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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 25, 2018 17:32:28 GMT
Actually, the final veterans died about 10 years ago. After the first ceremony with all of the heads of state together, I'm sure that they will all be scurrying off to their various special battlefields (Vimy Ridge, etc.). I read that Macron is going to spend six full days all over northeastern France to make sure that he goes to every single important place so that nobody feels ignored. That is going to be one of the longest marathons in presidential history.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 25, 2018 20:21:46 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 25, 2018 23:46:38 GMT
I think the single veteran chosen to accompany Trump should be one who fought in Vietnam -- some of those guys are surely still around. He'll be old, sure, but poor Trump can't walk all that well anyway due to the heel spurs.
As for Macron's rebuke -- That was inevitable, wasn't it? Everything Trump has done up to now has led directly to some other major world leader having to assume what was formerly the US's mantle.
Macron: "Only collective action allows for the upholding of the sovereignty and equality of the people in whose name we take action," Macron said. "This is the reason we must take action against climate, demographic and digital challenges. No one alone can tackle these."
Let sanity and logic prevail.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 2, 2018 12:58:52 GMT
The French love a good political argument and they have started a new one. The government has come out with a brief commercial telling people to vote in next year's European elections. Both the right and the left are screaming bloody murder and are saying that the ad is pure propaganda (I'm sure that either side would have made a totally objective one instead.). I don't like the stressful music, but I do not see much worth arguing about myself.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 2, 2018 15:53:15 GMT
I think it's a good ad in that it's telling voters that the issues depicted affect everyone and that everyone has a voice in how those issues should be handled. But yes, the music is horrible. Something that gave a sense of urgency could have been chosen without scrambling people's brain waves.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 4, 2018 16:07:02 GMT
So, France made it through today's tricky referendum in New Caledonia but with less of a margin than predicted. The opinion polls had said that the vote would be 63-75% against independence, and the actual figure was 56.4%. Turnout was much higher than expected -- 80.6% -- and that is probably what changed the figures. Turnout for elections is usually quite low in New Caledonia since most issues concern that European country 11,000 km away where most of them have never been and in which they are not really interested. But this time the election was about them and them alone.
Actually, the Kanaks (ethnic Melanesians) are greatly outnumbered by the Caldoches (ethnic Europeans), but there was an element introduced to level the playing field. Only Caldoches who have lived in New Caledonia for more than 20 years were able to vote. This eliminated the expat French such as military personnel, teachers and other such people with no real attachment to New Caledonia.
Is this the end of it? Not really, because in the referendum agreement that was signed 30 years ago, the Kanaks won the right to hold two more independence referenda between now and 2022. France of course hopes that they won't, but politics are so weird these days anything is possible.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 4, 2018 17:06:56 GMT
I know zero about New Caledonia, but off the top of my head would be guessing that it would not be to New Caledonia's benefit to be independent. You say that "France of course hopes that they won't ..." -- Do you mean that France hopes the Kanaks won't hold more independence referenda because of the cost, or because France would prefer that New Caledonia not be independent? If for the second reason, why is that?
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 4, 2018 17:13:07 GMT
New Caledonia has 25% of the nickel deposits in the world, and this is essential for electronics.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 4, 2018 17:20:03 GMT
Ahhh ~ well, there you go then!
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 4, 2018 17:41:07 GMT
I know that Australia supported the concept of New Caledonian independence for a long time, thinking that if they got rid of France, they could move into the new country and exert lots of influence (of course, this was back in the days of the Rainbow Warrior when Australia despised the French government -- and rightly so -- not to mention Chirac's nuclear tests in the Pacific). However, now that the Chinese move into absolutely every weak country, I would imagine that Australia is relieved to see France stay in the region.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2018 5:48:26 GMT
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Post by patricklondon on Nov 15, 2018 6:04:41 GMT
From what I can see, Macron does a good job both as president of his country and as a dignified representative of it abroad. Are the criticisms in the second link above at all justified, or simply the opinions of the article's writers? Recent reporting in the UK has certainly highlighted how the shine has rubbed off, as perceptions grow of a tendency to arrogance and of his getting out of touch with ordinary people when it comes to his economic reforms. And as Merkel prepares to leave the scene, probably quicker than she'd hoped, he is without an obvious strong partner among EU leaders and not known for emollience in building coalitions (I get the impression his party in France is more of a fan club). He talks a good talk, but is he equipped and in a position to achieve what will stick with the people?
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 15, 2018 6:09:43 GMT
It is true that Macron has isolated himself, but as far as I'm concerned it is too early to tell if he will be successful or not. He does not back down from confrontation. That of course pleases a lot of his supporters, but it infuriates opponents who are used to presidents who back down under public pressure. His principal problem is that he has engaged so many reforms that there is always something to not like (pensions, gasoline taxes, labour law, school reforms...), and that is what people tend to fixate on, forgetting the rest.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2018 6:52:41 GMT
Thanks, Kerouac -- that is exactly what I wanted to know. Patrick's reference to a fan club may be somewhat exaggerated, but it seems the universal case that the sheen wears off quickly for ones followers when it turns out that their leader is not a magician. ... as Merkel prepares to leave the scene, probably quicker than she'd hoped ... Well, she'll be around for another couple of years at least. Also, since the date is her decision, she could decide to stick around a little longer. So much can change between now and then.
