Is Barack Obama Already President?

Barack Obama has now finished his grand tour of Europe and the Near East.

Thank God for that, because seeing and reading of it has really made me want to spew.

Was it really necessary for him to continue his vote catching in Europe, or suck up to the Israeli’s to get the Jewish vote back home.

He acts and talks as though he his already President of the United States, but he has a long way to go before he is a Statesman.

President or not,the European ones certainly rolled out the red carpet for him. But then we all know practical politics consists of ignoring facts, and the only one in my humble opinion who didn’t suck up to him was Angela Merkel who wouldn’t give him permission to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.

Who does he think he is, JFK already.

Whatever and whoever Barack Obama is, he is certainly prestigious,but whether this can be based on achievement,or character we have yet to see.

He should perhaps remember a proverb from the Bible;

“Pride goes before destruction,and a haughty spirit before a fall”

A Scandal at Last

How nice that it doesn’t always just happen to the others.

In this little country where nothing ever happens worth bothering about, we now have a really juicy scandal.

Not that it can match some other countries that I won’t name here, but for us it is a bit of an earthquake. Luckily most people are on holiday,so it might have all calmed down before they return,and if they didn’t find a Swiss newspaper they might not even know about it.

Fact is, the media found a story to liven up the Summer for the people who have stayed at home.

The recently appointed, Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces apparently isn’t so Persil White, as our Defense Minister made it appear as he proposed him to the rest of the Cabinet for the position.

In fact he had a law suite on his hands for so called “Domestic Violence” after his partner wanted to end the affair. He was also accused of stalking,and advertising her with photo, for sex services in several newspapers and Internet sites.

It was settled out of court for a certain sum.

Our Defense Minister hasn’t resigned, but has suspended the Brigadier General until the 20th of August in which time he can try and prove his innocence.

In doubt for the Accused.

Certainly a feast for the “away with the military ” brigade.

Happy 90th Birthday Nelson Mandela

My Happy Birthday wishes to a great man.

Is China Attacking Us?

German author,Political Scientist, and China expert,Wolfgang Hirn isn’t sure that China deserves the miserable reputation that it has in the west.

His two books “The Chinese Challenge” (Herausforderung China) and “Asian Attack” (Angriff aus Asien),published by Fischer, make interesting reading.

China is gigantic,China is suspiciously, “foreign”,and then there are all these 1.3 Billion people.

China will become,next to the USA the second superpower in the world and that makes us all somewhat frightened.

But didn’t we encourage it all for our gain?

Environmental pollution in China is immense,and the Chinese are eating more and more meat.But can we condemn them for that? Shouldn’t we be pleased that for the people there things are beginning to look better?

China has at least managed to free 400 million people from deepest poverty. What they are doing is legitimate. The West challenged China to at last participate in world trade. Now they are certainly doing this ,following the rules of globalisation and we must live with the consequences.

We had hoped that human rights and democracy might follow, after the theory that an affluent society brings the wish of complete freedom for all. In South Korea and Taiwan it worked.

It hasn’t worked in China yet, because the middle class is not big enough, and interestingly this section of the people, which one might have thought were all for political freedom is not in the least interested in it,because then, they would be completely in the minority and 700 to 800 million peasants would have their say.

Up until now their  authoritative system has worked for developing China,and many a western manager enthuses over it.

In China Peking decides, and at least at this stage it is probably the only way to get anything done. Other countries with a democratic system take years deciding on anything because every ones interests must be taken into consideration.

By 2012, ninety seven new airports will be built in China-and they will be built.Whether the environmentalists agree or not.

That is why China has managed better to get more people out of poverty as the democratic India has.

Maybe come time, come change, and we should admire them for what they have achieved.

Food or Fuel?

Last year approximately 100,000 tons of grain was used to make biological fueI.
I love the colour green, but I love a fresh loaf of bread more.

1 Swiss Frank per day, per person.

Worldwide at least a billion people must live on this amount. That hardly pays for basic food.

The price for grain is exploding because it is being used for bio fuel.

The price of rice rose by 75% in the last two monthes. The price of corn rose over the last twelve monthes by 120%. One of the causes being merchant speculation.

It takes 200 kilo of corn to manufacture enough Ethanol to fill a 95 Liter tank. With this amount of corn a person could feed themselves for a year.

2102 Million tones of grain was harvested in the world in 2007. Half of it was used for animal food and biological fuel.

Work the rest of it out for yourselves.

Can we let this go on?

Carla Del Ponte And Other Outspoken Women

For such a small country Switzerland certainly has a knack at getting themselves into trouble.
Or maybe I should say our women do.

Only last month our Foreign Ministerin,Micheline Calmy-Rey,took a trip to Iran,donned a head scarf and shook hands on a deal with their President to supply us in future with enough natural gas to keep us warm in Winter. Just in case the Russians play around with their tap,she said.
The Swiss didn’t like the head scarf,and the USA and Israel didn’t like the deal.
“When in Rome” she said about the scarf.
It seems now we weren’t the only country to do business with the Iranians,but at least she did it openly and with charm.

Carla Del Ponte is at the moment Swiss Ambassadress to the Argentine.
It won’t be for long, if a lot of men in our Parliament have their way.
She opened her mouth to wide,not at all the done thing in the Diplomatic Corps, she even wrote it down and believe it or not published it.

