaching an unofficial world record. Apart from Somalia, it is reported [...]
Frank Jacobs explains how “in German, you can tell with some degree of certainty which general area someone hails from by the way they tell the time at quarter past ten.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron has made public documents which confirm his predecessors role in the release of the man convicted of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103.
Via Jake Tapper comes this short confirmation from a British official of the State Department’s response to the Telegraph Wikileaks story: A knowledgeable source with the British government, speaking anonymously because his government has a policy of not commenting on Wikileaks, says his understanding of the policy conforms with that asserted by the State Department. [...]
The State Department has responded to the reports I wrote about earlier today that the U.S. had revealed British nuclear secrets in an effort to get agreement from Russian on New START: The U.S. State Department maintains that there is little news behind the breathless headlines. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley emails TIME: This is [...]
A new Wikileaks revelation indicates that the U.S. may have paid a heavy price to get a deal on New START.
European subsidies have given Airbus a competitive advantage over America’s Boeing in commercial aircraft salesboein. The reverse is true on military aircraft.
This isn’t a good way to start off the week: Moscow’s Domodedovo airport – the busiest in the Russian capital – has been rocked by an explosion that has reportedly killed at least 23 people. More than 100 more are thought to have been injured in the blast, which reports suggest may have been the [...]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was greeted with protests from some EU parliamentarians when he addressed them as its rotating president of the European Council.
Julian Assange is a loathsome human being. Is he also a rapist? Under Swedish law, maybe.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested Tuesday in London on a Swedish warrant.
The long awaited new strategic concept, launching what has been termed “NATO 3.0,” has been published under the banner “Active Engagement, Modern Defense.”
