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Saturday, September 28, 2002
posted by gbarto at 1:22 PM:
'All Necessary Means'Iraq rejects conditions of tough draft U.N. resolution demanding Saddam offer complete transparency, or face consequences
Ummm... Am I missing something here? I wasn't aware that Saddam got to decide this. Does he really think the UN is going to renounce all the prestige it's built up over the years by rolling over and playing dead the first time it's challenged to back up its words with actions?
Oh hell, he's probably right!
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posted by gbarto at 1:08 PM:
New kid on the blog: There's a new blogger from the right side of the spectrum going under the nom de plume of Marcus Tullius Cicero, and while he doesn't yet seem to have shouted "O tempora, o mores!" his commentary shows why in some cases we all should be.And he reads the international press as well as the American. Be sure to have a look. Lots of good stuff.
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posted by gbarto at 4:01 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde's lead: "Weak participation in Moroccan legislative elections." It's the first vote since the new king took the throne in '99 and the moderate Islamist party looks to be gaining ground, but no one's sure if that's really a dangerous thing or if it's good to have Islamists working within the electoral system.
Le Figaro: "The Ivory Coast spins toward civil war." The rebels are gaining ground, having taken another city.
Libé leads with an international auto show in Paris. Organizers hope the 50 new models this year will help end the depression in world auto markets.
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posted by gbarto at 3:49 AM:
In Praise of LoveIf you would like to save yourself three hours, my fiancée says this film can be summarized as Freudian death drive writ large. The basic idea is that we can only understand something once it is past and ready to enter history. To illustrate the point, the film waits until the very end to get to the point of what the hell it's doing, which is mostly flirting with its own pretentiousness and taking potshots at we wacky Americans. However, the anti-Americanism is a little embarrassing, evoking classic leftist clichés and winking at those who will feel clever for enjoying them but without ever exploring the import of the what the criticisms suggest, their validity or their actual consequence. To wit, we get bashed for Stephen Spielberg (who at least knows how to tell a story) and Julia Roberts but with no suggestion - never mind demonstration - of why impenetrable nonsense is better than good ol' American fare. Likewise, we get the tired old nonsense about America, country without a past and too stupid to know anything. But looking at the main theme, one may infer that France then is finished, kaput, over. After all, it knows what it is, what it stands for, and in the director's logic this means that it is history.
Lest any Francophobes take this as their cue to raise hell with the Frenchies, however, let us advise them to back off. For we, as Americans, stand shoulder to shoulder with the average French person in picking good ol' American movies over this art-house drivel, which I suspect is the main source of M. Godard's resentment.
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Friday, September 27, 2002
posted by gbarto at 1:08 PM:
Says Fox News:Kennedy Comes Out Swinging
Says Iraq war might create danger
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. But not dealing with Iraq may create danger too. Oh no! What to do?
Here's an idea: Take our war advice from senators who aren't routinely portrayed as running around with their pants around their ankles half-drunk.
But wait! There's scarier news:
Barbra Streisand Weighs In
Says America's most trusted resource on foreign policy and war matters (through a spokesperson):
While there are serious problems with Iraq and Saddam Hussein, Barbra feels that we can't let this issue become a distraction from the country's domestic problems...But it gets worse! Says The Streisand, if we go to war she's giving peace concerts - featuring her never before released "Love Songs for Bill Clinton." (Maybe we made the last part up.)
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posted by gbarto at 1:00 PM:
World Bank Protests Under WayD.C. protesters chain themselves together, set tires on fire
Well I'm changing my thoughts on debt forgiveness now. Aren't you?
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posted by gbarto at 2:22 AM:
Question of the day:If the people involved in this worked in Homeland Security, would Senator Daschle allow them to be summarily fired?
Moussaoui Given Classified Papers
Authorities forced to go into his cell and recover them, court papers say
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posted by gbarto at 2:19 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with "The 100 minutes of Jean-Pierre Raffarin." The p.m. was on the t.v. to sell himself and his program in an interview show. His friends say he was calm and relaxed. His opponents accused him of dodging all the tough questions. Which is to say he seems to have done o.k. in this, his first "rendez-vous" with the French people since the legislative elections. Le Figaro has the same story up top, under the headline: "Raffarin: I am tenacious and determined."
