272 people have been killed( with over 400 missing) and several thousands displaced (about 16,000 according to Ade Edward, head of operations of the Disaster Management Agency in West Sumatra Province) after a tsunami and several volcanic euruptions overwhelmed the country on Wednesday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11632982
And as if Haitian people have not dealt with enough in the last year. With nearly 300 people dead from the cholera outbreak, humanitarian organizations and government officials are anxious about cholera spreading to the capital, Port-au-Prince, since more than 1 MILLION people are still living in camps in and around the capital city, which was nearly entirely destroyed during the earthquake at the beginning of this year.
This BBC video is interesting as the journalist interviews a member of the international organization for migration, which handles many of these camps around the capital. Another key issue with the cholera outbreak, as you will see, is how unknown it is there, and thus how fear spread like wild fire over this issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11633216
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Another day of mobilisations and manif's today(Oct 28th)
The big news is that France's Amsemblee Nationale passed the pension reform bill. Not entirely surpising given the fairly dominant role of the UMP in Parliament. (336 against 233 votes)
With that being said, get ready for more manif's!!! that's right folks, two new days of mobilisation have been planned for today(Oct 28th), as well as November 6th. I will be sure to have some pictures to post on here, as I plan on following them around Laval tomorrow(my idea of a wonderful day of course)
http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/10/27/nouvelle-journee-d-action-jeudi-alors-que-la-loi-est-votee_1432127_3224.html#ens_id=1305816
However, the effects will be felt as they were in the last few weeks with almost a third of French gas stations closing, several high school closings, and canceled trains and flights.
For today, the French Trains(SNCF) has assured 6 out of 10 trains and the General Director of Aviation has asked Orly airport to reduce their flights by 50%, as well as a 30% reduction of all other airports in the Metropolitan area.
On a side note, a recent NY Times article cited a very surpising statistic about French unions. Less than 10% of France is unionized, actually closer to 8%.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/world/europe/26unions.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=world
The upcoming presidential elections in France(which is about 18 months from now), should be quite the event to watch. With Sarkozy not budging or compromising with the unions, as well as failing to overcome many political gaffes he made in the last few months( especially the comments about the Roma in France and the subsequent attacks against him from the European Commission President) have all combined to solidify his approval rating at a record low, below 30%. This pension reform is extremely unpopular and yet cutting France's debt presents an especially integral political move for the UMP and Sarko. They may have the slogan of fiscal responsibility, but their alleged populism? ha. don't think so. The Secretary General of the Socialist Party(and potential candidate in the elections), said it best, as quoted by lemonde, "on ne gagne pas contre les Français" http://www.lemonde.fr/depeches/2010/10/27/retraites-on-ne-gagne-pas-contre-les-francais-previent-aubry_823448_354_43711520.html
alors on verra...
With that being said, get ready for more manif's!!! that's right folks, two new days of mobilisation have been planned for today(Oct 28th), as well as November 6th. I will be sure to have some pictures to post on here, as I plan on following them around Laval tomorrow(my idea of a wonderful day of course)
http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/10/27/nouvelle-journee-d-action-jeudi-alors-que-la-loi-est-votee_1432127_3224.html#ens_id=1305816
However, the effects will be felt as they were in the last few weeks with almost a third of French gas stations closing, several high school closings, and canceled trains and flights.
For today, the French Trains(SNCF) has assured 6 out of 10 trains and the General Director of Aviation has asked Orly airport to reduce their flights by 50%, as well as a 30% reduction of all other airports in the Metropolitan area.
