	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

\| HOME \| WEB LOG \| COUNTRY WIKI \| COMMENT \| FORUM \| DOWNLOADS \| ABOUT \|

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Dec-2011
13-Dec-11 World View -- Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations

Web Log - December, 2011

13-Dec-11 World View -- Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations

France's former PM Dominique de Villepin to run for president

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

* Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations
* Sarkozy downplays threat that France will lose AAA credit rating
* France's former PM Dominique de Villepin to run for president
* Russia's Circassian issues intensify as 2014 Sochi Olympics approach
* S. Korea will light three giant Christmas trees, despite N. Korean threat

Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations

David Cameron in Commons on Monday with Nick Clegg missing (AFP)

David Cameron in Commons on Monday with Nick Clegg missing (AFP)

Britain's prime minister David Cameron gave an impassioned defense to the House of Commons on Monday for his decision on Friday to block a "save the euro" treaty of all 27 European Union states. He said that he had sought "modest, reasonable and relevant" safeguards to protect London's financial services industry, but "Satisfactory safeguards were not forthcoming so I didn't agree to the treaty." The Commons speech brought angry jeers from the opposition, and Cameron's governing coalition partner, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, was absent from the Commons, having given an interview where he said, "The Prime Minister and I clearly do not agree on the outcome of the summit last week. I have made it very clear that I think isolation in Europe, where we are one against 26, is potentially a bad thing for jobs, a bad thing for growth and a bad thing for the livelihoods of millions of people in this country." Mirror (London)

Sarkozy downplays threat that France will lose AAA credit rating

Moody's Investors Service signaled on Monday that it will go ahead with the downgrading of debt of some EU nations. It said that it will review the ratings of all EU countries in view of Friday's Brussels summit, which failed to produce "decisive policy measures" to end the region's debt turmoil. Standard & Poors has already placed the ratings of 15 euro nations, including AAA rated France and Germany, on review for possible downgrade. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said that if France loses its AAA rating, then "we’ll face the situation coolly and calmly. It would be an additional difficulty but it’s not insurmountable. What is important is the credibility of our economic policy and our strategy of reducing spending." What he didn't say was that no credible strategy for reducing spending exists. Bloomberg

France's former PM Dominique de Villepin to run for president

Dominique de Villepin in 2003 (AFP)

Dominique de Villepin in 2003 (AFP)

In a surprise, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that he would be running for President of France in April. De Villepin is one of the world's most anti-American political leaders. (See "How France screwed Secretary of State Colin Powell" from 2004.) President Nicolas Sarkozy and de Villepin are extremely bitter political enemies, and the two have accused each other of various criminal acts. On Sunday, he criticized Sarkozy for not protecting France’s interests at Friday's EU summit and for imposing several rounds of budget cuts. He said France had been humiliated by "the law of the markets, which keep imposing on us more austerity." AP

Russia's Circassian issues intensify as 2014 Sochi Olympics approach

Circassian activists are demanding that tens of thousands of ethnic Circassians subjected to violence in Syria be permitted to be "repatriated" to Russia's North Caucasus. The Russians deported the Circassians to Syria during the North Caucasus war in 1858-64, when the Russians exterminated or deported the Circassian population from their homeland in Sochi. Sochi is the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and 2014 is the 150th anniversary of the 1864 massacre. Issues related to the Circassians are growing in intensity as 2014 approaches. Jamestown

S. Korea will light three giant Christmas trees, despite N. Korean threat

A North Korean web site has denounced South Korea's plan to light three giant Christmas near their common border. It said the move is aimed at provoking the North and stepping up anti-North Korea psychological warfare. It also warned that the South will bear the "entire responsibilities" if an "unpredictable situation" happens. South Korea will go ahead with the plan, lighting the trees from December 23 to January 6, responding to the requests of evangelical organizations. Yonhap (Seoul) and Chosun (Seoul)

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 13-Dec-11 World View -- Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (13-Dec-2011) Permanent Link
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Donate to Generational Dynamics via PayPal

Web Log Pages

Current Web Log

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Dec-2011 13-Dec-11 World View -- Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations

Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations

Sarkozy downplays threat that France will lose AAA credit rating

France's former PM Dominique de Villepin to run for president

Russia's Circassian issues intensify as 2014 Sochi Olympics approach

S. Korea will light three giant Christmas trees, despite N. Korean threat

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Dec-2011
13-Dec-11 World View -- Britain's 'veto' of eurozone plan causes angry recriminations