Libé, at least, has readers capable both of looking up when the p.m.'s going to be on t.v. and deciding for themselves if they need to watch. Therefore, they have some real news up top:
Sarkozy, great repressorPolitics can be rough, of course, but it's still unseemly when ministers in the same government start having these debates in public.
The Interior Minister has announced a reform of the penal code. Very harsh, the "working document" has provoked some debate, notably with the Minister of Justice.
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posted by gbarto at 2:00 AM:
More French stuff at gbarto.com:In addition to the French news round-up here on the TurkeyBlog, gbarto.com has a few other offerings:
Those who wish to learn French can visit the Language Pages for tips on basic greetings (for beginners) or proper use of the subjunctive and conditional (for the more advanced). They can also find great language learning programs at our Language Bookshop.
Those who don't wish to learn French can still read some of Hugo's poetry at our Hugo Pages.
Tonight, we offer the first selections from another great French Romantic poet, Alphonse de Lamartine, at Les Pages Lamartine.
In 1848, in the wake of the February Revolution, Lamartine found himself briefly perched atop the French government; while there he executed his functions miserably as part of a governing committee that would ultimately pave the way for Napoleon III and the Second Empire. But before that, he was a young man. And he was in love. And his parents forbade that love. And then the girl got sick and ultimately died. Which was lousy for her and awful for him but great for French poetry. For this was about the time the too perfect Hugo was on his way, when Romantic poetry became a movement and the Romantic poet became a part of the politico-ideological landscape. The Romantic poet, of course, stood alone against the world, possessed of unique understanding, a special afflatus and an even more special power to shape, to make, reality with his words. And then there's Lamartine, for whom all this is far less grand. Sappy, some might say. Or treacly. Or saccharine. Or overwrought. It's delicious in its uber-angst, in its perfect embodiment of the young man whose parents just don't understand. Whom the world just doesn't understand. So drop by the Hugo pages for the work of a master. But if it's a bit grandiose, visit Lamartine for thoughts and emotions that could still sell a teeny-bop pop song today.
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Thursday, September 26, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:25 PM:
Israel Kills Hamas BombmakerHelicopter rockets car in Gaza City; 35 bystanders wounded in attack
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posted by gbarto at 12:20 PM:
The French are at it again:Ivory Coast Cease-Fire
French strike deal to let foreigners be evacuated from war-torn country
Maybe electing a right-leaning government up and down the line has done some good.
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posted by gbarto at 12:18 PM:
Explosives Discovered on AirlinerFound on Moroccan plane at French airport after passengers left
Same kind of explosives Richard Reid was trying to use, though there was no detonator in evidence. No word on who would have brought them on. The plane was at the Nancy-Metz-Lorraine airport in eastern France.
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posted by gbarto at 12:14 PM:
War of Words Heats UpBush stresses congressional unity as Beltway brouhaha over national security, Iraq enters second day
Hmm... It seems to me that Daschle and Gephardt have been looking for openings to pull away presidential support since Afghanistan - even if it meant an accompanying decline in the position of our nation. Going to the mat for AFSCME is a two-fer for them: It shores up union support and generates controversy in which everyone looks like a political hack - which at least gives them parity with Bush. Of course it also means that it will be easier for incompetent people to stay in positions where they make potentially life-or-death decisions in the war on terror, but the effective protection of American life has never been quite as high a priority for certain Dems as the effective protection of union support.
