Dysfunction

The US Constitution has been subverted. The US system of Government, the oldest in the world, no longer works. The President has been elected by an overwhelming majority that even gave him both Chambers. Yet he is unable to impose his policy. The 40% opposition minority decides. Worse, one or two renegade senators use the 60 vote rule to hold their own party hostage. It was a sad picture of American Democracy. Result: a bad bill that sends the taxpayer's money to the coffers of Big Insurance, and Big Pharma. Obama yielded on single payer and assured us we would have "a public option" instead. Soon he abandonned that idea for a muddled "exchange". That idea disappeared fast and even its short lived opening of Medicare to 54 year olds did not last long. Now we are stuck with a compulsory assurance for all . The worst part is that Big Insurance invested only 396million dollars to buy our elected Senators. Their reward will be 47 million more customers subsidized by my taxes. I had not voted Obama for THAT!
I guess the US of A will remain stuck at 37th place out of 40 OECD countries. France, with its single payer system will not lose 1st place anytime soon. Sure it costs French taxpayers a lot. But far less than it costs US citizens in Insurance bills, and with the certainty nobody will lose his house to pay their hospital bill or will be denied care because of income level. The US is actually the only country where healthcare IS rationned .
I will take the "carte vitale" any day.

Hermann van Rompuy

The Europeans have finally made up their mind on a President and Secretary of State of Europe. After many years of wrangling, the Lisbon Treaty is finally the Constitution of Europe. Since it had to be ratified by all 27 member states, the states which voted No were made to revote until they voted yes. And who is the newly (selected) President of Europe? A certain Hermann van Rompuy. This Belgian politician has many qualities. He is totally unknown. He was voted Belgian PM because he represented the smallest common denominator. M. Sarkozy, Mrs Merkel and Mr Brown feared that a European President with a strong personnality might reduce them to the ranks of Governors of their respective ministates. So now, Europe is saddled with a leader who, if able to find compromises to unify all 27 members, will never rise to the level of an Obama, a Putin, or a Hu Jintao.
Once again, Europe has chosen the Europe of Nations, so dear to General De Gaulle, a very 19th Century idea, to the detriment of a Federal Europe, that could be on an equal footing with other large Federations.

Exit strategy?

According to General Mc Chrystal, we are losing the war in Afghanistan. By all measures, the Talibans are gaining ground, and, worse, they are also winning the famous hearts and minds. Why is it that in spite of so much investment in blood and treasure , NATO forces are losing? The average Afghan is aware that western public opinions are tired of the war. They see that when one soldier dies, the French president, the Canadian Premier or the British PM give them national funerals. Opposition parties are against the war , and, in the US, President Obama's very supporters are very vocal against the pursuit of our engagement. Apart from a few countries, NATO members only pay lip service to their commitment. Their public opinion should be reminded that they are in Afghanistan under artcle 5 of the NATO charter which mandates help to any member who is attacked. Certain memembers, like Germany, have loaded their presence with so much "caveats", that it is said that the Bundeswehr is drinking beer in the North while the Caanadians are being killed in the South. And, GIs are wont to quip that ISAF stands for:" ISaw Americans Fight".
Barack Obama is deliberating, without much input from NATO, whether to stay or turn tail. Most Afghans, seeing the long discussions and the reluctant allies, have concluded that it was better to be friends with the next masters, the Talibans, than with westerners who have a long history of turning tails. Afghani farmers make more money selling opium to the bad guys than to see their fields eradicated by NATO forces.
Mr. Obama will probably emerge from his reflexions with an order to send 40,000 more troops. How many will be from Europe? It will be a watershed for the alliance. If the US leave the battlefield to the Talibans , and Al Qaeda, it will be the death knell for NATO. US voters will quickly decide they are tired of ensuring Europe's safety . I am not sure European taxpayers are ready to increase their defense budget (the Pentagon budget is equal to the budget of all other member states combined)
The future of NATO and the defense future of Europe is at play.

