CYCLING WEATHER
The best cycling weather is probably hot and dry; you do exercise and get a tan at the same time (well, on bits of your body; you can end up looking like a Neapolitan ice cream, coloured at the extremes and white in the middle).
Or, as it was today, cold and misty. That's because in both cases, there is unlikely to be a lot of wind, which is what really matters.
Today I did 45km in the mist. It was terrific.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Monday 28 November 2011
U.K. HOUSING POLICY (2)
In my earlier post, I pointed out that the already crowded U.K. is likely to get even more so during the course of the next 40 years, as it becomes the most populous country in Europe.
The 2010 figures for net migration demonstrate clearly why this will be so. Immigration remained stable at 591,000, but there was a slight fall in the number of people emigrating. So net migration (the crucial figure for population, and so housing) rose to 252,000, the highest figure on record.
The Government has promised to bring this figure down to the tens of thousands by 2015, but it is difficult to see how. Expect this issue to rise up the political agenda during the remaining life of this Parliament, as the shortage of affordable housing becomes worse.
Walter Blotscher
In my earlier post, I pointed out that the already crowded U.K. is likely to get even more so during the course of the next 40 years, as it becomes the most populous country in Europe.
The 2010 figures for net migration demonstrate clearly why this will be so. Immigration remained stable at 591,000, but there was a slight fall in the number of people emigrating. So net migration (the crucial figure for population, and so housing) rose to 252,000, the highest figure on record.
The Government has promised to bring this figure down to the tens of thousands by 2015, but it is difficult to see how. Expect this issue to rise up the political agenda during the remaining life of this Parliament, as the shortage of affordable housing becomes worse.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 27 November 2011
ROGER FEDERER (2)
The Fedster is back. Tonight, playing in his 100th tour final, he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets to win his 70th career title. More importantly, it was the ATP World Tour Finals, only open to the best eight players in the world over the course of the year; and it was his sixth victory in the event, moving him ahead of Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl on the all-time list.
There was much to celebrate. Winning such a prestigious tournament at the relatively old age of 30, to make an end-of-year tally of three tournament victories in a row; defending the title he won last year; going through the tournament undefeated; and beating, both in the round robin stages and the final, Tsonga, a player who can beat anyone in the world on his day (as Federer himself learned to his cost at this year's Wimbledon).
However, the most satisfying aspect is probably the fact that all three of his main rivals - Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - were suffering from niggling injuries and failed to make the semi-finals. Murray had to retire from the tournament with a groin problem. Djokovic has had an amazing year, winning three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and becoming the world number one in the process; but ever since he won the U.S. Open in September, he has been plagued by a shoulder problem, retiring injured in the Davis Cup semi-final and being defeated twice this week. While Nadal has had to retire from tournaments in recent months, and was comprehensively stuffed by Federer in their round-robin match.
One of the most underrated aspects of Federer's game is its simplicity, which makes him less likely to pick up an injury when under pressure. He is the only one of the top four to use a one-handed backhand (the more natural stroke); and although his serve is not the hardest in the world, it is by far the most simple and elegant. Murray is generally injury-prone, one reason why I don't think he'll ever win a major. A large part of Djokovic's success this year has been his hustling in defence, which is bound to catch up with you in the long run. While Nadal imparts such huge torque and sidespin on the ball that shoulder and knee problems are always likely.
So, at the end of 2011, it is the old man who is looking best of the four. The others have all said that they will be recovered in time for the Australian Open at the end of January. But the sorts of niggles they have are unlikely to go away completely. My tip for Melbourne is Federer.
Walter Blotscher
The Fedster is back. Tonight, playing in his 100th tour final, he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets to win his 70th career title. More importantly, it was the ATP World Tour Finals, only open to the best eight players in the world over the course of the year; and it was his sixth victory in the event, moving him ahead of Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl on the all-time list.
There was much to celebrate. Winning such a prestigious tournament at the relatively old age of 30, to make an end-of-year tally of three tournament victories in a row; defending the title he won last year; going through the tournament undefeated; and beating, both in the round robin stages and the final, Tsonga, a player who can beat anyone in the world on his day (as Federer himself learned to his cost at this year's Wimbledon).