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posted by gbarto at 12:05 PM:
Hitchens fires the Nation. I read it at Zilber.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:28 AM:
French news-round-up:Le Monde leads with "War Debate invited into Elections." At issue, Bush wants to be able to fire people in Homeland Security so that - he says - ridiculous work rules don't put us in jeopardy by keeping ineffective security people on the job. The Dems suspect it's a way to break the government workers' union, AFSCME and has been fighting the proposal. The prez slammed Dems for putting labor concerns ahead of national security and an angry Tom Daschle fired back that Bush was politicizing the terror war. TurkeyBlog awards both with matching "Duh" awards: of course the president wants weaker government unions and will capitalize on a situation where union excesses could have dramatically bad effects. And of course the Dems, party of labor, don't want things to go that way. Notes Le Monde, this little dust-up won't affect the overall direction of the war on terror, which means both sides are probably exaggerating. But boy, Daschle looks mad:
Le Figaro is in France with the headline "First Raffarin Budget: Right Direction, Little Speed." The budget was turned in yesterday; Raffarin is to explain it on tv tonight. Among high points, hope for decent growth, investment and volunteerism and with a little tax reduction for everyone. Now if Raffarin can make it work...
Libé follows Le Figaro in putting the budget up top. And again they win the headline award with "The Budget: Chirac dreamed it; Raffarin did it."
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Wednesday, September 25, 2002
posted by gbarto at 10:58 AM:
Daschle: Bush 'Outrageous'Says prez implied Senate not interested in Americans' security
Make one or two statements of the obvious and Daschle has a hissy fit.
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posted by gbarto at 10:57 AM:
So much for the "cheese-eating surrender monkey" thing:French Troops Rescue U.S. Kids
Mission school in Ivory Coast evacuated, U.S. soldiers in country
Vive la France!
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posted by gbarto at 2:22 AM:
A Dog's Life running the EPA? I like the idea. BTW, congrats to Greg on patent 27.* * *
posted by gbarto at 2:02 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde says "Jean-Pierre Raffarin presents the 2003 budget." That budget to be released today. Libé has the better headline, which we'll liberally translate "A budget of bric, of brac, of bluff" (the French was "de bric et de broc [=mish-mash] et de bluff").
Le Figaro fronts "These medications which will no longer be reimbursed." Like every socialist health care system, France's has a simple way of managing costs. It collects your tax money under threat of prison and gives you what it can find for you in the pot. So if your drug is too expensive for the health system, no problem. You can just pay for it yourself. If you've got the money left after taxes. The article notes that the situation is grave, notwithstanding the "minor adjustments" language that HMOs always use, whether they be independent corporations or arms of government.
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posted by gbarto at 1:21 AM:
In other news involving the religion of peace:Commandos Storm India Temple
But we mention this story to offer a salute to the finest Islam has to offer:
In New Delhi, the imam of the country's largest mosque called the attack "anti-Islamic."Would that there were more like him.
"Islam does not permit the killing of innocent civilians. I appeal to Muslims and our Hindu brethren to join hands to wipe out terrorism," Syed Ahmed Bukhari was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
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posted by gbarto at 1:15 AM:
Gunmen Kill Six in PakistanKarachi Christian charity slaughter
Not that the killers care, but
Among the dead were three Pakistani Christians and three Muslims, police said. (my emphasis)But, of course, we're not really dealing with Muslims here. We're dealing with hateful monsters who soil Islam's name. Which leaves me wondering why every time we go after thugs who think being Muslim gives license to slaughter infidels (and even fellow Muslims) the Arab League and company go to the microphones to worry about Islam getting a bad rap. Aren't we helping get rid of those who give Islam a bad rap? Or am I missing something?
Today, happy chance, a very eminent Muslim (see above) did denounce as anti-Islamic two guys who shot up a Hindu temple. Just as any thinking Christian would denounce the savages who went on slaughtering binges in Northern Ireland (not to mention the Crusades, yikes!). Those who truly love Islam as a religion of peace will follow his example.
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Tuesday, September 24, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:26 PM:
GIs Head to Ivory CoastU.S. troops rush to West African nation to rescue 100 American children trapped in cross-fire between government trooops and rebel forces
Readers of the TurkeyBlog know (from the French news) that there was a coup attempt last week and that rebel forces had taken some cities.
For the record, (since we make fun of them from time to time) the French sent troops yesterday to help settle the situation (in general, not the problem with the school kids) and protect their people. The Le Monde write-up is here.