Istanbul

After Pittsburgh, where our Leaders gave directions to come out of the economic crisis, their finance ministers and central bankers met in Turkey to see about their implementation. I tagged along. The good news is: we are coming out of the 1 year old crisis caused by greed and the previous Administration's complicity. The bad news is that, although we are in full recovery mode, it takes a while to come out of a deep well. TARP is working and so is Obama's stimulus package. Employment will follow suit as soon as consumers will come back from where they are hiding. No consumption = no production = no jobs.
So far, the biggest victim of the banking cum subprime crisis caused by our Wall Street geniuses and the accomodating SEC, is the US dollar.
As to Turkey, it was my 4th visit, and, although I did work at the Finance Conference, I had time to explore its maze of streets and warrens of hammams, Turkish baths, coffee houses, bazaars, souks, spice markets, harems, mosques etc.. I took a trip down the Bosphorus and up the Golden Horn. I re-visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi.
Upon my return, I was very happy to hear of president Obama's elevation to Nobel Peace Prize. What an honor for the United States. And shame on the fanatics who chose to criticize him for it, siding with no less than the Talibans, hamas and Ahmadinejad!
When I shook his hand in Pittsburgh, little did I know I was sahking the hand of a Nobel Peace Prize. Allah is Great!

Back to work.

After the splendid beaches of Florida and the no less spectacular sites of the San Francisco Bay Area, it is back to work for me. I am about to drive to Pittsburgh, PA. to work at the G 20 conference. The G 20 is a gathering of heads of State and Bank officials. It was put together by European leaders, afraid to see the China-US leadership leave them in the dust. In order for France to be relevant, President Sarkozy decided to add the "emergent countries" India, Brazil, South Africa, and a few other nations, whose future is supposed to be bright, but unfortunately, always in the future.
In the French media, all the talk is about how tough our little president is toward Tax Havens. Of course, that is only one of the minor topics at the G 20. far more important to overcome the crisis, is the coordinated stimulus packages that unfortunately are very unpopular in France. So while the French TV news are all about Sarko's victory and Obama's disappointing performance at the UN global warming conference today, the US media are totally obsessed with what is left of the Health reform. Not much. but , hey, I will access Medicare in a few years, and if worse comes to worse, there is always France's generous insurance for its citizens.

Anyway, I will be in Pittsburgh tomorrow and will attend the G 20 conference. It will be interesting to see who is on top.

August recess

So here we are. Obama was not forceful enough to pass his Health care reform before the August recess. Blinded by his vain quest to look for bipartisanship with a Republican party reduced to a rump of Confederates, he dropped the ball. Too bad. While Congressmen and Senators repair to their constituencies to hear the latest Rush Limbaugh decree or the new Hannity attack, the French are taking the whole month off. They are at the beach courtesy of their social system. Not only do all French citizens enjoy 6 weeks off, but their 35 hour week system adds another 4 weeks to the bargain. So don't bother to try any business transaction in August, Closed for the duration. While the average American is stuck in traffic going to a job from which he can be fired at any time, his french counterpart is on the beach. He got there with his subsidized High Speed Train (managed by the government). His wife may be in a spa resort, enjoying free 3 weeks water treatment in a hotel paid for bythe State. OOps, even the kids, who each add family allowance checks to their parents'income, are on free summer camps in the Alps, or perhaps are busy gearing up for their free college in the fall. All the while on the beach, mom and dad review their utility bill (subsidized electricity supplied by government run nuclear power plants). See you in the fall in New York dear Americans , because we will always have time for a week in New York during the November holidays.
All this and socialized medicine too.

Burqa

The American public can be forgiven for not keeping up with the rest of the world, what with the 4th of July, Ms. Palin's antics, or the ubiquitous Michael Jackson. But North Korea is acting up, our boys are dying in Afghanistan, and the French have won the arms market in Iraq. Talk about unfair!
Talking about the French, their President, Nicolas Sarkozy, decided to ban the burqa in France. His argument is that it represents the oppression of women by men. He could have added that it was also a sort of " in your face" gesture by young, freshly converted French girls. (Two French Congressmen from Alsace recently confided to be worried about the rate of conversions into Islam by their young formerly christian constituents).
Already, the wearing of the scarf is not allowed for women in public service. Rightly so, given the separation of church and state.
In Holland and Sweden, potential immigrants are shown a film depicting topless sunbathing and sex ed in schools. If anybody has any objection, they are not allowed to immigrate.
Besides, when shorts and mini skirts are allowed in Riyad or Tehran, the law might be reviewed.

