Libya is sinking into a fundamentalist Islamic chaos, the cease-fire in Ukraine is breaking down and Greece’s debt problems are far from resolved. Merkel, Putin and Hollande at the Kremlin (2015) And this in spite of the the so-called agreement reached in Minsk between Putin and the Merkel-Hollande couple. And in spite of the news…
Month: February 2015
France, Taking the Pulse
I spent the past week in Paris and it has opened my eyes. Several widely-held opinions and ideas struck me: 1. I am not Charlie I met NOBODY who evinced support for Charlie Hebdo – now with the killings in Denmark, there has been a revival of that “let’s defend freedom of the press” mood,…
Greece vs. Germany: A Game of Chicken Or Cat and Mouse?
Paul Krugman in the New York Times has called the rapidly unfolding Euro crisis a “game of chicken” (here). I think it’s more like a cat-and-mouse game played by Germany against Greece, in which Germany is a Big Fat Cat trying to immobilize a darting Greek mouse. As I explained in my previous blog post,…
Climate Change and the Collapse of Western Civilization
To anyone living in Europe, it is truly puzzling that Americans continue to deny Climate Change. The anger, recklessness and vehemence displayed by American “climate deniers” are something of a mystery. And their favorite argument is that there is no scientific “evidence” of global warming – in spite of the rising number of “extreme” weather…
Claude Forthomme 