However, the most satisfying aspect is probably the fact that all three of his main rivals - Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - were suffering from niggling injuries and failed to make the semi-finals. Murray had to retire from the tournament with a groin problem. Djokovic has had an amazing year, winning three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and becoming the world number one in the process; but ever since he won the U.S. Open in September, he has been plagued by a shoulder problem, retiring injured in the Davis Cup semi-final and being defeated twice this week. While Nadal has had to retire from tournaments in recent months, and was comprehensively stuffed by Federer in their round-robin match.
One of the most underrated aspects of Federer's game is its simplicity, which makes him less likely to pick up an injury when under pressure. He is the only one of the top four to use a one-handed backhand (the more natural stroke); and although his serve is not the hardest in the world, it is by far the most simple and elegant. Murray is generally injury-prone, one reason why I don't think he'll ever win a major. A large part of Djokovic's success this year has been his hustling in defence, which is bound to catch up with you in the long run. While Nadal imparts such huge torque and sidespin on the ball that shoulder and knee problems are always likely.
So, at the end of 2011, it is the old man who is looking best of the four. The others have all said that they will be recovered in time for the Australian Open at the end of January. But the sorts of niggles they have are unlikely to go away completely. My tip for Melbourne is Federer.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 26 November 2011
LOCAL RULES
There was a lot of discussion about local rules at this year's neighbourhood street party. Things have now moved from discussion to the next stage.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter from the kommune, saying that we would after all be being coupled to the town sewage system. When we bought this house in 2002, we were told by the kommune that we were so far out in the country that we would never be part of the public system. Instead, we had to invest in a new septic tank, together with associated drains, pumps and filter systems. All of this cost a lot of money; so to be told that the investment was now redundant and that we would have to fork out a lot more money for a new connection was galling, to say the least. After fairly loud telephone protests from me, the kommune went away to have a rethink. Eventually they said that because our system was less than 10 years old, we could escape. Some of our neighbours think that this is but a temporary reprieve; we shall see.
The other issue is the 31 December deadline for implementation of the rural letter box law. Yesterday I went out and bought a new letter box; and today I set the stand in concrete by the side of the road outside the house. Tomorrow I shall finish it off, and attach the box itself. Then I shall sit down and wait for the postman to tell me on Monday that I have put it in the wrong place.
Walter Blotscher
There was a lot of discussion about local rules at this year's neighbourhood street party. Things have now moved from discussion to the next stage.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter from the kommune, saying that we would after all be being coupled to the town sewage system. When we bought this house in 2002, we were told by the kommune that we were so far out in the country that we would never be part of the public system. Instead, we had to invest in a new septic tank, together with associated drains, pumps and filter systems. All of this cost a lot of money; so to be told that the investment was now redundant and that we would have to fork out a lot more money for a new connection was galling, to say the least. After fairly loud telephone protests from me, the kommune went away to have a rethink. Eventually they said that because our system was less than 10 years old, we could escape. Some of our neighbours think that this is but a temporary reprieve; we shall see.
The other issue is the 31 December deadline for implementation of the rural letter box law. Yesterday I went out and bought a new letter box; and today I set the stand in concrete by the side of the road outside the house. Tomorrow I shall finish it off, and attach the box itself. Then I shall sit down and wait for the postman to tell me on Monday that I have put it in the wrong place.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 25 November 2011
ARAB DEMOCRACY (5)
Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, has become the litmus test of the Arab Spring. Western-oriented Tunisia has managed the transition to democracy; reactionary kingdoms such as Saudi Arabia have not, and are unlikely to. Egypt, sitting in the middle, could go either way.
Getting rid of former President Hosni Mubarak was, it turns out, the easy bit. Power shifted to the army, long a malign influence in Egyptian politics, and seems to have got stuck there. Parliamentary elections are due to take place on Monday; however, many Egyptians do not believe that these will result in the requisite changes, and would like the military to give up power in advance. In particular, they are incensed that so many people over the past 6-9 months have been tried by military tribunals rather than civil courts.