Single payer

One of Mr Obama's most awaited electoral promise was to fix health care.
Not quite one month after his election, I attended a pharma conference, hosted by Billy Tauzin and Trent Lott. In that room were the largest drug companies as well as some of the best private insurances. The theme of the day was to explore the first steps to block the president's reform.

Without any shame, Republican politicians are trying to block Single Payer solutions under the pretext of "socialism". In fact, these politicians are paid by lobbyists from the health industry, drug companies, private insurances and the AMA to prevent any reduction on their huge profits.
In the US, health care is vastly more costly than in Europe and far less people are covered. Infant mortality is greater in the US. As to quality, patients receive the best care in countries like France (voted best health care in the world by WHO for the 7th year running).
Adversaries of Single payer always mention Britain or Canada to scare voters. You never hear them explain the continental system (Germany, Belgium, France, Holland or Scandinavia). There, the Public System insurance covers care, hospital care, dental, eyes, ambulance, drugs, spa treatment etc. Non citizens and non employed are covered by CMU , Universal Mutual Coverage. Better even, Europeans enjoy this coverage any where in the world.
You can choose your own physician , your own hospital, and doctors earn every bit as much as their US counterparts.
So, Americans are lied to by a group of professionals trying to preserve their profit at the expense of their health. Worse, 47 million Americans do not enjoy any care at all, and those who pay their premium can be denied payment. And they tell you Single Payer would put the Government between you and your health, whereas the current sysytem puts the shareholder between you and your health.
Is single payer too costly? Imagine the savings if you could get rid of drug ads, insurance ads, insurance profits, lobbyists bribes etc. Besides, imagine the bargaining power of Single Payer facing drug manufacturers. And do not think it would kill research. Some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world are in Europe: Novartis (which just found the vaccine against H1N1), Ciba-Geigy, Glaxo Wellcome etc..

So why is Obama backing off Single Payer? Why , after sacrificing many policies in order to win Health Care, is he even taking the so-called Public Plan off the table?
I think we should all write our Congressman in favor of Single Payer.

The Third Way

President Obama is finding that he has to adapt to reality. He put an end to his lofty rethoric and is now facing tougher realities. If he wants to achieve his main goals, fixing health care, education and the energy, and perhaps go back to Congress for a second Stimulus Package, he must please his opposition. And he is more than ready to oblige: Already he has announced that the war criminals who ordered, condoned or practiced torture, hmmm, "harsh treatment", will not be accountable. For Education, he will not change NCLB which was a major coup against teachers unions from the Right. In terms of Health Care, he will keep a market based system, although shareholder profits, execs bonuses and advertising add tremendously to the cost and will not help the 50 million without any insurance. For Energy, he condemns US carmakers to building clown cars that nobody will want and that they have never been able to build (Pinto, Pacer, or Chevette anybody?)

Obama's strategy is called the Third Way. It was attempted by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair and resulted in failure for both. Barack Obama was elected by an electrified electorate who wanted to run the Vulcans and the Wall Street bandits out of town , tarred and feathered. They wanted to finally enjoy a single payer, universal health care system and guaranteed pension rights, like the rest of the advanced countries. Instead, the new president, has decided to sacrifice most of these aspirations by navigating a middle way. Is he pleasing his opposition? "NO" as they themselves keep telling him. Is he disappointing his base? Yes.
Dick Cheney's virtual immunity, Big Pharma secure profits, Detroit forced to import wound up cars from China rather than to keep jobs (Obama wants to retrain them for green jobs...... gardening?), Goldman Sachs at Treasury, thousands more troops to Afghanistan, and Military Commissions reinstated, all that does not pass the smell test.

Anyway, all this will be quickly forgotten when Israel bombs Iranian nuclear centers and our friend Kim Jong Il prepares more of his firework.

