Memories and developments

Tags

Britain, Iran, Middle East, NATO, Politics, Russia, Syria, Trump, Turkey, World

In the last few weeks with the zigzags of international situations and the horrible nightmare circus of the Trump NO Foreign Policy, I am concerned for the safety of us all and for the stability of the World.

On my last visit to Damascus back in around 2002 just before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, I was surprise to see the large number of Iranian visitors, business people and families living in neighbourhoods of Damascus a city before the Civil War of 2 million people. The official explanation was Shia Holy Sites which brought people to visit Syria. In the Southern Suburb of Damascus is the tomb and Mosque of Sayidda Zeinab daughter of Ali and grand daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The Mosque in Persian Style was built in the 1990’s on the site of a much older mosque. The Iranian Embassy was also the next door neighbour of the Canadian Embassy in Damascus on Fayez Mansour.

The Assad Regime in Syria is allied with Iran for various complex political and military reasons and Iran is an important supporter of Hezbollah ( the Party of God) in Lebanon and these alliances are maintained to keep a foothold in Lebanon keeping the country unstable and ensuring the on-going influence of Syria in Lebanon. Iran can also maintain pressure on Israel with the help of its proxy Hezbollah.

Since the invasion of Iraq by the USA in 2003 and the final overthrow of the Regime of Saddam Hussein, Iran has moved into Iraq on the pretext of helping the Shia majority at the expense of the Sunni minority. It also helps control politics in Iraq and prevents the USA from dominating the region and helps Russia play a large role. Something Russia has been wanting to do since the 1930’s but was unable to do because of British and American interest in the area. Britain is now gone and the USA are in a weaken position.

Enters Trump and his simpleton politics of I know it all school of thought, who decided to abandon the Kurds who counted on the USA as an ally seeking protection from Turkey, Iran and Russia. Confirming the old belief that you really cannot depend on the USA as an Ally. Russia is consolidating its position in the region, having cultivated President Erdogan of Turkey by selling him armaments despite the fact that Turkey is still a member of NATO. Russia is undermining NATO and Trump in London said that he does not feel compelled to uphold article 5 of the Alliance of mutual assistance. This sends a strong message to Russia and China who understand that they can make a move with little fear of USA intervention.

Trump then makes threats against Turkey of sanctions thinking that President Erdogan will give in, which is unlikely given his own posturing at home and new found friends in Russia and China. This point escapes Trump completely and his arrogant attitude at the NATO Anniversary in London shows how much he is out of it, we also saw how the world thinks little of him and the USA.  His leaving early in a huff or calling President Macron and Prime Minister Trudeau names like a school child did little to enhance his profile.

The Civil War in Syria will come to an end with Russia and Iran as the winners, the USA will be out and the Kurds will be reduced once again to living on the margins, because they backed the USA.

What sort of Syria will we have in the future, not a democratic one, more like an enhanced dictatorship with more grinding poverty, a powerful Russia with naval bases in the port of Latakia, something Russia has been wanting for more than a century. Iran will also get access to the Mediterranean and come to dominate the region, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq. This puts even more pressure on Israel and pushes out Saudi interests in the entire region, Iran is the winner.  With Trump’s ever changing reasoning and attitudes, 60 years of complicated US diplomacy is gone. It leaves little Jordan alone with Israel to fend for themselves.

With Israel at the moment in a state of turmoil as Premier Netanyahu facing criminal prosecution for corruption, no clear winner after 2 back to back election. Trump may think he can just send in the Marines to clear things up, but it no longer works that way, this is not the 1940’s. The USA is running out of options but hey The Donald can’t seem to grasp this reality.

War with Russia is not possible, because Nuclear Weapons. A conflict with Iran is also not feasible, Russia again would certainly intervene on the side of Iran. Sanctions against Turkey will not work either and only push the Turks into the Russian camp further and undermine NATO on its Southern flank.

China has been moving for the last 20 years to displace the USA commercially in Africa, South America and Asia. China is having economic problems due to Trump’s tariffs but there is a limit to such tariffs, Stock Markets reflect the unease and worry of a trade war with China. Trump knows he is limited in what he can do without damaging the USA economy.  What has been lost in terms of  US Foreign Policy and influence in the World will not bounce back, it is simply too late.

Looks like the whole impeachment process is far to slow and uncertain and then the 2020 election another uncertainty.  No it does not look good at all.