And so there have been fresh demonstrations recently, and they have turned violent. The army has apologised, but is that enough? The next week, I believe, will show which way Egypt will go; and so - in due course - which way the whole Arab world will go.
Walter Blotscher
Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, has become the litmus test of the Arab Spring. Western-oriented Tunisia has managed the transition to democracy; reactionary kingdoms such as Saudi Arabia have not, and are unlikely to. Egypt, sitting in the middle, could go either way.
Getting rid of former President Hosni Mubarak was, it turns out, the easy bit. Power shifted to the army, long a malign influence in Egyptian politics, and seems to have got stuck there. Parliamentary elections are due to take place on Monday; however, many Egyptians do not believe that these will result in the requisite changes, and would like the military to give up power in advance. In particular, they are incensed that so many people over the past 6-9 months have been tried by military tribunals rather than civil courts.
And so there have been fresh demonstrations recently, and they have turned violent. The army has apologised, but is that enough? The next week, I believe, will show which way Egypt will go; and so - in due course - which way the whole Arab world will go.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday 24 November 2011
LOCAL CUSTOMS
The village where I live has a village hall. Five or six times a year, the locals are invited to eat together in the hall. Tonight, on a cold November evening, there were about 75 of us, sitting down to traditional fare, helped down by beer and schnaps. Before we started, we turned on the lights on the big Christmas tree that stands over the road in the garden of Joergen Cat's house.
It was very nice, though I feel a bit woozy writing this. I am now going to watch the Thanksgiving day American football on the tele.
Walter Blotscher
The village where I live has a village hall. Five or six times a year, the locals are invited to eat together in the hall. Tonight, on a cold November evening, there were about 75 of us, sitting down to traditional fare, helped down by beer and schnaps. Before we started, we turned on the lights on the big Christmas tree that stands over the road in the garden of Joergen Cat's house.
It was very nice, though I feel a bit woozy writing this. I am now going to watch the Thanksgiving day American football on the tele.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 23 November 2011
GAY MARRIAGE
Denmark has a state Lutheran church. In other words, the state owns all of the buildings, employs and pays the priests, and the Queen is its titular head. There is even a Church Minister in the Government and a church income tax to pay for it all (though you can opt out of that if you object).
The country also has an enviable reputation of tolerance for homosexuals. Yet until today, it was not possible for homosexuals to be married in a Danish church. This caused resentment, not least because the policy was not dependent on the religious whim of (say) the Pope, but continued by successive Governments otherwise committed to full equality under the law.
Research shows that only a minority of priests and citizens (around 20% in each case) object to the proposed change. Similar minorities used to object to the ordination of women and the remarriage in church of divorcees, and those changes went through smoothly enough. I suspect that this new one will as well, when it comes into effect next year.
Walter Blotscher
Denmark has a state Lutheran church. In other words, the state owns all of the buildings, employs and pays the priests, and the Queen is its titular head. There is even a Church Minister in the Government and a church income tax to pay for it all (though you can opt out of that if you object).
The country also has an enviable reputation of tolerance for homosexuals. Yet until today, it was not possible for homosexuals to be married in a Danish church. This caused resentment, not least because the policy was not dependent on the religious whim of (say) the Pope, but continued by successive Governments otherwise committed to full equality under the law.
Research shows that only a minority of priests and citizens (around 20% in each case) object to the proposed change. Similar minorities used to object to the ordination of women and the remarriage in church of divorcees, and those changes went through smoothly enough. I suspect that this new one will as well, when it comes into effect next year.
Walter Blotscher
Monday 21 November 2011
SPAIN
With Europe's highest unemployment at over 20%, and youth unemployment more than double that, it was always highly likely that the ruling Socialists would lose yesterday's general election in Spain. They duly did, polling their worst ever result since the return of democracy in 1975. The more interesting question is why, given the economic problems facing the country, the opposition Popular Party under Mariano Rajoy would want to win. Furthermore, by winning an absolute majority in Parliament with 186 seats out of 350, Mr. Rajoy will be on his own when it comes to implementing the necessary and painful reforms.