The "Barbarians"

In February 2006, a gang of 27 young French "barbarians" kidnapped a 26 year old Jewish student, Ilan Halimi, near Paris, and after torturing him for several days in an appartment, murdered him. The cause of this rampage? The leader of the gang, Youssouf Fofana, a young French Moslem of African origin, wanted to avenge the killing of palestinian kids he saw every night on French television. Today Fofana went on trial. He entered the court insulting the judges, and the public and yelling Alahu Akbar, Allah is great!
The French are right when they say that the Israeli-palestinian conflict is a domestic problem for them. Most French media is biased against Israel and readily displays the "crimes" of the Israeli military in Gaza and West bank. For the young, mostly unemployed young French moslems, parked in soulless high rises in grey suburbs, the constant viewing of dead Palestinians on French, Algerian, Morroccan or AlJazeera TV (they all have satellite dishes) acts as a red rag on a bull. Seen from the US one could think that it is a resurgence of French anti-semitism . Far from me to say his scourge has fully disappeared, but in this case it is wrong. True, the murderers are French nationals. But they are also second generation of an immigration that has never adapted. They are moslem first and last. Worse, they have scapegoated the French Jewish population (second largest in the world) for what they perceive as prsecution of Islam.
The Middle-East conflict has entered our courts. But France knew it had a problem, when, several years ago, at the opening of a soccer game that opposed Algeria to France, the young French-Moslems booed the French national anthem.
Fofana's gang of the barbarians is only the beginning.

French Response to Piracy

Much has been written recently about Captain Philips 'ordeal at the hands of Somali pirates. He is a true hero and owes his life to the Seals. Many Americans wonder aloud why the international community does not give them a hand. It is all due to the lack of interest by US media in what is going on outside the US. The world has reacted last year by creating a Task Force made up of Chinese, Russian, NTO and US warship that patrol the straits of Aden and the coast of Puntland in Somalia. The French have intervened several times. They attacked the pirates who captured the Ponant, a leisure ship, and pursued the pirates way into the desert. They captured 15 of them now waiting in a French jail for their trial. Last week, the same French Commando attacked the pirates who had taken the Tanit and killed all 5 pirates.
The problem is that Somalia is without a government. The entire population, made up of tribes and clans is engaged in piracy in order to profit from ransoms of goods and humans hostages. Luxury SUV dealers have a brisk trade on the coast.
Unless the combined force of western powers intervenes to destroy the pirates'infrastructures, lookouts, motherships, communication network and safe havens, the situation will get worse.

Medellin

I spent last week in Medellin, Colombia. A former stronghold of narco traffickers, Medellin is now a charming city in a spectacular mountain setting, where you can take the "Pablo Escobar tour". I was very impressed by the politeness, friendliness and education level of the Colombians. The rapid transit in the city make it a model for other emerging nations. A "metro-cable" has been built in order to help the poor in the favellas come down the muntains to work in town.
President Uribe managed to get rid of most narcos and reduce the strength of the FARCS. Actually, his success could inspire the US effort in Afghanistan.....
Besides president Uribe, I attended interesting conferences with such participants as Tim Geithner and president Clinton.

Guantanamo

President Obama has promised to close Guantanamo before the end of the year. His administration is under pressure to find a home for the 450 inmates remaining in this little carribean paradise. A real paradise, these are the words used by an inmate recently relocated in Britain when he compared the camp to his previous experience, a stay at the "black hole" camp in Kabul. There , according to an interview on the BBC, he spent 6 months in total darkness on a dirt floor, with constant loud music..... the same rock record for months on end.
Of course, in Guantanamo he was made to sign a confession under torture, and lived in conditions unworthy of a human being. Guantanamo probably caused more harm to the US than several divisions of jihadists, not to mention the trashing of the American model of democracy, so needed by the rest of the world.
What to do with the soon to be former inmates? The Administration has created a Task Force, in charge of reviewing each case. Many are innocent, sold by their brothers to US forces for a reward. Others cannot be sent home for fear of a terrible fate. A few will land in the US, either to be judged or freed.
The European Union has sent a high Level delegation to Washington to negotiate the intake of the rest of them. Problem: some EU member states refuse to have anything to do with them. Some agree to take a few, but want the US to apologize for its behavior. And some accept to welcome some of the lost jihadists only if they can negotiate a bilateral agreement.
Europe now has the "Shengen Area", a system that allows the citizens of its member states to travel , settle and work freely in any country. Borders have been abolished. So if a former Guantanamo guest were to be sent to Portugal, he could decide to move or stay anywhere within the zone.
After so many fervent prayers, vigils and demonstrations against the existence of this infamous camp, it seems now that it will be even harder to close it down.

