November 29, 2011 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
Amid the mounting fiscal and economic crisis that is threatening to undermine the project of European integration, the Group of Lecce has issued a new statement on the need to reform European economic governance. The Group of Lecce aims to develop policies “to strengthen economic and financial multilateralism”, strengthening the democratic underpinnings of the Union, along with the dynamism of the European economy, through advanced ongoing cooperation.
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October 28, 2011 :: The Editors :: No Comment Yet
The European Union has reached an agreement to relieve Greece of half of its sovereign debt, and to boost the Eurozone bailout fund to €1 trillion. The agreement may well be funded, in part, by non-European governments, even private investors, but it shows a new commitment to the Union as such, even amid a surge [...]
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May 27, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
In Spain’s capital, Madrid, in the heart of the city, at the Puerta del Sol, from which major roads radiate out toward all corners of the country, thousands of protesters, of all ages and social classes, young and old, have set up camp, literally, in what is now a Europe-wide demand for economic democracy. The [...]
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March 27, 2011 :: The Editors :: 2 Comments
Today, Juan Cole published an open letter to the political left, asking them to understand the humanitarian urgency of the situation in Libya, and to balance their desire for an end to war and foreign interventions against the need to protect human life and ensure that a viable democracy movement is not put down through massive slaughter of thousands or tens of thousands of civilians. Cole is right. Though military action is never the best of all possible outcomes, it is sometimes the only way to protect innocent human life against plans of deliberate mass murder.
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February 13, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Thousands of demonstrators are gathering at Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Demonstrations are being staged across the nation to protest against Berlusconi’s alleged sexual indiscretions and political corruption. Supporters of the conservative politician say the protests are partisan in nature.
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September 29, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The European Commission is considering new rules that would give it far more control over the domestic fiscal policy of member states, including the possibility of fines to countries in distress that do not adopt austerity measures to reduce spending. Today, across Europe, there are protests organized by labor unions and citizens groups who allege austerity is just a veiled way of making the majority of working people, innocent of the financial system’s collapse, pay for the abuse or misjudgment of top executives and reckless investors.
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June 1, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
The European Union is dealing harshly with nations that are suffering the converging crises of economic downturn, joblessness and swelling budget deficits. Spain is taking aggressive action to reduce public spending, but such “austerity measures” may be deepening, instead of resolving, the economic crisis.
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December 18, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The above video highlights the Danish city of Frederikshavn’s ongoing comprehensive plan to achieve 100% carbon neutral status by 2015, by focusing on wind and other renewable resources to produce its entire municipal energy supply. Mikael Kau, the director of the Frederikshavn energy project explains that other, larger cities in Denmark could adopt similar plans and from the local level help Denmark achieve 100% energy independence and carbon neutrality by 2015.
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December 5, 2009 :: staff :: 3 Comments
Amanda Knox, an American student whose British roommate Meredith Kercher died in violent circumstances, in Perugia, Italy, has been convicted for murder, in a case legal analysts say was deeply flawed, had little to no evidence of involvement, let alone guilt. There are serious concerns about the fairness of the trial process, and people in both Italy and the United States have come to her defense, assailing the legitimacy of the prosecution, even as Italian popular culture rages against “the devil with an angel’s face”.
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November 20, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Despite months, even years, of speculation the job would go to the former 2.5-term British prime minister, Tony Blair, the European Union has named Belgium’s new multilingual, largely unknown Flemish prime minister, Herman Van Rompuy, its first full-time president. Van Rompuy’s role will be daunting and complex, as he will be the public face of a 27-nation bloc whose “unity” sometimes seems more a matter of legal technicality than of fact.
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November 10, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin, ensuring that capitalist and democratic West Berlin remained surrounded on all sides by the communist German Democratic Republic, where a permanent state of martial law kept millions prisoner for decades. West Germany was forced to move its seat of government to Bonn, to protect against a potential hostile siege from the East German regime, strongly backed by the Soviet Union. But on 9 November 1989, a spreading movement of ground-up resistance and reform climaxed in what seemed like the sudden unraveling of an empire that covered half the continent.
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November 9, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This video shows the emotional exuberance of the massive crowds of millions that flooded the streets of Berlin around the places where the wall was being dismantled and the checkpoints where cars were being allowed through. The iconic East German Trebant cars were symbolic of the people’s urge to peek through the barrier and glimpse life on the other side. They brought East Germans into the streets packed with revelers, who welcomed their newly free neighbors. The atmosphere is one of joy and celebration as families and communities are reunited.
