|
|
        
|
|
But ...seriously
by Thanos Kalamidas
2009-09-12 09:39:52 |
| Print - Comment - Send to a Friend - More from this Author |
   
 |
The G20 meeting obviously went well since their main problem was bankers’ bonuses, which sounds a bit dramatic in times of economic insecurity, but the economic ministers put all their efforts into making sure that the bonuses will reward long-term success and not short-term risk-taking opportunists. I suppose all of them forgot that in periods of recession with unemployment rising dramatically everywhere – the poor becoming homeless and poverty becoming the only sign of globalization – talking about bonuses is at least stupid. It is natural that it will cause anger among people and mistrust for the institutions that supposedly guarantee their prosperity.
Somebody else, who could guarantee prosperity for the people, is the Greek Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis. That’s why he has called for national elections, hoping that his loss won’t be too big and that he will not be remembered as the worst PM in Greek history. However there is another European leader that history will definitely never forget. And that’s the favourite of this column, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. His latest achievement is the resignation of the editor of Avvenire, a leading Italian Catholic newspaper. Dino Boffo’s resignation followed some critical editorials he had written about the Italian PM’s lifestyle and his relationship with young women. As a result, the Berlusconi enterprises attacked Boffo back with rumours about the editor’s personal life, of course ruining his reputation. It seems that Berlusconi’s games with the news agencies have started and there will be no surviving causalities!
Causalities seem to exist in the continuing mystery with the Finnish/Russian ship Arctic Sea, and the arrests that were made. The latest twist in the plot is the escape of a Russian journalist, who is afraid for his life after he reported that there was something not so innocent in the cargo of the ship. That might explain all the secrecy and mystery surrounding the arrests and the investigation. Mr. Voiotanko suggests that there was no piracy involved, but the drama had a lot to do with the cargo and the mystery recipient.
Another questionable recipient is going to be the Irish government, since they are going to reopen the “Lisbon treaty” file and call for people to vote, confident that something has changed since the last time. But the truth is that the questionable thing is the attitude of the rest of the partners towards the Irish people with all their reactions. The Irish people are equal members of this union, and they have a respectful opinion on what happens in the union. Their opinion should be respected and extra research should be done to understand what led them there. Instead, some less-than-nice comments were made, which should not be accepted in a union that wants to make an example of its democratic institutions, its exemplary equality and its respect of others’ opinion. I think the whole thing embarrassed all the institutions of the EU, and somewhere inside of me I hope the Irish people will say NO to the treaty one more time.
After all, people such as the joke president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, is there to serve the European people, not to tell them what to do. Mr. Barroso and the rest of the gang around him must remember that the power of the Union is in the hands of the people… and temporary political opportunist comets!
A very strange comet has hit the European airplane constructor Airbus. The hit came from their strongest competitor, American Boeing, accusing them of no fair trade and of taking illegal subsidies from the EU and the European states. This is a case that is going to go on for a long time, and it is another example of the not declared war that started two decades ago between USA and the EU. At the moment, this ‘war’ is based mainly on financial grounds. The odd thing is that Boeing constantly forgets to say if their funding from NASA and the US defence ministry is legal!
In the meanwhile, celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz has found herself in a weird position, sued by an Italian photographer for using his photos without his permission. That’s very sad for a photographer with her fame.
But fame also creates problems for others in the entertainment field. The Jackson brothers seem to have serious problems with the helicopters that flew over the Michael Jackson’s burial, photographing the event and the guests. I suppose their problem was not exactly with the photographers, but with the fact that they didn’t pay the necessary fee to the family… that definitely digs gold out of Michael Jackson’s dead body!
Thanos_Kalamidas Europe EU |
|
| Print - Comment - Send to a Friend - More from this Author |
|
|
|
Newsletter
Subscribe
Contact
Search