Spain's biggest problems are the lingering effects of a construction boom that dwarfed those in other countries and has left thousands of unfinished concrete structures; and a rigid labour market that mollycoddles those in full-time employment while condemning the rest (and particularly the young) to at best short-term contracts with no security. Neither will be easy to sort out, not least because reforms will be both expensive and socially divisive. Mr. Rajoy's immediate aim will be to try to make a start without having to go cap in hand to the European Central Bank/IMF for a bailout.
There have now been regime changes in all four of the Euro-area PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain), plus Italy, Slovakia and some of the German Länder. It is also possible that the French Presidency will change hands next spring. While outside of the Euro area, the same thing has happened in the U.K. and Denmark. Some of the shifts have been from right to left, others from left to right. But everywhere, the message has been the same; vote out the bastards, who got us into this mess.
Walter Blotscher
With Europe's highest unemployment at over 20%, and youth unemployment more than double that, it was always highly likely that the ruling Socialists would lose yesterday's general election in Spain. They duly did, polling their worst ever result since the return of democracy in 1975. The more interesting question is why, given the economic problems facing the country, the opposition Popular Party under Mariano Rajoy would want to win. Furthermore, by winning an absolute majority in Parliament with 186 seats out of 350, Mr. Rajoy will be on his own when it comes to implementing the necessary and painful reforms.
Spain's biggest problems are the lingering effects of a construction boom that dwarfed those in other countries and has left thousands of unfinished concrete structures; and a rigid labour market that mollycoddles those in full-time employment while condemning the rest (and particularly the young) to at best short-term contracts with no security. Neither will be easy to sort out, not least because reforms will be both expensive and socially divisive. Mr. Rajoy's immediate aim will be to try to make a start without having to go cap in hand to the European Central Bank/IMF for a bailout.
There have now been regime changes in all four of the Euro-area PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain), plus Italy, Slovakia and some of the German Länder. It is also possible that the French Presidency will change hands next spring. While outside of the Euro area, the same thing has happened in the U.K. and Denmark. Some of the shifts have been from right to left, others from left to right. But everywhere, the message has been the same; vote out the bastards, who got us into this mess.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 20 November 2011
THE PERILS OF POLITICAL COMPROMISE (3)
The new Danish Government that emerged from the election on 15 September has got off to a poor start. Protracted negotiations amongst the left of centre parties produced a three-party minority Government requiring the support of the very left-wing Enhedlisten for a Parliamentary majority; but public opinion gave it an immediate thumbs down. Public opinion has continued to go the wrong way, as the Social Democrats and Socialists in particular have had to deal with a succession of accusations of broken election promises. Some of these are tiny; and all election promises have of course to be viewed against post-election political arithmetic. But the damage has been done.
Life has even got a bit difficult for Enhedslisten. Today they came to an agreement with the Government on next year's budget; in these straightened times, a deficit of nearly kr.100 billion on revenues of just over kr.600 billion. This is the first time in their history that Enhedslisten have EVER voted in favour of a Government budget; and in the way of these things, it required the dropping of some issues that were dear to their hearts and the acceptance of things they wanted to get rid of (such as more money for the Royal Family). The hitherto ideological purists are now caught in the treacle of political compromise; will it hurt them?
Things are also likely to get worse for the Government before they get better, and not just because of the poor economic situation. On 1 January Denmark takes over the Chairmanship of the E.U. Council of Ministers for the first time since the great expansion into Eastern Europe of a decade ago. The Euro has got problems, which Denmark must help to try and solve, despite not being in the Euro zone itself. Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal will have a difficult six months.
The eagle-eyed will have noted that one Government party is missing from this post. The Radikale Venstre, under Margrethe Vestager, are rapidly acquiring a Teflon-like quality.
Walter Blotscher
The new Danish Government that emerged from the election on 15 September has got off to a poor start. Protracted negotiations amongst the left of centre parties produced a three-party minority Government requiring the support of the very left-wing Enhedlisten for a Parliamentary majority; but public opinion gave it an immediate thumbs down. Public opinion has continued to go the wrong way, as the Social Democrats and Socialists in particular have had to deal with a succession of accusations of broken election promises. Some of these are tiny; and all election promises have of course to be viewed against post-election political arithmetic. But the damage has been done.