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posted by gbarto at 12:14 PM:
Unfortunately while election violence in Kashmir has been less than anticipated (see below) this doesn't mean all is well in India:India Temple Bloodbath
Unknown gunmen kill 23 in Hindu house of worship in Gujarat state
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posted by gbarto at 12:11 PM:
Here's the latest from Kashmir according to Express India's Kashmir coverage:Voter turnout around 42 per cent
According to initial Election Commission estimates, the voter turnout in Jammu averaged 59 per cent, in Budgam 51 per cent and in Srinagar 11 per cent.
For the record, the JuM terrorists killed in a standoff yesterday were both Pakistani nationals (an excuse for a reawakening of the tensions between those two nuclear powers?)
Details from the linked article: By noon (if I'm reading the dateline right) in Sringar, where there had been a gun battle the night before, three polling stations nearby nonetheless collected 11 votes, 10 of them from women. But the site closest to the battle had zero votes at noon. People in the region, fearing both violence and excessive policing, avoid going out for big events - including voting days, rendering some cities virtual ghost towns. Nonetheless, other than in Srinigar (where voting is almost always low) voting was picking up across the region.
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posted by gbarto at 1:33 AM:
A DEADLY GAME IN KASHMIR: VOTING
A day ago, all the world watched the German elections. Now we're all watching Arafat.
But the world hasn't paid much attention to elections in Kashmir. Second round voting started today. The headlines aren't talking about who's winning, though. They're talking about the fact that even though militants are firing on polling stations, turnout isn't too bad. The police who were supposed to protect voters have also had problems. They got ambushed this morning. At the root of this, some Muslim extremist separatists who decided that since they didn't think Kashmir should be part of India, they'd kill anybody who legitimized Indian democracy by running for office or voting. A couple hundred have been killed in the last month; more than 20 over the weekend. I don't know much about this and would know nothing were it not for a few write-ups in Libé before Joschka Fischer became all the rage, but if you want a good look at the clash of Western Democracy and Muslim extremism, this might be a nice microcosm to peak in on. Here are some links. If you're an Indian specialist with better or more credible ones, write in and I'll throw them up late in the morning (California time).
Siege ends, two JuM terrorists killed
Cop colony attack meant to derail polls
J-K POLLS: BUDGAM Militants attack polling station in Budgam
J-K POLLS: SECOND PHASE Brisk polling reported in Jammu
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posted by gbarto at 1:13 AM:
The ETA (Basque separatists) are at it again: Two dead in car-bomb explosion in Bilbao (Libé)* * *
posted by gbarto at 1:07 AM:
U.S. Cold to Schroeder WinRumsfeld says tone of the German's campaign poisoned relationship
Ya think? Schade for him, he did what he had to in order to win and now he'll just have to figure out how to govern. Unfortunately for Schroder, the disdain of the world's most powerful nation is far from his greatest problem. Germany has important things to do, big reforms to implement and Schroder has the weakest, least cohesive government in years to try to manage it with. Poor bastard. In a year he might wish that Stoiber had won.
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posted by gbarto at 1:00 AM:
'Military Plans'Britain says in a dossier of evidence about Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction that Saddam is ready to use chemical, biological weapons
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gas your own people a few times and suddenly no one trusts you...
This is cause for concern, cause for caution and... cause for ousting Saddam.
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posted by gbarto at 12:51 AM:
French news round-up:Le Monde leads with "The UN Called Upon to Help Arafat." It's the Arab League that's doing the calling as Arafat remains holed up in the one remaining building in his compound. The US has apparently criticized Israel - and rightly so. If Israel wishes to exile Arafat, they should do so. If they wish to kill him, they can though it wouldn't play well. And if they wish to haul him in as a co-conspirator in the murder of Israeli citizens, why not? Meanwhile, if they want Hamas and Hezbollah, they should demand that Arafat either help hunt down those who undermine his ability to preserve peace or give them the green light to do the hunting. But occupying Arafat's building once again allows him to play the martyr with a built-in excuse for not bringing peace. Enough. I hate to evoke Hillary Clinton, but doing the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen...
