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Post by jdredd on Mar 20, 2011 1:52:46 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-sarkozy-20110320,0,1429282.story "Reporting from Paris— With his popularity at a record low and facing an election next year, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in desperate need of a boost to his political stature. And on Saturday, he got it. The French leader, once dubbed Super Sarko by the local press for his eagerness to take the reins in global crises, summoned leaders from four continents to an emergency war council at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris to agree on military action against strongman Moammar Kadafi in Libya." Hey, works for me. If a scumbag takes out an even scummier bag, I will count my blessings.
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Post by jdredd on Jun 11, 2011 14:50:45 GMT -5
www.economist.com/node/18805327"And if Mr Berlusconi’s successors are as negligent as he is? The euro crisis is forcing Greece, Portugal and Spain to push through huge reforms in the teeth of popular protest. In the short term, this will hurt; in the long term, it should give the peripheral economies new zip. Some are also likely to cut their debt burden by restructuring. An unreformed and stagnant Italy, with a public debt stuck at over 120% of GDP, would then find itself exposed as the biggest backmarker in the euro. The culprit? Mr Berlusconi, who will no doubt be smiling still."
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Post by jdredd on Sept 28, 2011 2:36:51 GMT -5
www.economist.com/node/21530134"SILVIO BERLUSCONI and his coalition ally, Umberto Bossi, look increasingly like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the last scene of the 1969 Western: wounded, doomed, yet seemingly unaware of the sheer numbers ranged against them. Already rocked by thousands of pages of evidence detailing his alleged whoremongering, Italy’s prime minister took a more serious hit on September 20th when Standard & Poor’s, a ratings agency, downgraded Italy and expressed grave doubts about the government’s ability to respond effectively to the crisis in the euro zone. Such views are widely shared in Italy. Most Italians seem to have realised that their prime minister is a liability. His approval rating has slumped below 25%. He lost the unions a long time ago; now employers have lost faith in his right-wing government’s handling of the economy." About time the Italians sent this dirtbag into the sunset...
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Post by jdredd on Nov 6, 2011 21:01:48 GMT -5
money.cnn.com/2011/11/06/news/international/greece_papandreou_resign.cnnw/index.htm?iid=Popular"ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will step down as his government's leader, the country's president announced Sunday night -- agreeing to do so on the condition that the controversial €130 billion euro bailout deal is approved. The announcement comes after Papandreou met with Antonis Samaras, the head of the New Democracy party, Greece's leading opposition party." Say goodbye to one socialist sell-out...
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Post by jdredd on Nov 7, 2011 14:26:53 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15618719"Italy's prime minister has dismissed rumours that he was about to step down as interest rates on government debt have jumped. Silvio Berlusconi, who faces a crucial vote on Tuesday, said the reports were "unfounded". Sure be great if Papandreou and Berlusconi were both "retired" in the same week...
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Post by jdredd on Nov 8, 2011 11:14:19 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15635476"French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" in remarks to US President Barack Obama overheard by journalists. "I can't stand him any more, he's a liar," Mr Sarkozy said in French. "You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day," Mr Obama replied."
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Post by jdredd on Nov 8, 2011 16:33:19 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15646536"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed he intends to resign after key economic reforms have been approved. His announcement follows a vote in parliament on the budget in which he appeared to lose his majority. Both allies and opponents have been urging Mr Berlusconi to step down as Italy's debt crisis grows." Arrivederci, Silvio. Don't let the door slam you on your ass on the way out, you billionaire dirtbag...
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Post by jdredd on Nov 9, 2011 20:49:59 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15629283"Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has signalled that his days in power are coming to an end. Despite repeated gaffes and scandals, he won three elections and set a postwar record for the length of his premiership. The BBC's David Willey, who has covered Italian politics for four decades, asks how he did it." "Berlusconi also benefited from the radical transformation taking place in politics throughout the West, and not only in Italy. During the period of consolidation of Berlusconi's wealth in the 1980s and his subsequent entry into the national political arena in the early 1990s, the nature of politics changed, becoming less ideological. Berlusconi's regular message was that he, like the defunct Christian Democratic party, was a dike against Communism, but what mattered more to the public was not only that he had a beautiful wife (and, notoriously, other beautiful women as well), but that he owned a soccer team, AC Milan." I'd have to say Italy is getting what it deserved...