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Post by bjd on Nov 15, 2018 8:35:43 GMT
I agree totally with what Kerouac just said. People always expect immediate miracles and changes when someone is elected. It just doesn't happen, and Macron does seem to have a tendency to speak his mind rather than being vague and diplomatic.
I heard that Macron was going to become more "presidential", i.e. aloof and monarchical, and the prime minister would be more visible in the political field, as is the French tradition.
I don't know how long Merkel can hang on, if she and her party lose more support.
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Post by patricklondon on Nov 15, 2018 10:55:47 GMT
It looks as though her most likely successor as party chairman may well break up the coalition government, and/or the SDP may well pull out (since they have lost badly as well), in which case there would most likely be new elections with new candidates for the Chancellor's job well before her preferred departure date. My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam"
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2018 21:37:40 GMT
Thanks, Bjd -- you are so right about that lack-of-patience thing from the public. I hope your second paragraph is wrong, as I quite approve of Macron's presentation of himself.
re: Merkel and her current standing ~ I keep thinking she is shrewd and seasoned enough to figure out a way to maintain things the way they are for a while longer.
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Post by Whatmachin on Nov 15, 2018 22:08:20 GMT
Arx tarpeia capitoli proxima (est).
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2018 22:52:08 GMT
Had to look that up! There is a Latin phrase Arx tarpeia Capitoli proxima (“the Tarpeian Rock is close to the Capitol”) which some have interpreted to mean that "one's fall from grace can come swiftly".sourceGood point, Whatmachin.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 19, 2018 7:16:58 GMT
France would like to attract more university students from outside of the EU and is considering raising tuition fees for non-EU citizens to attract them. It has been determined that a lot of Asian and Middle Eastern students (and not just them) cannot believe that basic university tuition is only 170 euros when they are expecting to pay more than $10,000 for quality education. So they are afraid that it is low quality and they go to countries where they have to pay a bundle. I kind of doubt that they will raise tuition to such levels because discrimination goes against basic French values (even though there are of course plenty of French people totally in favour of discrimination). I just think it is very sad that so many people think they have to pay the most to get the best.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 19, 2018 10:53:04 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 19, 2018 16:21:34 GMT
Exactly. One of the other sites also mentioned the statistics of which university did what all through the 20th century, without taking into consideration universities in places where there was a huge military interruption at least twice during the 20th century.
But people love lists and rankings. There really isn't any way to fight it.
So, should France multiply its university fees by 10 or 20 or more to appear more attractive? Actually, it has no problem attracting a lot of African and South American students.
However, the top five countries at the moment are: Morocco, China, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy. In spite of the Shanghai list, the United States is in 11th place, so I guess not everybody wants to spend a fortune, even in rich countries.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 25, 2018 18:09:37 GMT
Most of you have probably read about the "riot" on the Champs Elysées yesterday. The world media said things like "Paris in flames" and the images definitely had lots of those. Yes, Paris is in ruins -- or not. The Champs Elysées is just one street in the city and the 'disruption' lasted for 10 hours. It was not a nice event, and there was quite a bit of damage to various establishments on the avenue. Actually, what shocked me the most while watching it live was to see some of the trashers pulling the Christmas decorations from the trees to throw them on the fires.
Nasty.
All of this because of an ecological petrol tax starting January 1st -- and a dozen other issues that were thrown on the pile at the same time.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 27, 2018 17:10:32 GMT
Actually the coverage here in Québec was definitely NOT sensationalistic, which was a relief.
That movement seemed to have a mishmash of contradictory demands, left, right and other. I can see why people outside city centres felt targeted, but no progressive solutions were put forth.
For one thing, the trams linking Paris suburbs seem to have greatly improved mobility there; obviously more lines are needed but they are a much better solution than diesel-burning vehicles.
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Post by bjd on Nov 27, 2018 19:47:00 GMT
Lagatta, I don't think people within tram-distance of Paris are the most worried. I don't know how true it is, but here it is being presented also as urban vs rural, middle-class vs poorer people who have to commute using their diesel cars because they live too far from decent transport.
The yellow jackets interviewed on the news all claim that they are in favour of ecology. But they don't want gasoline, and particularly diesel, to be taxed any more. Furthermore, heating fuel is supposed to be eliminated, so people using it will have to change heating systems in their houses. So supporting ecology and the environment is fine, as long as it doesn't cost anything. And nobody likes to pay taxes, even as they expect the government to supply services paid for by taxes.
Meanwhile, the ecologists are pissed off because Macron today postponed getting rid of nuclear power plants by 10 years, compared to the original schedule. He wants all coal-fired plants to be closed by 2022.
I think the demonstrators calling for Macron to resign are idiots because they have nothing to propose other than getting rid of the diesel/gasoline tax.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 27, 2018 20:23:08 GMT
There are only 5 coal-fired plants left in France, representing only 3% of electricity production -- that's an easy goal to keep.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 27, 2018 20:57:30 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 3, 2018 18:03:05 GMT
Anybody who has been paying attention to events in France has probably noticed that there are plenty of issues to discuss.
However, I noticed that in the national assembly this week, one of the elected representatives found that this was the most important subject about which to worry : "Germany now produces more strawberries and more asparagus than France!"
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Post by bjd on Dec 3, 2018 19:32:16 GMT
A fine example of a politician who is out of touch!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 7, 2018 17:12:24 GMT
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