Life has even got a bit difficult for Enhedslisten. Today they came to an agreement with the Government on next year's budget; in these straightened times, a deficit of nearly kr.100 billion on revenues of just over kr.600 billion. This is the first time in their history that Enhedslisten have EVER voted in favour of a Government budget; and in the way of these things, it required the dropping of some issues that were dear to their hearts and the acceptance of things they wanted to get rid of (such as more money for the Royal Family). The hitherto ideological purists are now caught in the treacle of political compromise; will it hurt them?
Things are also likely to get worse for the Government before they get better, and not just because of the poor economic situation. On 1 January Denmark takes over the Chairmanship of the E.U. Council of Ministers for the first time since the great expansion into Eastern Europe of a decade ago. The Euro has got problems, which Denmark must help to try and solve, despite not being in the Euro zone itself. Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal will have a difficult six months.
The eagle-eyed will have noted that one Government party is missing from this post. The Radikale Venstre, under Margrethe Vestager, are rapidly acquiring a Teflon-like quality.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 19 November 2011
RUGBY LEAGUE
There are two versions of the game which takes its name from the English public school; rugby union and rugby league. Although originally the same game, the parting of the ways came at a meeting in a Huddersfield hotel in 1895, when northern clubs broke away from the Rugby Football Union to form their own organisation. Within a few years, the breakaway clubs had made the changes to the rules (13 players a side instead of 15, no line-outs, and "play the ball" after the tackle instead of a ruck) that make rugby league different.
As with many things in English sporting history, the root cause of the dispute was about class. Rugby union was a completely amateur sport at the time (indeed, it was not until 1995 that it became openly professional); yet many of the leading clubs in the north were popular amongst the industrial working classes of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Accusations of professionalism had been around for some time in the late nineteenth century. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the issue of broken time payments, compensation to players for missing work because of match commitments. Wealthier southern players didn't need such payments; poorer northern ones did. The result, for 100 years, was an amateur game of rugby union and a professional game of rugby league. And although rugby union has since spread across the country, rugby league is still largely confined to gritty northern towns such as Castleford, Wigan and St. Helens.
Not surprisingly, rugby league's professionalism resulted, for many years, in fitter, more skilful players. In 1996, Bath and Wigan, then the best clubs in the country at union and league, played a match of each. Bath won the union game 44-19, and it was close until the end; but Wigan won the league game 82-6. Since that time, many of the developments in rugby union, including professionialism, have been league-like; shoulder pads, strip tackles, dummy runners and line defence.
I have always liked both codes. Rugby league matches were a standard part of my Saturday afternoon as a boy, when Eddie Waring commentated weekly on BBC's Grandstand from somewhere up north. Then, in the spring, Bill McClaren would take the rugby union internationals - also on BBC - in the 5 Nations championship. If a rugby union game has lots of attacking, then it is probably the more exciting; on the other hand, a dull rugby union game with lots of kicking is much duller than a rugby league game.
If New Zealand are the traditional powerhouses of rugby union, the leaders in rugby league are undoubtedly Australia, where it is the top game in New South Wales and Queensland and the most watched sport on television nationwide. Such is the dominance of "the Kangaroos" that no British team has beaten them at home in a test series since 1959. However, there were high hopes this evening of ending that dismal record, when England (the previous Great Britain team has been divided into England and Wales) met Australia in the final of the 4-Nations tournament at Elland Road, Leeds. Although Australia had beaten England in the round-robin stages, England had played brilliantly a week earlier to defeat New Zealand, 4-Nations and World Cup holders, and a repeat performance in the final looked like being on the cards. 10 minutes into the second half of a gripping game, it was tied at 8-8; but a couple of English errors and some inspired Australian play saw the latter run out comfortable winners by 30-8.
The match was shown on the U.K.'s Sky Sports 2, which I don't have. However, I have found a streaming service on my computer, that shows all of Sky's channels for free, so that was OK.
Walter Blotscher
There are two versions of the game which takes its name from the English public school; rugby union and rugby league. Although originally the same game, the parting of the ways came at a meeting in a Huddersfield hotel in 1895, when northern clubs broke away from the Rugby Football Union to form their own organisation. Within a few years, the breakaway clubs had made the changes to the rules (13 players a side instead of 15, no line-outs, and "play the ball" after the tackle instead of a ruck) that make rugby league different.