Child soldiers

I just attended a DDR conference. It stands for Disarmement, Demobilisation and Reintegration. The World Bank, and a few NGOs are spending millions of dollars in post-conflict countries, one of the saddest and most enduring consequences of these endless conflicts is the enrolling of thousands of children. Kids know no fear of death and, once coerced, can be very cruel. Besides, the devastation caused on the continent by HIV-AIDS, is leaving behind millions of orphans. Meet the "orphan generation" of Africans. Little boys used as child-soldiers to amputate and mutilate civilians, usec to settle accounts with AK-47, and little girls used as camp whores.
DDR operations aim at reinserting these children in the village, to live side by side with their former victims.
What do you do with millions of kids who grew up to hate maim and kill, without any morals nor exemple? How much money and for how long will be necessary to give them a place in society?

And what are we to think of the thousands of palestinian children, goose-stepping in full regalia and touting so proudly their Kalashnikovs? Prepare some demobilisation.

French Universities

French universities are on strike. Between school breaks and strike days, most French students have not spent much time in their respective colleges. What else is new? The French, who invented parliamentary democracy thanks to the philosophers of the Enlightenment, prefer mob rule. The longer the strike, and the more annoyance to their fellow citizens, the greater the reward from the Central Government who always fears being toppled in this traditionally unruly nation.

In France, going to college is an entitlement. It is free of charge. Most students who attend high school can go to college since socialist governments in the past have so watered down the famous baccalaureate, that 85% pass. The result is that millions of students crowd the halls of hopelessly ill=maintained buildings. Their campuses have nothing to do with their American counterparts and attendance is not compulsory. Being a college student in France entitles you to a transit discount, and subsidized room and board. In June you have to show up for tests.....it is sometimes a rude awakening. Over half the freshmen fail.

France also has elite "Grandes Ecoles" , polytechnique, ENA, Normale Superieure, where admission is on a strict competition basis and where most government leaders are issued. There are very few private schools, the Metz based Geaorgia Tech being a rare example.

The reason for the strike this time, is president Sarkozy's proposal to give French Universities a small part of independence from the Central Government. The professors fear losing the statute of civil servants. The students are ideologically opposed to any collaboration between business, research, and studies.

Who will win? Two guesses and the last one doesn't count.

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe and Martinique are two French islands in the West Indies. They are not considered as colonies, nor as Territories. No, these two tropical paradises are administered as "departments" that is to say as part and parcel of France.
In order to compensate for the distance that separates them from the mainland, these two islands, on top of having the euro as currency and being part of the EU, receive every year billions of euros in subsidies from the French government.
But nowadays, with the world economic crisis, tourism is down and the only production, expensive bananas loaded with EU taxes, cannot compete with the cheaper "dollar bananas" from Central America.
The islanders have turned to violent demonstrations. Their complaints go from asking for more subsidies, of course, to independance. Mr. Besancenot, the young French leader of the newly minted "PAC" or Anti-Capitalist Party is visiting, trying to pour his brand of snake oil on the fire.
Perhaps these two islands would be better off independant. Although judging from the economies of its neighbors one could doubt it.
In any case, independance would mean great savings for the average French taxpayer.
As Levi-Strauss said: Tristes Tropiques!

France returns to NATO

France had never left NATO. It is actually a founding Member State. In 1966, General De Gaulle, president of France, decided to leave the integrated military command of NATO. He also ordered all NATO troops out of French territory. Since then, NATO headquarters moved from Paris to Brussels, and SHAPE moved to Mons, Belgium. De Gaulle's reasons were a mix of hurt pride (he had to ask for asylum and help from his British and US allies during WWII), and ambition.France had asked Eisenhower for the A=Bomb in 1954 to help win the Indochina war. Ike refused. France invaded the nationalized Suez canal along with Britain and Israel in 1956, only to be abandoned by the US. De Gaulle thought France could regain its pre-war prestige by playing the role of neutral referee between East and West (Pnohm-Pehn) speech. Later, after the Soviet Union collapsed,it was revealed that the Soviets had penetrated De Gaulle's entourage and celebrated his leaving NATO with champagne and a medal to one of their chief spy.