In case you have not heard of her before,Carla Del Ponte was the Chief Prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal for Ex-Yugoslavia in Den Haag. Netherlands.
She saw and heard of unbelievable atrocities towards mankind during the the civil war.
But there was no atonement.The war criminals are still there.

It must have been impossible for her to come to terms with it all. She has now written a book.
“The Hunt. I and the War Criminals.
She was forbidden by the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs to attend the presentation of her book,

A delicate diplomatic situation,especially as she among other things, accused the Kosovo Rebel Army UCK (members of which are now leading Kosovo) of trading with the organs of people in their hands.
and found the cooperation of Serbia and Kroatia with the Tribunal after the war insufficient.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is calling for her resignation.

Is it just that women allow their emotions to run away with them,that sometimes their hearts rule their heads.
Or is it that women are less afraid then men to say what they think.
Maybe they are just more honest.

If I were an American Citizen I think Hillary Clinton would get my vote.

Should we Boycott the Chinese Olympics?

59% of the people who were asked this question in Switzerland last week said yes. It won’t help of course.It wouldn’t help if most of the world said yes. The only thing that would help is that the athletes themselves refused to take part. But they are not going to do that,because it is all a matter of gain. Advantage, whether it is personal merit, or business profit. Human suffering, is just something that gets in the way. They knew it would. And they still chose China.

Carla Bruni- Sarkozy and Her President in England.

A State Visit to England always entails a lot of work when it comes to getting the brass polished, but what was shown yesterday for the visit of President Sarkozy of France and his new wife,- more well known for nude portraits, seemed to me as a Brit, and despite everything a Royalist, a little over the top.

Not that I have anything against La Grande Nation.Not more than the average Brit. We just seem to have been at loggerheads with them for the last thousand years.

Luckily after William the Conqueror we always came out on top, and I can’t help thinking that was what the message was about yesterday.
Up until now Nicolas Sarkozy hasn’t had too many admirers. Angela doesn’t care for him, and I don’t think even George was flattered by his dripping charm.

HRH The Prince of Wales showed that even an Englishman could outdo him,when it came to hand kissing.

HRH The Prince Phillip,seemed to really win over Madame Bruni- Sarkozy, but then he always had a way with women,and doesn’t seem to have lost it even at his age.

HM The Queen got out the Golden Coach,and put on so many jewels of immense worth that her head and neck must really ache today.

Even the great hall at Windsor Castle was used as dinner venue-everyone has Palaces.

“I have the ambition to work hand in hand with the English” President Sarkozy told us.

Does he indeed.

I don’t think Gordan Brown will be bowled over.

The Royal Family probably have not amused themselves so much in a long time.

And the crowds only came to look at Carla.

The President certainly has one thing the others haven’t

Kosovo Declares It’s Independence

For a Sunday the Bahnhofstrasse was surprisingly busy this afternoon.

The weather was cold, but sunny so we thought everyone was out taking advantage of the Spring like day.

We heared the tooting of car horns and at first thought it was coming from supporters of a football derby being played in the Hardturm,but then as we reached the first crossroad we saw that this was something rather different.

Passengers of cars were hanging red and black flags out of the windows while the drivers seemed to have their hand continually on the horns causing an almost deafening noise.

The peaceful Sunday afternoon in the city was over.

It’s Kosovo I said.They have declared their independence whether Vladimir Putin likes it or not.

Kosovo and Serbia have been fighting against each other for the last 800 years. They endured many aggressors,and took on the faith of the Ottoman Empire. They are still fighting the Serbs in the north of their country but the tables have been turned.
After the last war the estimated loss of lives in Kosovo was 12,000.

In August 2000 the International Criminal Tribunal exhumed 2,788 bodies from mass graves. 3368 civilians have never been been found.

Many of the refugees came to Switzerland, it is said a third of the male population looked for work in Switzerland and Germany. We harboured their shadow Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi too, and much of the work and funding of the Kosovo Liberation Army came from exiles here.

From today they are on their own. Judging by the cars flying the Albanian flag ” they made it here,” the ones I saw were all big and shiny. One of the reasons maybe why they aren’t particularly liked. The average Swiss can’t afford that kind of car,to say nothing of the average refugee.

The question is what will happen in the Balkans now , and will the Kosovo Albanians leave their good life here and go back to Pristina where they are needed.

Sharia shire in England

Although I do sometimes get homesick for England but I think I would probably go mad if I lived there.

It was bad enough that England decided they needed an Italian to show them how to play football, but now the Archbishop of Canterbury, of all people rants on about how we should accept the idea that the Muslim communities are allowed their Sharia Courts of Justice. His Grace is truly well read of course and knew that there were several different types of Sharia Courts. Although he didn’t say so I’m sure he didn’t mean the acceptance of the Sharia criminal courts. The media and other people could see them hacking hands off up on Tower Hill if it were allowed, and the shouting began.
So England is the home of the Magna Carta,and Habeas Corpus, and the people wanting the Sharia mostly have British citizenship but I can’t help thinking all this takes the proverbial cake.

Over the last years British traditions have had to be put aside so as not to hurt or affront the mimosa like dispositions of people from other cultures who chose and are allowed to live in our country.

Has no one heard of the saying “When in Rome do as the Romans do”

I know the Middle East and you certainly better do it there.

If people cannot except the law, customs and traditions of a country why don’t they just pack up and go to one that meets their cultural needs. I don’t think the UK sent anyone a written invitation to stay.

The Archbishop of Canterbury was probably last in trouble in England during the reign of King Henry II. I wonder what this ones fate will be?