On a side note, a recent NY Times article cited a very surpising statistic about French unions. Less than 10% of France is unionized, actually closer to 8%.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/world/europe/26unions.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=world
The upcoming presidential elections in France(which is about 18 months from now), should be quite the event to watch. With Sarkozy not budging or compromising with the unions, as well as failing to overcome many political gaffes he made in the last few months( especially the comments about the Roma in France and the subsequent attacks against him from the European Commission President) have all combined to solidify his approval rating at a record low, below 30%. This pension reform is extremely unpopular and yet cutting France's debt presents an especially integral political move for the UMP and Sarko. They may have the slogan of fiscal responsibility, but their alleged populism? ha. don't think so. The Secretary General of the Socialist Party(and potential candidate in the elections), said it best, as quoted by lemonde, "on ne gagne pas contre les Français" http://www.lemonde.fr/depeches/2010/10/27/retraites-on-ne-gagne-pas-contre-les-francais-previent-aubry_823448_354_43711520.html
alors on verra...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
in case you haven't seen the news at all...france is on strike.
http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/10/21/suivez-en-direct-les-manifestations-du-21-octobre_1429056_3224.html#ens_id=1305816
As I have often been told and am quickly discovering, striking(faire la greve) and demonstrations(manifestations) are a way of life over here. However these strikes have taken a turn toward the more violent side in certain cities, specifically Lyon, Marseille, and a school was burned down in Le Mans, which is only an hour from Laval. Here in Laval while the demonstrations are less ubiquitous as compared to the larger cities like Paris, there is a strong presence of mostly high school aged students that have been demonstrating this entire week, and most especially this past Tuesday. One day over 6,000 people protested, which is a strong number for a relatively small city and over an issue such as changing the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.
Furthermore, oil workers are striking(as well as most public transportation), so almost a third of gas stations in France are closing because of a lack of gas. The gas station near my apartment had extremely long lines at the beginning of the week, and now it is blocked off. Even today when I was walking home from one of my schools, probably around a couple hundred high school students were sitting along a main road to block traffic, displaying signs saying "Sarko foutu" meaning Sarkozy is finished.
Last night the Senat voted on the law and decided to reflect on a systematic retirement reform, vague I know: "Les sénateurs ont voté dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi un amendement de la majorité sénatoriale prévoyant en 2013 de "réfléchir" à "une réforme systémique" autrement dit une retraite par points"
check out lemonde.fr to really follow the manifestations everyday and the senate voting as well : http://www.lemonde.fr/depeches/2010/10/21/les-senateurs-votent-une-mesure-pour-reflechir-a-la-retraite-par-points_823448_354_43666846.html
There are several good articles in the magazine Le Pointe and the newspaper for this departement, l'ouest france, which outline the different sides of the retirement reform debate. Most member of the UMP, Sarko's more right-wing party, are for the retirement reform for practical reasons of reducing France's national debt. Furthermore, this is the general trend across Europe, especially in Great Britain and Germany. So the practical economic arguments are strong.
ouest france published two testimonies (both from UMP members which isn't exactly balanced), which displayed the arguments for and against the reform.
The first spokesperson was the Departmental Secretary of the UMP in La Mayenne( Samia Soultani): She labels the political initiative 'Une reforme indispensable et juste' vis-a-vis the UMP Deputy of La Mayenne(Marc Bernier), who voted against the reform, 'Depute UMP, jai vote contre la reforme'
FOR(UMP): "This is about saving our system of retirement. The life expectancy has increased by 15 years as compared to 1950. We thus cannot continue with 60, as the minimum age of retirement...Furthermore the Senate has compromised on many aspects of the bill. Women with three children and born between 1951 and 1956, will receive full benefits beginning at age 65..." She goes on to describe how necessary this reform is in order to provide any kind of retirement to French citizens, and then claims that the overwhelming majority of the UMP support the reform. And of course in classic political fashion, she targets the PS(Socialist Party) as out of touch with reality(which is not that far off I would say). She ends byt acknowledging the protests and strikes, but then somberly states: "On ne fait pas de la politique pour etre populaire" "We don't do politics to be popular" ......silence....question mark. well good luck to UMP and Sarko with trying to run the alleged "populist campaign" and characterize themselves as a part of the people and the working class...