Ever since 1966, both French and US military enjoyed good relations, took part in joint maneuvers. Under president Mitterrand relations soured during the war in Bosnia when the French favored the Serb side.
On SEP.11 2001, France adopted article 5, invoked by NATO when one member state is attacked. French troops are deployed in several African countries, in Afghanistan, in Kosovo, Bosnia, and on bases in the Pacific.
On April 3rd, President Obama will go to Strasbourg and Kehl across the Rhine for a NATO meeting. He will be told officially of the return of France into the integrated military command.

Thelma

They are trying a new "Thelma" on Barack Obama. You will remember how Hillary Clinton's timid plan to overhaul health care was derailed by repeated ads where a fictitious Thelma was sounding dire warnings about universal single payer health care.
Big Pharma stands to lose a lot if ever this plan sees the light of day. I attended a conference in November, shortly after Obama's election. It was attended by most CEOs of big pharmaceutical companies, but also by politicians turned lobbyists. All swore to defeat Universal Single payer Health care. It is a simple choice of money used to care for sick Americans or for the pockets of Pharma shareholders. To scare off the American Public, they sound lies such as:Government healthcare is inefficient and expensive. The US health system is the Most inefficient and the Most expensive in the OECD. The US has a shorter life expectancy and a higher infant mortality rate than the OECD average.If the UK NHS system has a few problems, at least ALL citizens are covered. And all but elective services are performed without delay. As to the Belgian, German, French, Swiss, Scandinavian systems, not only they cover ALL citizens,they provide child care, maternity and paternity leave, and managed to be at the head of many medical breakthroughs. See the many Nobel prizes obtained by French doctors. You wonder why the American people never hears about THESE systems of Single Payer Universal Health Care!
I do not know about other examples, but I can confirm that everything Michael Moore said about the French system is true. Why? I used it and it saved my life free of charge.
So now, the headlines about Tom Daschle not paying his 123,000$ in taxes make more sense. What is that sum in regard to the cost of Health care, compare it to the 18 billions Wall Street CEOs gave themselves in bonuses from the bailout money, and compare it to the lives lost by an inefficient greedy , dysfunctional present health care. It is but the first salvo of Big Pharma.

Allied Help

Barack Obama is at least as revered in Europe as he is at home. Scared and disappointed by an America they no longer recognized, most Europeans are happy to see GWB go, with his war of choice, his torture and his renditions. In Barack Obama, they see the America they always admired and and needed. A generous, powerful and well intentioned ally. What they do not expect, is that Prrsident Obama is going to pay them a visit asking for more forces in Afghanistan. They will not take it well for many reasons. First, WWII is still present in European memories. Wars are anathema. Second, this entail a constant choice of butter over guns: military budgets over all are small and shrinking in Europe. They are also highly unpopular among voters. All the more in times of recession, if not pre-depression.
Finally a country like France, already contributes thousands of troops in Africa (Chad, Central African Republic, of the coast of Somalia, Djibouti, Ivory Coast Senegal, Mali, etc) in the pacific area and both with Euofor in Darfur and with the UN in Lebanon. This list does not take into account the troops deployed in Afghanistan nor the Air wing deployed in Kazhakstan.
It is unlikely that the Europeans will accede to president Obama wishes, in spite of their admiration for him.

European Des-Union

I am just back from Europe where watching the news is a national sport. But the European media are so biased in favor of the palestinians that the conflict in Gaza sounds like it is on a different planet. Huge crowds, riled by biased news, demonstrate in the streets of European capitals to condemn the country attacked by iranian missiles (Israel), and to praise the terrorist organization doing it (Hamas). On French media, there is another twist: French President Sarkozy, whose presidency of the EU just came to an end, still behaves as if he was still EU chair and tours the Middle East trying to help the Hamas. He was very contemptuous of the Czech president, the new EU chair, and incidentally pro american.
Mr. Sarkozy should show his talent with the Russians.Prime Minister Putin has decided to show some muscle and turned off the gas pipeline supply to the Ukraine and, accessorily, Western Europe. The EU, is split. On one side the new member ststes, whic, having spent 70 years in the clutches of the bear have very limited trust and a lon memory. On the other side, western Europe, totally dependent on Mr. Putin's gas and wanting to make nice.
The EU's new friends: Hamas and Russia. Happy 2009.