Elsewhere, Le Monde's lead editorial is "Joschka superstar," about the German Foreign Minister and leader of the Green Party whom they credit with a) saving Schroder's government and b) turning the Green Party into a serious political outfit.
Here's what Le Figaro has up top:
Fischer, the Green who got Schroder his win
Gerhard Schroder was reelected, but it's his Green partern and Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, who is the real winner in the German electoral joust.
There's lots of other fawning coverage including "Schroder II: The Greens are masters of the game" and "Joschka Fischer: Providential Partner." Sadly for Schroder, this isn't just Le Figaro (who was rooting for Stoiber) trying to diminish his victory; it seems to be the majority opinion at media outlets left and right and the numbers bear it out since Schroder's party lost seats while Fischer's surged. The nightmare for Schroder and the SPD: though it's still highly improbable (even the most popular leaders of second-tier parties usually only advance so far...) the phrase Chancellor Fischer may one day be heard.
Libé is also still focusing on the German elections: "Barely reelected, Schroder must redouble his fervor."
Says Libé, problems with unemployment, the EU and relations with the US are among the many problems Schroder will have to figure out how to address - and with a weakened mandate. Geez, it sounds like Schroder lost... Is he sure he wants to stay Chancellor?
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Monday, September 23, 2002
posted by gbarto at 12:26 PM:
For the German elections as seen by selected French and German newspapers, scroll down a few posts. And yes, I know it's "Schröder", not Schroder, but unlike Libé and Bjørn, I'm not going to waste the bytes involved in making sure his name comes out right on everyone's browsers. Call it doing my part for the energy crisis.* * *
posted by gbarto at 12:20 PM:
On the infernal European Union: Leave all hope, ye who enter here!Natalie Solent has the scoop.
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posted by gbarto at 12:16 PM:
Congrats to Bjørn on one year of operations. And have a look at his take on the Palestinian situation, inspired by the latest Dagbladet editorial.* * *
posted by gbarto at 4:48 AM:
Den Beste writes on the German elections. Check it out, especially the question of whether the victory of the anti-Americans says anything about America. Of course it doesn't, and from it comes the question: Why aren't Germans sitting around worrying about what Americans think of them?Of course most of this BS is just new variations on the bell-the-cat idea but if any left-leaning Germans happen by and wonder what Americans think about them, the answer is "very little." All six people in America who go to bed at night worrying about German opinion are elated at the Justice Minister's condemnation of Bush. The six hundred who get antsy about America being slapped around are pissed as hell about the same comment. And the rest of the country is completely and totally indifferent to the moral judgments of a nation whose leaders include a Fuhrer named Hitler and a Justice Minister named Daeubler-Gmelin.
Just a note: The rest of the country is also pretty much indifferent to what other nations - regardless of their moral triumphs or failures - think. It's a big country and we also generally don't give a lot of thought to what people think in the next state. The local school board is probably the biggest attention getter in a lot of communities and in larger states even the people in the state legislature seem pretty remote for people watching the actions of their schools, mayors, city councils and county commissions - all of which are run by the people at the local level to one degree or another.