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November 9, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
his video is in German, with English subtitles. It shows the convergence of thousands at the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing, as news of the opening of the wall began to spread. The wall is slowly opened as the border guards begin to understand the scope of what is taking place. The political order has shifted so quickly, it takes time for the information to filter through that they are not to use force to stop the tens of thousands seeking to cross into West Germany.
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November 9, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This video shows original video footage from 12 November 1989, taken at various sites both before sunrise and later that morning. The video focuses on Potsdamer Platz and records the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the jubilation of those who flocked to the historic celebration.
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November 9, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This video shows an ABC News report on the fall of the Berlin Wall and the process of reform and political change that rapidly swept across eastern Europe in the months surrounding that event. The report cites the efforts of mass movements of ordinary people to overthrow hardline totalitarian regimes through peaceful mass protest.
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October 28, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
The European Union is expected to soon establish a full-term presidency for the European Council of heads of state, separating that post from the presidency of the Council of the European Union, replacing the current six-month rotation between member states, once the Czech president, Vačlav Klaus, signs the Lisbon Treaty. The change will mark a major transition for the multinational bloc, which has been gradually building up a stronger common government since the founding of the European Economic Community after World War II.
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September 26, 2009 :: Mirya Dunaeva :: Comments Off
The government of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has been hard to characterize, seeming one day to be a mouthpiece for the bellicose policies of his predecessor, now PM, Vladimir Putin, and another day to be the first Russian leader ever to express interest in a uniform standard of global governance and cooperation, rooted in democratic principles. Now, Mr. Medvedev’s political stock has gained, as ongoing nuclear negotiations with the US, at Pres. Obama’s urging, have resulted in a unanimous Security Council counter-proliferation vote.
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August 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Outrage ensued when it was announced that Europe could extract electricity from the Grand Inga dam project, in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, deep in sub-Saharan Africa. At present, less than 30% of the African population has access to electricity, and in some countries, the figure is below 10%. The World Bank has found that the diversion of electricity to wealthier customers in Europe may be necessary to fund the project.
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July 6, 2009 :: staff :: 2 Comments
Pres. Obama has arrived in Moscow to negotiate with Russian leaders a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (StART). He faces a complex process of navigating the politics of a nuclear superpower with two leaders. Some expect Obama to work with Pres. Medvedev, keeping PM Vladimir Putin more to the sidelines, or to proffer an arms control center-ground, rooted in pragmatism, which neither of Russia’s political leaders could walk away from.
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June 30, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
A military coup that ousted democratically elected Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has come under increasing criticism across the world. The US administration of Pres. Barack Obama said the coup was illegal and called for the democratically elected president to be reinstated. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa, demanding Zelaya’s return, only to be confronted by heavily armed military and police deployments.
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June 16, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
A coalition of German firms has answered a call to study making an investment of 400 billion € in solar energy across North Africa. The plan, initiated by the Club of Rome, which has been promoting sustainable development and sustainable economic growth practices, since 1972.
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June 8, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Conservative and extreme right-wing parties gained significantly in this month’s elections for the European Parliament. Britain’s governing Labour party suffered its worst electoral performance since 1910, finishing 3rd behind the opposition Conservatives, and the hard-line anti-Europe UKIP.
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June 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The European Parliamentary elections are the world’s largest transnational democratic vote, with 375 million people across 27 nations, choosing among 650 parties for 785 seats in the Parliament. It is worth asking what effect these elections, held once every 5 years for all the seats in the European Parliament, will have on EU environmental policy. Will these elections speed the spread of clean energy resources, like wind, solar and wave power, across the EU member states and neighboring states?
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June 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
With nearly 1 in 10 Europeans officially on unemployment, and the dream of EU integration causing “growing pains” for many nations involved, parties of the extreme right-wing are expected to gain ground in the European Parliament. Parties openly opposed to EU integration or who favor the abolishment of the European Parliament as such, have already had strong showings in the UK and the Netherlands.
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June 5, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama, one day after making an historic address to the Muslim world in Cairo, visited the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald, accompanied by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the Nazi “final solution”. Obama rebuked those who deny the historical truth of the Holocaust and urged them to come to Buchenwald to see for themselves the horror of what took place.
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June 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pride in local national governments, patriotism or objection to the whims of ‘Brussels’ cannot be the reason for such low turnout in EU elections, because the EU parliament only winds up being less accountable to the people when fewer people actually cast their ballots to elect its ministers. So what accounts for the widespread attitude of shrugging off the importance of EU elections?