9 November 1989 in Cairo

Tags

life, media, Politics, the wall, Travel, World

I was living in Cairo back in 1989, it was a very nice posting. Here I am on my terrace of my apartment in Zamalek on the Nile facing the vast metropolis. The view was wonderful. My little Dachshund Bundnie (Arabic for Brown Coffee) she was quite young then. She was born in Cairo and it was love at first sight, I got her when she was 4 weeks old, too early really but she needed a home and she would proceed to live 17 years and travel the world with us.

On November 9, 1989, I was at the Embassy in Garden City which at the time was near the British Embassy in Cairo. We heard reports of what was going on in Berlin. It was quite a surprise and at first no one really believe it, it was an aberration, how could that be after all those years of Cold War and stand off between the USSR and the USA. Surely we would soon hear that it was just a joke. But no the next day more astonishing news, I remember I wanted to fly to Berlin to see it, but I could not abandon my post. So we all followed (my colleagues and I) the news. Not really knowing what all this would bring, obviously the end was near for the rest of Eastern Europe, communism was on the way out. In December revolution exploded in Romania, on Christmas day Nicola and wife Elena Ceausescu were executed on television after years of terror and ruinous rule. What a year 1989.   My Egyptians friends told me that when in 1952 the army officers with Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the Monarchy in Egypt,  it was far more civilized. King Farouk and his family were given 3 days to pack their bags and sail away on the Royal Yacht from Alexandria. The King and his family were not really Egyptian but from Albanian-Macedonian stock. He died at 45 in Capri of a heart attack.

I would not visit Berlin until 1998 while living in Warsaw. Berlin today is vastly different and a great place to visit or to live.

 

Ragnarök

Tags

Canada., Erda, NYT, opera, politicians, Siegfried, World

Love these old songs 1949 Louis Armstrong. It was a simpler time nothing like today.

I was parking at the supermarket today and the radio it was Saturday Afternoon at the Metropolitan Opera. It use to brought to us all by Texaco now it’s a luxury home builder.

The host of the show Mary Jo Heath mentioned that in the Opera Siegfried by Richard Wagner, the wanderer who is Wotan in disguise asked a question of Erda the Earth goddess about the future. Her reply about Ragnarök and the Apocalypse predicts terrible events to come. The Host made the connection with a series of articles in the New York Times this week on climate change and how human behaviour will not change enough to save us all from the great calamity around 2030 which will signal our end.

Just last week an eminent scientist in Canada was interviewed by Radio-Canada on climate change which is happening twice as fast here than anywhere else due to climatic conditions. The experts said when asked about our collective future, that he had NO hope for humanity, in his words it is too late now. This is quite chilling to hear.

So as I walked to the store from my car, this young family came by and I thought these little kids will probably not have much of a future and their parents are probably unaware. Too many people refuse to believe and become agitated when you point out the dangers.

In Canada 84% of the population is quite worried about the climate and the environment but we still have Conservative politicians who bank on ignorance to get elected.

So I listen to the old tunes from a less threatening time, all we had to worry about then was Atomic warfare.

Museums Lisbon

Tags

art., International, museum, Portugal, puppets, World

There are many wonderful sites to visit in Lisbon. We visited the Castle of Sao Jorge, the Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos, the Museo de la marioneta (Puppet Museum), the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum & Gardens, the archeological ruins of the Carmo, the museum of Royal Carriages (Dos Coches), the church of Sao Roque, the Tower of Belem and the monument to the Navigators.

Just to give you un aperçu as we say in French of what we saw, but that is not all.

One museum which might be dismissed as ”for children” is the beautiful and well curated puppet museum (Museo de la marioneta). It is housed in an old convent and on display are puppets from all continents of the world, from many cultures. Puppets after all are used in telling a story and as humans we need to tell others our stories. This museum brings this message of commonality amongst people, from Africa to Asia to Europe.

There are also many displays of Portuguese artist families who devoted their lives to developing this art form, many are very famous in Portugal like Maria Emilia Perestrelo. The last display is about puppets today in the age of technology, how camera are used to give them life. There is a special inter-active exhibit which you can use to make your own movie using puppets and sets.

It is a very interesting museum because it appeals to young and old and reminded me of my own childhood playing with puppets.

African Puppets

Some German puppets found on a German U-Boat, used to entertain the crew.

Puppets from Brazil

French Puppets

Portuguese Puppet theatre

here is the display exhibit with a computer who helps you create a moving scene and tell a story. Very laborious affair but fascinating for children and adults.

In the next post I will write about the other museums we visited.

 

Berlin

Tags

Arts, cities, culture, history, Travel, World

On this warm Sunday night here are some images of Berlin my second favourite city after Rome. I hope to return to visit again in 2019 when the former City Palace reconstruction is completed, it is now known as the Humboldt Forum after the two german brothers Wilhelm and his younger brother Alexander.