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posted by gbarto at 4:19 AM:
On the German elections: It is disappointing to see the defeat of Stoiber, who would have kept Germany more on the same page as the US, but of course that was one of his electoral liabilities. That said, the narrowness of Schroder's victory is pleasing to behold as it suggests that his anti-war (anti-US?) sentiment may have strong support, but it is not so strong that Germany was prepared to proclaim him their fearless leader against Western Imperialism. Germany now has a number of problems to deal with and an extremely weak government to deal with them. Ordinarily, I don't see government as the answer to economic woe, but in this case it probably is because it is the cause. Germany needs a better tax picture, better labor picture, better spending picture. None are likely to come with this fragile leftist coalition. While I don't think jobs will be leaving Germany for France any time soon, Europe's largest economy will still have to struggle to remain leader by virtue of more than inertia. Meanwhile, its break with the US on Iraq - so much talked about a few weeks ago - has lost its luster after the Justice Minister went overboard and compared Bush to Hitler. While that may sound like a great line in some quarters, it has the effect of a) reminding that Hitler was, in fact, German and led Germany's second misadventure in the 20th century and b) suggesting that Germany's moral stance is of cartoon dimensions, not to be taken seriously. One hopes the Justice Minister will not be reappearing in Schroder Part 2. And one hopes that Germany will figure out the difference between considering soberly the impact of war and converting its shame over WWII and the Holocaust into a faux-morality that places being holier-than-thou ahead of making difficult decisions.* * *
posted by gbarto at 3:59 AM:
German headlines for tomorrow (the TurkeyBlog is dragging out its rusty German for the elections):Here's the Frankfurter Allgemeine breakdown:
Bundestag elections
Tight majority for Red-Green coalition: Schroder wants early meeting to set coalition shape
Stoiber: Coalition will not hold for four years: Citing the bare majority, Stoiber thinks the coalition will fall when socialists and greens are forced to govern together, rather than with the greens in a secondary powerless position
Four Green Ministers in the future?: Foreign Minister Fischer, currently the highest ranking Green, said negotiations with the SPD would determine this but without waving off the idea.
Other stories besides the wrap-up:
Gut feeling gives Schroder second chance
Asserts the article, the right missed its best chance: knocking Schroder as a "man without characteristics," a man who seemed to become whatever was convenient to the moment. Of course Schroder was saved by having two capital chances to be the man of the moment and show up his rival. Without the floods and the Iraq question, Schroder probably wouldn't have been called to play either of the roles that turned him from a political has-been to the bare winner: man of the people and man of (a) principle. Stoiber might have had a chance but a promising candidate can neither disperse funds to people who are suffering nor cross into restricted areas to be seen "doing something" about a crisis. Schroder could and those in the flooded East rewarded him. Likewise, opponents of war were glad to join their chancellor as Germany took the international spotlight as a country of conscience, bravely opposing the US plans - long term consequences be damned.
The Die Zeit website seems only to have an editorial since the polls closed. A little of the content from the editorial:
The author, Robert Leicht, says the election was a personality contest with issues playing a relatively minor role (others disagree, noting the war question). The reasoning? Stoiber grew his party better than Schroder - just not enough - but the latter was able to stay in power by highlighting Stoiber's weaknesses effectively - not by virtue of his own program. He says also that the Greens have become a grown-up party. As to the Bush as Hitler story, he asks when Hitler worried about electoral politics once in power and whether the Justice Minister (from the SPD) really had any idea what she was talking about. His final note: Now that the Germans have chosen, Schroder has to. Will the Chancellor use his mandate to at last implement economic reform or will he focus on a third term and real change be damned?
Finally, here's Die Welt:
SPD wins with 8664 votes
The article focuses on the mechanics of the elections, noting the seat distributions, etc, not to mention 79% (!) turn-out. It also notes that the Greens may finally have a candidate seated by direct mandate (second-tier parties usually get their seats through special allocations for small parties, but this candidate may have been elected outright).
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posted by gbarto at 2:47 AM:
Overseas round-up:
We'll start with what Fox had to say:
Schroeder's Social Democrats Win a Second Term With Greens
The nut graf as far as I'm concerned:The Social Democrats and environmentalist Greens won 306 seats in the new 603-seat parliament, compared to 295 for the two main opposition parties. Reformed communists won the other two seats. The results won't be final until they are certified Oct. 9.
Now, on to the French newspapers:
Here's Le Monde:Gerhard Schroder victorious but weakenedAmong the points Le Monde makes: Schroder's party was saved by the Greens and the popular Joschka Fischer. It was also saved by the anti-war sentiment which Schroder capitalized upon. The response to flooding in central Europe late this summer also bolstered the SPD. In spite of that, they still only barely held on to power and it's the Christian Democrats whose party is growing. Which means Schroder will have to play things close to his vest.
The incumbent Social-Democrat Chancellor, even though he has the right to a second chance thanks to the Greens, must assume that his party is losing ground and faces - in his own words - "difficult times" with the double handicap of not getting the strength of a true victory [where his own party could govern alone] and of having a very small majority in Parliament. According to the provisory official results, the SPD obtained 38.5% of votes, vs. 40.9% in 1998.