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May 8, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The Partido Nacional Vasco (PNV) has been voted out of government in Euskadi (Spain’s Basque Country) for the first time since the fall of Franco’s fascist regime and the democratic transition that followed. An uneasy coalition of the Socialist party and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) has allowed Socialist leader Patxi López to form a government, ousting long-time lehendakari (Basque president) Juan José Ibarretxe.
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April 28, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A nation with a long, difficult experience with imperial politics, old European aristocratic dominance, ideological bloodshed and the experience of totalitarianism, Hungary joined the European Union with hopes of a rapid accession to the riches and social integration touted by the founding member states. But deep inequality between the original EU states and the new members, economic migration, and now a banking collapse, have led to widespread economic hardship, with the state seemingly less able to respond.
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April 27, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
As the US State Dept. has issued a travel advisory warning Americans to avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico, and the two countries are screening all travelers coming from the other nation, Canada, Spain and New Zealand have reportedly confirmed at least one case each of swine flu. The multi-strain flu virus is expected to meet little immunity in the human population, which it has not previously affected in large numbers.
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April 22, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
Because there’s something in it for everybody. The current global nuclear weapons-control regime operates on a dangerously untenable false premise: that only ‘responsible’ nations can or should be allowed to make and maintain arsenals of nuclear warheads. At first blush, it may seem highly rational: only those who will behave responsibly should have the most dangerous weapons; but, then, upon further examination, who is qualified to make that judgment?
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April 10, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
In an effort to address the ongoing diplomatic crisis related to Iran’s refusal to follow certain UN mandates to cease nuclear research processes, 6 powers, including the United States, have invited Tehran to talks on how best to achieve a state of affairs acceptable to all parties and which does not allow Iran to expand the group of nuclear-armed nations. The move comes on the heels of US pres. Barack Obama’s announcement in Europe that he will initiate a program aimed at directing international treaties toward the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.
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April 7, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Largely ignored by the mainstream media, one major part of the president’s European tour was his insistence that the international community needs to make historic long-term commitments to food security. If made, that commitment would be perhaps the most significant security achievement of the G20 summit and Obama’s first European trip, as food insecurity poses [...]
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April 5, 2009 :: staff :: 4 Comments
When I was born, the world was divided, and our nations were faced with very different circumstances. Few people would have predicted that someone like me would one day become the President of the United States. (Applause.) Few people would have predicted that an American President would one day be permitted to speak to an audience like this in Prague. (Applause.) Few would have imagined that the Czech Republic would become a free nation, a member of NATO, a leader of a united Europe. Those ideas would have been dismissed as dreams.
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March 2, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: Comments Off
The United States and the Russian Federation are reportedly planning lengthy and in-depth discussions in Geneva, starting Friday, to improve relations and strengthen bilateral efforts in a number of areas. Security in Europe, the Middle East and the far East will all be on the agenda, as will nuclear non-proliferation and negotiation with Iran to halt its nuclear program.
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January 23, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Obama will issue executive orders to restore funding to family planning organizations that provide information about or assist in abortions, restoring funding that was banned by Pres. Bush, depriving NGOs across the developing world of millions of dollars in needed aid… Obama will also act to enable government funding of research that relates to [...]
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January 14, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Reports from Gaza now place the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli offensive against Hamas at over 1,000. Israel says it does not target civilians, but top UN officials have questioned whether Olmert’s government is doing enough to abide by legal requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United [...]
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January 3, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
After the unrest that spread across France in November 2005 —when Nicolas Sarkozy was interior minister and called for the mass deportation of French-born rioters of Arabic ethnicity—, a ritual of annual arson has sprung up, with hundreds of cars burned each year on 31 December. This year, the numbers soared by 30% over last year, reaching an estimated 1,147 cars fire-bombed or “burnt out”.
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January 3, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Russia is again withholding much needed natural gas supplies to parts of Europe, as people face the biting winter cold which has become Russia’s weapon of choice for negotiating more expensive contracts with conveyor countries like Ukraine. Russia is again accusing Ukraine of stealing natural gas from pipelines that run to the European Union, because it says Ukraine will not agree to its new contract terms and therefore has no right to extract gas from the pipelines.