 

Cities that I like in the world 1. Rome, 2. Berlin, 3. Vienna, 4. Salzburg, 5. Dresden, 6. Munich, 7. Venice, 8. Pesaro, 9. Palermo,10. Athens.

There are more cities I lived in, visited and liked, the list would be too long. We like cities for various reasons, for me it would be for the arts, culture, museum collections, fine restaurants, parks, history and elegance of urban design.

Caro Amici

Tags

Canada., July, NAFTA, tariffs, Trade, Trump, USA, World

Today is the second day of the Dog days of Summer and it really feels like it, hot and humid with a light breeze at 28C. I am glad we live by the river and the entrance to the Sea which keeps things reasonably cool.

I am thinking of decades ago the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s when relations with our Southern neighbour was far more friendly and casual than they are today. The world changes and if once you were on speaking terms with your neighbour well today it is a different story.  I speak here of Government to Government bilateral relations which have soured considerably over the NAFTA negotiations and tactics of the US Administration to exploit its position.

I miss the days of yore when we could travel to the USA for fun and cross the border without a fuss, a simple smile and a hello. It has become so complicated now to cross the border by car or plane that frankly why bother. You do not know what agent you will get if he will be some paranoid wrap in the flag idiot seeing enemies in every Canadian or if he will be business as usual. At any rate those guys do all they can to make you fell as un-welcomed as possible, I am sure the US tourism industry does not need that kind of help from its government.

Now that Canada has been declared an enemy country causing harm to the National Security of the USA, why should I visit or buy American products for that matter. Canadians are looking for Canadian made or made in other countries products. Here in Charlottetown where we receive a lot of American tourist, the tone is still friendly as long as no one display Trump paraphernalia or MAGA hats.

However today as I was presenting the Shame and Prejudice by Canadian Artist Kent Monkman, our new Summer exhibit at the Art Gallery, I met with several American visitors, they were passengers on the cruise ship in port and were spending the day in town.  I met quite a few very nice people who reminded me that Americans are people with whom you can have good conversations. It is the old saying; do not confuse the citizens with their government, the two are quite different. Many Americans have to live with the fact that at the moment they have a President who is embarrassing them around the world. Like all people they have to live with the government they have and with the obtuse and stupid views of so many in Congress, Senate and White House.

The policies of the Trump Administration are doing harm to the Canadian Economy, Canada being the first trading partner of the USA, our economies are closely intertwined  especially in the auto sector. Damage is also being done to the economies of other countries in Europe, in Asia and Mexico. Next week the NATO meeting will most probably not go well at all and then Trump meets Putin. The USA new friends the former Soviet Union and North Korea, we live in a very strange time.

Many in Canada now understand that it is time to abandon US markets and concentrate on the European Union and the Trans-Pacific region. Once this shift starts it will not revert and lasting damage will have been done to the US economy. Canada is also imposing strategic tariffs against goods produced in States controlled by Republicans who support Trump.

So given this grim picture, one can only hope that Americans will wake up in November and get rid of the GOP members in Congress and Senate for the sake of the USA if you do not want to become another failed State.  Maybe the 40 million Americans who did not vote in the last Presidential election will feel remorse and be running to the poles, let’s hope so.

Happy 4th of July.

Public Library in Detroit, Michigan

Canada G7

Tags

Canada., Chabrier, G7, Music, Politics, threath, USA, World

Now that Canada has been declared a National Security Threat to the USA by none other than Prez Trump, let us look at others who have been declared such in the past by other Presidents and see if Canada fits in with this description.

Measures taken to ensure U.S. national security include:

• Using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats.
• Marshaling economic power to elicit cooperation.
• Maintaining effective armed forces.
• Implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness policies (including anti-terrorism legislation)
• Ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure.
• Using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information.
• Tasking counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats.

I am sure being a retired diplomat that President Trump has already directed the US Government to take such action against Canada, it goes well beyond tariffs on steel and aluminium.

As the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, was fond of saying, US national debt has become perhaps our top national security threat. The United States has been running trillion-dollar deficits, resulting in a huge explosion in the country’s indebtedness. Publicly held debt now equals 70% of gross domestic product, a threshold many economists consider significant and highly worrisome. Making matters worse, half of our current deficit financing is being provided by foreigners.