As with many things in English sporting history, the root cause of the dispute was about class. Rugby union was a completely amateur sport at the time (indeed, it was not until 1995 that it became openly professional); yet many of the leading clubs in the north were popular amongst the industrial working classes of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Accusations of professionalism had been around for some time in the late nineteenth century. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the issue of broken time payments, compensation to players for missing work because of match commitments. Wealthier southern players didn't need such payments; poorer northern ones did. The result, for 100 years, was an amateur game of rugby union and a professional game of rugby league. And although rugby union has since spread across the country, rugby league is still largely confined to gritty northern towns such as Castleford, Wigan and St. Helens.
Not surprisingly, rugby league's professionalism resulted, for many years, in fitter, more skilful players. In 1996, Bath and Wigan, then the best clubs in the country at union and league, played a match of each. Bath won the union game 44-19, and it was close until the end; but Wigan won the league game 82-6. Since that time, many of the developments in rugby union, including professionialism, have been league-like; shoulder pads, strip tackles, dummy runners and line defence.
I have always liked both codes. Rugby league matches were a standard part of my Saturday afternoon as a boy, when Eddie Waring commentated weekly on BBC's Grandstand from somewhere up north. Then, in the spring, Bill McClaren would take the rugby union internationals - also on BBC - in the 5 Nations championship. If a rugby union game has lots of attacking, then it is probably the more exciting; on the other hand, a dull rugby union game with lots of kicking is much duller than a rugby league game.
If New Zealand are the traditional powerhouses of rugby union, the leaders in rugby league are undoubtedly Australia, where it is the top game in New South Wales and Queensland and the most watched sport on television nationwide. Such is the dominance of "the Kangaroos" that no British team has beaten them at home in a test series since 1959. However, there were high hopes this evening of ending that dismal record, when England (the previous Great Britain team has been divided into England and Wales) met Australia in the final of the 4-Nations tournament at Elland Road, Leeds. Although Australia had beaten England in the round-robin stages, England had played brilliantly a week earlier to defeat New Zealand, 4-Nations and World Cup holders, and a repeat performance in the final looked like being on the cards. 10 minutes into the second half of a gripping game, it was tied at 8-8; but a couple of English errors and some inspired Australian play saw the latter run out comfortable winners by 30-8.
The match was shown on the U.K.'s Sky Sports 2, which I don't have. However, I have found a streaming service on my computer, that shows all of Sky's channels for free, so that was OK.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 18 November 2011
NEO-NAZISM IN GERMANY
Recent revelations that a neo-Nazi cell had both remained undetected for almost a decade, and murdered nine immigrants and a police officer during that time, have shocked Germany. The three-person cell was only detected when one of its members handed herself in to police after being wanted in connection with an armed robbery. Although she blew up her apartment before doing so, and the other two members allegedly committed suicide, the authorities were able to recover evidence about the murders from the wreckage.
In Germany's federal system, justice and security matters are dealt with primarily at Land, rather than Federal, level. All of the Länder have made efforts to keep extremist groups under surveillance; but what is worrying Germans is that the sixteen separate organisations apparently do not talk to each other or share intelligence. Given Germany's history, this seems to be more than a little negligent.
Establishing a centralised registry seems to be an obvious - if belated - response. However, the damage to Germany's reputation as a country, whose citizens live within the law, has been dented. Not least amongst its own population.
Walter Blotscher
Recent revelations that a neo-Nazi cell had both remained undetected for almost a decade, and murdered nine immigrants and a police officer during that time, have shocked Germany. The three-person cell was only detected when one of its members handed herself in to police after being wanted in connection with an armed robbery. Although she blew up her apartment before doing so, and the other two members allegedly committed suicide, the authorities were able to recover evidence about the murders from the wreckage.
In Germany's federal system, justice and security matters are dealt with primarily at Land, rather than Federal, level. All of the Länder have made efforts to keep extremist groups under surveillance; but what is worrying Germans is that the sixteen separate organisations apparently do not talk to each other or share intelligence. Given Germany's history, this seems to be more than a little negligent.