Now Le Figaro:Narrow Victory of Schroder-FischerLe Figaro's lead article asserts that while Stoiber doesn't get to be chancellor, he's known a sort of triumph in having given Schroder and co. a real run for their money and for turning a powerful governing coalition into a much weaker force in parliament. The article also asserts that while Schroder was able to turn the tide and pull out a last minute win, this was owing to a) top-notch p.r. skills and b) an almost universally left-leaning media in Germany. Says the article further down, this was really a win for the Greens more than anyone else with the [losing] Christian Democrats picking up seats - just not enough - and Schroder's own SPD losing seats; as a consequence, Schroder will have to make his first priority attending to the environmentalists who saved his Chancellry and the [former] East Germans who voted SPD and Green rather that ex-Communist after the government's response to flooding in the region.
Gerhard Schroder saved his seat as chancellor thanks to the Greens, but his party, the SPD, has declining vote totals and is to lose around fifty seats in the Bundestag. The conservative candidate Edmund Stoiber was defeated by his alliances - by the mediocre score of his liberal [read economically conservative in the US] ally, the FDP - which will keep him from acceding to the Chancellry.
Le Figaro's editorial, meanwhile, suggests that Germans preferred "Schroder's personality to Stoiber's politics." Says the editorialist, Charles Lambroschini, Schroder had best be on his guard, however, since his victory is small, thus fragile, and based not on the successes of the Chancellor's own party but the Greens' ability to make up for its failures.
Libé:Schroeder, at lastThe inside article wastes little time in playing this as the most devastating - to the victors - victory an incumbent party in Germany has ever had to endure: The difficulty of reforming "asphyxiating" taxes and labor laws to keep Germany from the stagnation that has plagued Japan falls to the weakest government in years, barely saved by an uneasy coalition with the Greens. What's more, notes Libé, there's the little matter of balancing an aggressive stance against war in Iraq with assurances to the US that the - almost certainly former - Justice Minister's comparison of George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler does not represent the feelings of the governing coalition and need not bear upon the direction Germany's relationship with the most powerful nation on earth is headed.
Brought back in voting Sunday, the German chancellor will have the difficult task of reforming the largest European economy, as before with his Green allies but with a narrower majority.
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Sunday, September 22, 2002
posted by gbarto at 1:40 PM:
Off for a late lunch. We'll have the full French response tonight plus what my very rusty German allows me to get from a few German newspapers (Die Zeit and Frankfurter Allgemeine). Bis später.
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posted by gbarto at 1:33 PM:
Here's the breakdown:
CDU/CSU 39,1% 250 Sitze : Rightist
SPD 38,1% 249 Sitze : Socialist
Grüne 8,8% 56 Sitze : Environmentalist
FDP 7,5% 48 Sitze : Rightist
PDS 3,8% 2 Sitze : Ex-Communist
In terms of power distribution, that is:
SPD 38,1% 249 Sitze : Socialist
Grüne 8,8% 56 Sitze : Environmentalist
______________________________________________________
305
CDU/CSU 39,1% 250 Sitze : Rightist
FDP 7,5% 48 Sitze : Rightist
______________________________________________________
298
And while the PDS will presumably vote with the left, it won't be part of the coalition if I'm following this correctly.
So there you have it: Chancellor Gerhard Schroder unless something changes - again.
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posted by gbarto at 1:25 PM:
9:50 German time, Yahoo! Germany says:
Red-Green: 305
Black-Yellow: 298
Red-Green, of course, is the socialists and environmentalists. Black-Yellow is the right and center-right. So it's looking like Schroder will barely remain Chancellor. And while his anti-war talked, what killed his last minute rise were the incendiary remarks of the Justice Minister asserting that Iraq was just a political play for Bush of the sort Hitler would have used. In other words, while Schroder does well keeping Germany out of war, that doesn't mean the German people are ready to take on the US, only that they don't really want to take on anybody.