Others threats to the security of the USA are:  unstable Middle-East with no peace in sight, Climate change, Cyber terrorism, President Putin, the energy future, South Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan), the next space challenge, unstable Africa in the face of epidemics like Ebola. With President Trump’s unpredictable behaviour he may by himself create instability for the USA and create new unnecessary crisis.

This weekend in Charlevoix, Quebec the G7 is meeting and the attitude and tweeting of President Trump and his early departure from the conference simply isolates the USA in the world and angers is most trusted and long term allies. Prime Minister Trudeau is correct is stating that the declaration of Trump is illogical and insulting for Canadians. But the President does not seem to care and believes he can bully Canada and other nations. We will have to bow to his demands, however now Canadians are more united than ever in the face of this aggression by the American administration.

So I chose to listen to music instead by Emmanuel Chabrier 1841-1894. When confronted by fools take the high road, this is what I am doing.

Falling between the cracks

Tags

aca, business, capitalism, coal, Government, obama, obamacare, poverty, wealth, World

This weekend I was reading an article in the New York Times about a nurse practitioner in West Virginia in a county which has the lowest life expectancy rate in the USA.   The nurse practitioner works in NorthFork in McDowell County, West Virginia.

The article stated that the poor, the sick living in McDowell County voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. This county is in the heart of Coal Mining country, devastated by a fast changing economy. Unemployment is high and the county has a very large proportion of poor people, people who cannot afford a Plan B, or private insurance coverage. It is the fear that as many as 24 million Americans will loose their health coverage in the USA if the GOP rolls back ACA also known as Obamacare. The people of that one county in West Virginia would be severely impacted by changes to the ACA or its roll back and the implementation of a Republican Health care bill.

It was a very difficult article to read, it is difficult to understand how Republican politicians elected by the people can believe in the idea that a free market health care system run by insurance companies is better than one where more and more people are covered without risking a personal bankruptcy.

If the Republicans are successful their system, as far as I can understand it, would basically force people to choose between death or bankruptcy. In the story the nurse practitioner spoke of her brother who 30 years ago at the age of 25 fell ill, he did not have health insurance and could not afford it. He was turned away because of his inability to pay and died from a disease which should have been easily treated if only he had the financial means. In this story this nurse practitioner goes through a normal day at the clinic, she sees people, all are poor and many are not well educated, they do not understand the system or have a wrong perception. Many suffer from diabetes, heart disease, are over weight, smoke, their medication now covered is expensive. It was sad to think that all those Americans without affordable health care would simply die. Dental coverage is another issue, many cannot afford the dentist, so they are exposed to a host of other diseases because of poor oral hygiene. One man who voted for Trump is an unemployed 54 year old, former coal miner. He explained that he wants to work and Trump’s promise to re-open the coal mines, this is what he was looking for, he reasoned that with a job he would have benefits and health care, so he voted for Trump. I have the sinking feeling that he will find out the hard way that Trump was nothing more than a snake oil salesman.

Many of the same poor people blame Obama for their Health care, not understanding that without ACA they would be worse off, but since they are also poorly educated they can be easily deceived by their Republican Congressman Evan Jenkins (R) and Senators Machin (D) and Capito (R) in West Virginia.

Living in Canada I cannot imagine any politician at any level talking of opening up our Canadian Health Care System which is a Provincial jurisdiction to free market insurance schemes, it would be suicide. I am also grateful to have been born in an era when our system was being implemented. Now retired I do not have to worry, I am fully covered and so is my spouse. I do have supplemental insurance but the monthly premium is so small as not to be a concern.

The article also mentioned that Medicaid and Medicare where in peril, seniors may find their benefits greatly reduced, mental health is not covered. At the end of this article I thought the Republican Congress is preparing a recipe for a terrible disaster.

A country cannot function if inequalities are stark, it only increases social tension to the cracking point.

Speaking of the cracking point, this afternoon on  CBC radio, I was listening to Ideas in the Afternoon with host Paul Kennedy. His guest was Wolfgang Streeck talking about Capitalism today. Here is the synopsis of this podcast.

The signs are troubling: the ever-widening chasm between the ultra-rich and everyone else. Mass protests. Political upheaval and social division. It looks as though the rocky marriage between capitalism and democracy is doomed, at least according to Wolfgang Streeck, who directs the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany, where he is also a professor of sociology. In conversation with Paul Kennedy about his book How Will Capitalism End?, he makes the unnerving case that capitalism is now at a point where it cannot survive itself.