AGAINST (UMP): "As a social gaullist, I think that this retirement reform is not good, both in its foundation and in how its being carried out...Contrary to what the UMP states, this reform does not regulate anything on financing retirement. Five years from now, we will have to find new means for for financial support. We must find other resources than those coming from the salaries paid to those who are retired. We must impose capital revenues and patrimony, which are not currently taxed to the extent they should be...I wish that all women can receive full retirement benefits beginning at the age of 65, irrespective of their individual conditions(years of work, number of children, etc.) We must return to a shared solidarity of wealth..." He ends with the oppositie idea of the previous UMP member...."We must renegotiate to arrive at a consensus. We do not pass reforms against the will of the people."
I was able to take a few photos of the protestors yesterday, so take a look!
a bientot
As I have often been told and am quickly discovering, striking(faire la greve) and demonstrations(manifestations) are a way of life over here. However these strikes have taken a turn toward the more violent side in certain cities, specifically Lyon, Marseille, and a school was burned down in Le Mans, which is only an hour from Laval. Here in Laval while the demonstrations are less ubiquitous as compared to the larger cities like Paris, there is a strong presence of mostly high school aged students that have been demonstrating this entire week, and most especially this past Tuesday. One day over 6,000 people protested, which is a strong number for a relatively small city and over an issue such as changing the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.
Furthermore, oil workers are striking(as well as most public transportation), so almost a third of gas stations in France are closing because of a lack of gas. The gas station near my apartment had extremely long lines at the beginning of the week, and now it is blocked off. Even today when I was walking home from one of my schools, probably around a couple hundred high school students were sitting along a main road to block traffic, displaying signs saying "Sarko foutu" meaning Sarkozy is finished.
Last night the Senat voted on the law and decided to reflect on a systematic retirement reform, vague I know: "Les sénateurs ont voté dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi un amendement de la majorité sénatoriale prévoyant en 2013 de "réfléchir" à "une réforme systémique" autrement dit une retraite par points"
check out lemonde.fr to really follow the manifestations everyday and the senate voting as well : http://www.lemonde.fr/depeches/2010/10/21/les-senateurs-votent-une-mesure-pour-reflechir-a-la-retraite-par-points_823448_354_43666846.html
There are several good articles in the magazine Le Pointe and the newspaper for this departement, l'ouest france, which outline the different sides of the retirement reform debate. Most member of the UMP, Sarko's more right-wing party, are for the retirement reform for practical reasons of reducing France's national debt. Furthermore, this is the general trend across Europe, especially in Great Britain and Germany. So the practical economic arguments are strong.
ouest france published two testimonies (both from UMP members which isn't exactly balanced), which displayed the arguments for and against the reform.
The first spokesperson was the Departmental Secretary of the UMP in La Mayenne( Samia Soultani): She labels the political initiative 'Une reforme indispensable et juste' vis-a-vis the UMP Deputy of La Mayenne(Marc Bernier), who voted against the reform, 'Depute UMP, jai vote contre la reforme'
FOR(UMP): "This is about saving our system of retirement. The life expectancy has increased by 15 years as compared to 1950. We thus cannot continue with 60, as the minimum age of retirement...Furthermore the Senate has compromised on many aspects of the bill. Women with three children and born between 1951 and 1956, will receive full benefits beginning at age 65..." She goes on to describe how necessary this reform is in order to provide any kind of retirement to French citizens, and then claims that the overwhelming majority of the UMP support the reform. And of course in classic political fashion, she targets the PS(Socialist Party) as out of touch with reality(which is not that far off I would say). She ends byt acknowledging the protests and strikes, but then somberly states: "On ne fait pas de la politique pour etre populaire" "We don't do politics to be popular" ......silence....question mark. well good luck to UMP and Sarko with trying to run the alleged "populist campaign" and characterize themselves as a part of the people and the working class...