Establishing a centralised registry seems to be an obvious - if belated - response. However, the damage to Germany's reputation as a country, whose citizens live within the law, has been dented. Not least amongst its own population.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 16 November 2011
SYRIA
Syria is testing the limits of the Arab Spring, which has seen the fall of regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and increased pressure on Governments everywhere across the region. It is clear that a lot of unsavoury things are going on in the country, and that there have recently been a lot of violent deaths; 3,500 is the number usually bandied about. Equally clear is that there is no stomach amongst the world's powers for the sort of military action that took place in Libya; partly because China and Russia would veto any U.N. resolution trying to authorise it, and partly because military action in Syria would be a completely different kettle of fish (Libya is unusual, in that most of its population live in a narrow coastal strip that could be protected from the air by planes operating from Sicily).
So, will Syria go the way of Yemen, which has been experiencing a sort of low-level civil war for months? The promising new development has been the long-awaited, but never yet materialised, "stepping up to the plate" of the Arab League, hitherto a cosy club of regional strongmen, dictators and royal autocrats, which talked a lot but generally did nothing. However, the League, which is based in Cairo, has been affected by the changes going on around it in Egypt, and has started to show what it is capable of. In March, it voted for a no-fly zone over Libya, the crucial decision which paved the way for the U.N. resolution and NATO intervention. Then, this weekend, it voted to suspend Syria from its work, and is talking to the Syrian opposition. The dumping of one of the pillars of Arab nationalism by a body committed to promoting just that is nothing short of revolutionary.
The consensus is that Syrian President Bashar Assad will have to go. I am not so sure; or, rather, I don't believe that it will happen any time soon. As Yemen demonstrates, strongmen can hang on for a long time, if key parts of society such as the army remain loyal, the opposition is split, and outsiders don't want to get directly involved. In the meantime, we should applaud the the positive developments at the League, which bode well for helping to resolve even more complex problems such as the Israeli/Palestinian dispute.
Walter Blotscher
Syria is testing the limits of the Arab Spring, which has seen the fall of regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and increased pressure on Governments everywhere across the region. It is clear that a lot of unsavoury things are going on in the country, and that there have recently been a lot of violent deaths; 3,500 is the number usually bandied about. Equally clear is that there is no stomach amongst the world's powers for the sort of military action that took place in Libya; partly because China and Russia would veto any U.N. resolution trying to authorise it, and partly because military action in Syria would be a completely different kettle of fish (Libya is unusual, in that most of its population live in a narrow coastal strip that could be protected from the air by planes operating from Sicily).
So, will Syria go the way of Yemen, which has been experiencing a sort of low-level civil war for months? The promising new development has been the long-awaited, but never yet materialised, "stepping up to the plate" of the Arab League, hitherto a cosy club of regional strongmen, dictators and royal autocrats, which talked a lot but generally did nothing. However, the League, which is based in Cairo, has been affected by the changes going on around it in Egypt, and has started to show what it is capable of. In March, it voted for a no-fly zone over Libya, the crucial decision which paved the way for the U.N. resolution and NATO intervention. Then, this weekend, it voted to suspend Syria from its work, and is talking to the Syrian opposition. The dumping of one of the pillars of Arab nationalism by a body committed to promoting just that is nothing short of revolutionary.
The consensus is that Syrian President Bashar Assad will have to go. I am not so sure; or, rather, I don't believe that it will happen any time soon. As Yemen demonstrates, strongmen can hang on for a long time, if key parts of society such as the army remain loyal, the opposition is split, and outsiders don't want to get directly involved. In the meantime, we should applaud the the positive developments at the League, which bode well for helping to resolve even more complex problems such as the Israeli/Palestinian dispute.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 15 November 2011
CHEQUES
One of the differences between life in Denmark and life in the U.K. is cheques. I haven't lived in the latter since 1992; but until last year, I had a U.K. bank account and a cheque book, which I used to make occasional payments when I was in the country, and send a birthday present to my nephew. On the other hand, I have lived continuously in Denmark since 2000, and have never written a cheque. Not one.