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January 1, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
We must, in this age of integration and complexity, work to recognize those areas where we can learn from cultures that build into our own, that enrich or sustain us, that give humanity, broadly, its metaphysical sense, its creative-adaptable quality. We know France as a place of great culture and profound philosophical insights and a highly developed legal system. But we tend not to think of France as a country whose most famous culture is simply one of many that came to dominate, and very really did stamp out the other cultures competing for survival, in a fractious agrarian society outside the capital, in the 19th century.
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December 19, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A new round of demonstrations seemed to escalate tensions between student demonstrators and the government Thursday, as protesters hurled “paint bombs”, petrol bombs and even chunks of marble, at police, according to some reports. Police responded Thursday with tear gas and stun grenades. Banners unfurled by protesters featured the word “Resistance” in several language, including Greek, German, Spanish and English, and called for mass demonstrations across Europe. On Tuesday, demonstrators flooded a TV studio and took control of the live news broadcast.
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December 12, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
After seven days of demonstrations, riots, vandalism and clashes with police, protests continue in Greece, in response to a police shooting of a 15-year-old boy last week. Demonstrators have been voicing opposition to the political establishment, complaining of corruption and saying the government —which came to power with a one-seat parliamentary majority— cannot be trusted.
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December 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
The climate change conference currently underway in Poznan, Poland, seeks to build on the Bali agreement, adopted by 180 countries in 2007, in hopes of achieving a global emissions regime. A sweeping economic downturn overtaking North America and Europe, and now hitting China’s manufacturing and export base, it is feared, will hamper efforts to implement comprehensive green industrial and economic reforms.
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December 8, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
Demonstrations against Greek police, that began on Saturday in protest against the shooting of an unarmed 15-year-old boy by police, and which resulted in violent clashes between angry demonstrators and police, have moved into their third day. The New York Times reports that “A major street march through the center of downtown Athens quickly turned violent Monday night, as demonstrators threw concrete slabs, rocks and flaming gasoline bombs at police officers.”
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August 9, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The BBC is reporting a Russian air strike inside Georgia, against the town of Gori, near the South Ossetia border, resulted in 60 civilian casualties in two apartnment blocks. Russia also reports two fighter jets were shot down by Georgian defense forces (Georgia claims to have downed at least 10 jets). The New York Times reports that “Russian officials said that 1,500 civilians had been killed in South Ossetia and that 12 Russian troops had died”. The Georgian parliament has voted to back a “presidential decree declaring a state of war”, which will remain in effect for 15 days.
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August 4, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The new book, The Dark Side, by Jane Mayer, goes to the roots of the Bush administration’s bold modifications to long-standing security policy, including an apparent devotion to the use of extreme interrogation methods, classed by both law and judicial precedent as torture, to extract information from detainees, despite such actions negating the possibility of any established form of prosecution based on such evidence.
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July 25, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today gave a major address on foreign policy and international security and cooperation at the foot of the Victory Column, in the heart of Berlin, Germany. German authorities estimate the crowd exceeded 200,000 individuals. Reports from Berlin indicate the crowd included people of all races, and from many countries, eager to hear the Democratic nominee deliver what the US media have treated as an historic address and an attempt to demonstrate the ability to achieve renewed unity.
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July 24, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Radovan Karadzic, considered one of the three “most-wanted” men in Europe, has been captured in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. He is accused of war crimes for his role in allegedly planning the murder of 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica and of 12,000 during the siege of Sarajevo, during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. His alleged crimes have been officially classed as genocide by the war crimes court at the Hague, and the accusations are the worst allegations of mass murder in Europe since World War II.
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July 23, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Sen. Barack Obama is traveling to vital foreign-policy hotspots as part of a Congressional delegation, including Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), but there is no missing the relevance of his tour of Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel, among other places, to his preparation on foreign policy matters and his labors as a presidential candidate. The media are covering it as if it were both a spectacular and ongoing campaign event and a foreshadowing of what Pres. Obama might look like when meeting with foreign leaders.
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February 18, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
18 February :: Dallas Morning News becomes first “mainstream” or corporate-owned US media outlet to run the now partially corroborated story regarding allegations of US officials’ selling nuclear secrets to foreign operatives, possibly to enemy, terrorists; DMN ran revised edition of Philip Giraldi’s investigative report from The American Conservative magazine questioning the US media’s role [...]
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February 17, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
17 February :: Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia today, according to reports from Pristina, EU agencies; EU officials said “around 1,900 international police officers, judges, prosecutors and customs officials and approximately 1,100 local staff will be based in headquarters in Pristina or located throughout the judicial and police system in Kosovo”, according to CNN, [...]
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