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Post by jdredd on Jan 7, 2012 23:04:05 GMT -5
www.economist.com/node/21542422"Hungary and Brussels are locked in a stand-off over a new law that the European Commission believes opens the door to political control of the central bank, which is forbidden under the EU treaties. Another bone of contention is a set of fiscal laws that enshrine a flat personal income-tax rate and cap public debt, thus reducing the ability of future governments to raise revenue. These laws were passed at the end of last month, despite requests to reconsider from, among others, the EU, the IMF, the European Central Bank and the United States." "When Fidesz took office in May 2010 it inherited a mess from its Socialist predecessors. Eight years of left-wing rule had seen corruption soar as the political elite used its contacts to enrich itself. The eastern half of the country was left to rot, opening the door to Jobbik, a far-right nationalist party that some opinion polls now place second behind Fidesz." A conservative government runs into trouble with the EU...and us.
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Post by Tired in CV on Jan 8, 2012 3:29:33 GMT -5
The actions by the Fidesz sounds like Obama taking office! But seriously, it seems like they took a strong approach to combat years of socialist embezzlement and corruption. Who to trust is a real problem until they can turn things around. Just the same, even a conservative government can overpower the people if they don't follow their constitution. Just like Obama is trashing ours! Hopefully the Fidesz can work things out soon because it will likely be worse if the far-right nationalist party, Jobbik, gains power. Considering, the Fidesz haven't even been in power a full year yet. As for the comment about not being able to raise additional revenue with a fixed tax is incorrect. This is a position held by the Democrats through because the answer is not to their liking. When the people are on a fixed tax to the government, the government can raise revenue by passing regulations that help businesses grow not strangle them. Regulations that help keep companies in country and not move overseas also improves jobs as well as increasing their revenue instead of putting people on public assistance AND losing tax revenue from the loss of companies to overseas. This is why the Democrats fight so hard to keep away from a fixed tax base. If we did have a fixed tax base, the Democrats would constantly try to raise it to cover their excessive spending!
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Post by jdredd on Jan 31, 2012 0:38:45 GMT -5
www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2012/01/world-economic-forum"TOP celebrity at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos was Sir Mick Jagger, front-man of the Rolling Stones (and longtime Economist reader). At his various appearances in the Swiss Alpine resort, he asked questions, joked, briefly shook his legendary hips, but refused to sing. Had he done so, here are a few tunes from his back catalogue that would have captured the mood."
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Post by porkbelly on Jan 31, 2012 21:50:54 GMT -5
Obummer is euroTRASH
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Post by jdredd on Apr 9, 2012 20:49:58 GMT -5
www.economist.com/node/21552246"NOT a single poll suggests he will win France’s upcoming presidential election. But Nicolas Sarkozy, the incumbent president, hardly looks like a man contemplating defeat. By turns punchy and humorous, he sweeps into a meeting with workers at a solar-energy plant in eastern France, lauding the country’s industrial prowess while surrounded by workers in hard hats. Later, to cheers from a flag-waving crowd at a rally in Nancy, he declares that he is “fighting morning, noon and night” for France, and that “in my vocabulary, the term ‘surrender’ does not exist.” "Three months ago, polls for the two-round election, on April 22nd and May 6th, suggested that even Mr Sarkozy’s place in the second-round run-off could be at risk: Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front candidate, was snapping at his heels. And François Hollande, the Socialist challenger, enjoyed a handsome first-round poll lead, riding a wave of anti-sarkozysme and a popular desire for change after 17 years of right-wing presidents."
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Post by jdredd on Apr 23, 2012 21:02:53 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17814785"French President Nicolas Sarkozy is wooing far-right voters after losing narrowly to his Socialist rival in the presidential election's first round." "Francois Hollande came top with 28.6% and Mr Sarkozy got 27.1% - the first time a sitting president has lost in the first round. Third-place Marine Le Pen took the largest share of the vote her far-right National Front has ever won, with 18%." "The BBC's Europe editor Gavin Hewitt says the result revealed a dissatisfaction and restlessness in France, creating political volatility. The elites are despised, the economic future is feared and there is insecurity, he says."
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Post by jdredd on May 4, 2012 1:09:13 GMT -5
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17947929"Nicholas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande are set for their final day of campaigning before Sunday's presidential run-off vote in France. The most recent polls show Mr Hollande leading by about 6%. President Sarkozy has been slowly gaining on his rival in recent days, and said on Thursday that a French election had never been so "undecided". I love weekend elections. Usually weekends are thin on news. Will Sarko pull it out at the last minute?
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