According to Streeck, capitalist societies are entering an interregnum — a pause or suspension of normal governance — as the system of capitalism collapses in on itself. In the absence of countervailing forces to keep it afloat, capitalism has essentially devoured itself. One consequence is a loss of state solidarity citizens in western countries have become used to. Streeck points to Italy, Greece and Spain, countries where young people can’t get find jobs; where fewer people can live on their own; and where marriage and birth rates are declining. People everywhere are now trying to protect what little they have left.

Wolfgang Streeck sees day-to-day life in the interregnum in stark terms: coping, hoping, doping, and shopping. He says that when it comes to the harsh realities of the interregnum, those who cope well will wear their stress as a kind of badge of honour. Those who cope poorly will mask their inability with drugs and mindless consumerism. We are having an opioid crisis in Canada and the USA right now. Here the Federal and Provincial governments have intervene, in the USA it is largely ignored.

Streeck then went on to speak about: “Democracy was always a problem in a capitalist society. There’s an enormous inherent tension between the two. Democracy is inherently egalitarian because every citizen has one vote. And the rich also have one vote but the rich are only five percent. Whereas in the market, every dollar has a vote. And the capitalist economy in particular functions according to — I think it’s [the Gospel of] Matthew — where it says he who has will be given [more]. And he who has [little] will have even what he has taken away…

And where you have capitalism and democracy at the same time, you have a contest between these two principles of distribution: egalitarian versus inegalitarian. This is why democratic politics have always tried to intervene in the markets and tried to contain the “Matthew effect”. You can also call it cumulative advantage if you want a more elevated term. So, where you have democracy in the form of trade unions, centre left political parties, sometimes centre right political parties, Catholic parties, and so on — they look at the market and what comes out of the market and then they become concerned both about their capacity to get re-elected and about principles of justice which, in a democracy, are principles of social justice, not market justice.”

This podcast on the CBC which last 53 minutes got me thinking of all those poor people in West Virginia who voted for Trump thinking they would be so much better off. I also think of people here in Canada who believe we in Canada would be better off with someone like Trump. They are usually members of the right wing neo-cons movement, business people etc, blue collar. Luckily they are a minority around 25% of the electorate. But in Canada we have to be careful, a fragile balance exist and desperate politicians will propose just about anything if they sense there is a vote in it.

Each decade is different, the 70’s were different from the 1960’s, today is vastly different from the era before 2000. It just feels sometimes as if the world is spinning out of control.

 

 

 

 

 

From one year to the next

Tags

2017, Charlottetown, life, New Year, PEI, World

Here we are on the Eve of a New Year, despite our fears and hopes, we really do not know what the year will bring.

For us it was quite the year, it was a new beginning, new friends and a new life chapter, I really had no idea on New Year’s Eve 2016 how any of this would turn out. In the end now I would say it was a wonderful year.

Now on the Eve of 2017, the 150th Anniversary of Confederation, the birth of modern Canada, I think of 1967 the year of the Centennial, I was 11 years old living in Montreal at the time and it was the year of the World Exhibition, “Man and his world” with all it’s wonders and 90 National pavilions to so many countries and over 5 million visitors during the Summer months. I remember all the Heads of State who came, from the Emperor of Ethiopia to the Shah of Iran. All Canadian currency that year in circulation was designed by famed Canadian Artist Alex Colville (1920-2013). We were displaying our new National Flag adopted just 2 years previously, there was a lot of optimism in the air, anything and everything was possible. Progress was good for everyone.

Now 50 years later, so many things have changed some for the better and some we need to really work on, but Canada is still a fantastic country, we have social peace, stability and the rule of Law. Considering that of the 190 countries on Earth many simply don’t have any of this, we are pretty lucky and should be thankful. I finished my education, had a great career, travelled the world, lived in many countries and saw incredible things, most never have a chance to witness. I have also been with the same person for almost 40 years.

This New Year’s Eve we will be with friends in this house pictured here in Charlottetown (it is a lovely house) celebrating, steps from Province House to see the two fireworks at 7:30pm and at Midnight. The best part is we can walk to it all it is only a few steps from our home.

To all my readers and followers, thank you for reading my blog and your comments, I really appreciate it.

The very best of good wishes to you all for a peaceful and prosperous New Year 2017.

 

 

 

Morning photos

Tags

Berlin, capitals, photos, Rome, St-Petersburg, World

Here are photos of 3 cities in the world this morning. I have visited and or lived in these capitals.

A fountain in Trastevere, Rome

A view of St-Petersburg, Russia with of the St-Nicholas Naval Cathedral

A view of the dome of the Lutheran Cathedral of Berlin, extensively restored after the Second World War. The modern wall on the left is the East side of the City Palace being rebuilt now. The interior of the Cathedral are as they were in 1918.