AGAINST (UMP): "As a social gaullist, I think that this retirement reform is not good, both in its foundation and in how its being carried out...Contrary to what the UMP states, this reform does not regulate anything on financing retirement. Five years from now, we will have to find new means for for financial support. We must find other resources than those coming from the salaries paid to those who are retired. We must impose capital revenues and patrimony, which are not currently taxed to the extent they should be...I wish that all women can receive full retirement benefits beginning at the age of 65, irrespective of their individual conditions(years of work, number of children, etc.) We must return to a shared solidarity of wealth..." He ends with the oppositie idea of the previous UMP member...."We must renegotiate to arrive at a consensus. We do not pass reforms against the will of the people."
I was able to take a few photos of the protestors yesterday, so take a look!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
back to politics...
first, the French foreign minister, Bernard Kochner has apprarently sent in his letter of resignation, as it was recently published in a French magazine. not cool, because I think he is one of the best french politicans and humanitarian activists, but alas such is politics. Further, as we have been seeing in the US, letters of resignation are ubiquitous; larry summers, rahm emmanuel, and now James Jones. yikes. In not following American politics as much as I should be, so I cant describe all the particulars, except that the midterms are going to be rough for the democrats. Plus on the front page of todays Le Monde, the main article was entitled Economie; la strategie de Barack Obama tres critiquee, no need to translate. Apparently 95000 jobs lost in september, and a consistent unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. Bad news for Barack malheursement.
second, concerning the hot topic of retirement age reform, the senate voted yesterday in favor of the refor,, changing the offical age of retirement from 60 to 62, though the actual age of eligible retirement can be old as 65 or 67, depending on your years of working, type of work, etc. Thus, the french are doing what they do best, STRIKING. Yep, another one begins this Tuesday, and its nation wide. And it includes all public transportation. thus if you are planning on flying, taking a train, etc; around France, think again. The last major strike like this lasted a couple weeks, so it could be awhile. Lucky for me, In taking a train back to laval, as I am in paris for the weekend, tomorrow oct 10th, just before the strike begins on Tuesday.
Third, concerning issues of xenophobia, there has been an abnormally high rate of hate crimes in strasbourg, a city which symbolizes the internationalism of Europe, in eastern France, near Germany. Also on this same note, France was publicy denounced by the UN, Washington, the Vatican, and mostly harshly by the Spanish president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, for Sarkozys statements and actions concerning the Roma in France.
In short, as some people here have decribed it, if Sarkozy continues this way, he will not be reelected. Then again, the socialist nominee is hardly set in stone; will it be segolene royale again? doubtful. I put my money on Francois Hollande or Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the current IMF president, but only time will tell.
a bientot!
second, concerning the hot topic of retirement age reform, the senate voted yesterday in favor of the refor,, changing the offical age of retirement from 60 to 62, though the actual age of eligible retirement can be old as 65 or 67, depending on your years of working, type of work, etc. Thus, the french are doing what they do best, STRIKING. Yep, another one begins this Tuesday, and its nation wide. And it includes all public transportation. thus if you are planning on flying, taking a train, etc; around France, think again. The last major strike like this lasted a couple weeks, so it could be awhile. Lucky for me, In taking a train back to laval, as I am in paris for the weekend, tomorrow oct 10th, just before the strike begins on Tuesday.
Third, concerning issues of xenophobia, there has been an abnormally high rate of hate crimes in strasbourg, a city which symbolizes the internationalism of Europe, in eastern France, near Germany. Also on this same note, France was publicy denounced by the UN, Washington, the Vatican, and mostly harshly by the Spanish president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, for Sarkozys statements and actions concerning the Roma in France.
In short, as some people here have decribed it, if Sarkozy continues this way, he will not be reelected. Then again, the socialist nominee is hardly set in stone; will it be segolene royale again? doubtful. I put my money on Francois Hollande or Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the current IMF president, but only time will tell.
a bientot!
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