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posted by gbarto at 1:18 PM:
Violence in Kashmir
LeMonde's AFP box says the violence is increasing 2 days out from the second round of voting in Kashmir. Since Saturday we have 20 dead, 12 suspected rebels among them. In the run-up to the first round 33 pols - we're just talking politicians and activists - (and countless citizens) were killed - deaths attributed to Muslim rebel extremists.
For those who have forgotten, Muslim separatists had declared the elections illegitimate and announced they would therefore kill those who tried to vote in them. For the most part they didn't. No word on what will happen the 24th when the second round starts, but as we noted there are 20 dead in political violence since yesterday.
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posted by gbarto at 1:02 PM:
German news: Yahoo! Germany was showing a 7 seat edge for an SPD-Green coalition over the CDU and allies at 9pm German time but said it was up in the air. But Le Monde's feed from AFP says it's now to close to call and the hopes for the SPD that the Greens would give them the barest of majorities are no longer assured. Whichever side wins, it best proceed cautiously if the numbers hold. Here's the Le Monde story for Francophones. (By the way, it says both sides are pretty sure of 299 seats; you need 301 to govern.)
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posted by gbarto at 12:42 PM:
The Washington Post has our invasion plans up top; their story about Hussein is "Hussein Wrapping Image in Religion" - a piece about him cynically test-marketing himself as a devout Muslim in villages where religious fervor is high. The WaPo focuses on the idea he might be gaining admiration among his people; I'd say the story is he feels threatened enough that he's trying to solicit, as opposed to coerce, support among his people.
Of course the big question we're all wondering about is how many factories, etc, become "presidential palaces" and what other edifices Saddam will in time try to claim are exempt from inspection. I can understand not wanting to let someone go through your house, but when you've got 23 of them (or whatever the number is) and they're all palaces it becomes more difficult to claim a zone of intimate privacy exists within the entirety of every structure; if he's afraid someone will talk about the lingerie catalogs in the bedroom arrangements can be made. What we're looking at is not the protection of Saddam's privacy but the guarding of Iraq's most intimate secrets - what illegal weapons it has lying around and whether or not they're enough to a) terrorize an American city or b) destabilize the whole of the Middle East.
For this reason, let the US continue its war preparations, for the dictator's actions do not indicate a desire to come into compliance but only a desire to avoid being caught until it's ready to act.
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posted by gbarto at 12:27 AM:
French news round-up:
Says Le Monde: "The RPR disappears... and is reborn the UMP." We told you about this the other night - I think it was a Libé story. In any case, Le Monde asks if this is the extinction of Gaullism (because it's the end of the last party set up by the Gaullists) and answers with a resolute no. They say the RPR has pretty much always been a Jacques Chirac vehicle - as opposed to an ideological wellspring - and since Chirac's now very much the top dog in France the party is no longer necessary. We here at the TurkeyBlog find the analysis cogent enough except for one thing: the disappearance of the "Gaullist" party is part of the rebirth of Gaullism as Chirac seeks to rule France with the same power DeGaulle did, surpassing even Mitterand stature at the height of his power. For the greater glory of France, of course.
Libé leads with "One year later, Toulouse still devastated," about the TotalFinaElf disaster we mentioned last night.
It's Saturday, so nothing new from Le Figaro.
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posted by gbarto at 12:07 AM:
Heavy Teens Sue McDonald's
Two in New York blame fast food chain for their obesity
I'll concede the stuff's not great for you, but it's not like anyone's forced to eat the stuff. Better start with the US Dept. of Ag. and all the cheese it's been handing out for school lunches all these years.
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posted by gbarto at 12:04 AM:
And you think your town has problems!
Village Caught in Avalanche
Collapsing glacier leaves up to 100 people feared dead in Russia
From hurricanes to tornadoes to earthquakes, there are all sorts of natural disasters. But when a glacier gets your town...
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posted by gbarto at 12:01 AM:
Here's the latest from Israel:
Standoff at Arafat's Building
Palestinian leader holed up in office, the only structure left standing after Israel besieged compound; four Palestinians killed in protests
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French Elections, 1st round
Second round special page
Second Round Results Map
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