Cheques are possible here. My teenage daughter got a tax rebate of kr.1 in 2010, which came in the post by way of a cheque. Still uncashed, it is pinned to the refrigerator door as a reminder of Danish bureaucratic efficiency, presumably causing a wrinkle in the Inland Revenue's national accounts. But everybody uses Dankort for everyday transactions. This is a free debit card, which virtually every retailer in the country is party to. I say "free", but that means free to the consumer. The costs are shared between the banks and the Government, on the grounds that an efficient payments system is a public good. Some years ago, the Government tried to introduce a 2% charge to cover the costs. But it caused such "bøvl" (fuss and bother) and consumer uproar that it was dropped again soon afterwards.
The U.K. is often going on about how London is the financial capital of the world. So it always strikes me as surprising that cheques, an old-fashioned legacy of the nineteenth century world of bills of exchange, still exist and are widely used there. Admittedly, with the rise of credit and debit cards, not half as many as there used to be. But still surprising that there are any at all, given the rise of IT and the amount of administration involved (the retailer must pay it into their bank and have it registered, that bank then sends it to the payer's bank to get it honoured, the payer's account is debited, the payer's bank notifies the payee's bank that it is honoured etc etc etc.). And there is always a chance that the cheque is lost, stolen or defaced. With Dankort, the process is automatic, and the transaction shows up on your bank statement at 6pm the same day.
Sometimes it is the small things in life that add to its quality. Dankort is one of those.
Walter Blotscher
One of the differences between life in Denmark and life in the U.K. is cheques. I haven't lived in the latter since 1992; but until last year, I had a U.K. bank account and a cheque book, which I used to make occasional payments when I was in the country, and send a birthday present to my nephew. On the other hand, I have lived continuously in Denmark since 2000, and have never written a cheque. Not one.
Cheques are possible here. My teenage daughter got a tax rebate of kr.1 in 2010, which came in the post by way of a cheque. Still uncashed, it is pinned to the refrigerator door as a reminder of Danish bureaucratic efficiency, presumably causing a wrinkle in the Inland Revenue's national accounts. But everybody uses Dankort for everyday transactions. This is a free debit card, which virtually every retailer in the country is party to. I say "free", but that means free to the consumer. The costs are shared between the banks and the Government, on the grounds that an efficient payments system is a public good. Some years ago, the Government tried to introduce a 2% charge to cover the costs. But it caused such "bøvl" (fuss and bother) and consumer uproar that it was dropped again soon afterwards.
The U.K. is often going on about how London is the financial capital of the world. So it always strikes me as surprising that cheques, an old-fashioned legacy of the nineteenth century world of bills of exchange, still exist and are widely used there. Admittedly, with the rise of credit and debit cards, not half as many as there used to be. But still surprising that there are any at all, given the rise of IT and the amount of administration involved (the retailer must pay it into their bank and have it registered, that bank then sends it to the payer's bank to get it honoured, the payer's account is debited, the payer's bank notifies the payee's bank that it is honoured etc etc etc.). And there is always a chance that the cheque is lost, stolen or defaced. With Dankort, the process is automatic, and the transaction shows up on your bank statement at 6pm the same day.
Sometimes it is the small things in life that add to its quality. Dankort is one of those.
Walter Blotscher
Monday 14 November 2011
NORWAY (2)
In July, 32-year old Anders Behring Breivik callously murdered 77 people, many of them members of the ruling Labour Party's youth wing. In court appearaces since then, he has admitted that he killed them, but has refused to plead guilty, on the grounds that he does not recognise the court's competence to try him.
Those appearances have been closed to the public, and have resulted in extensions to his being remanded in custody. Today was the first open appearance in court, an event that was attended by many of the survivors of the massacre and the victims' relatives. He was again remanded in custody, and a trial date set for 16 April next year, pending the outcome of psychiatric tests.
Many expected this first meeting between Breivik and the survivors to result in uproar. However, it apparently passed off in silence. Many said that it was merely important for them to see him again in person, and in a situation where he was as powerless as they were in July. It was one of the crucial first steps in enabling them to move on with their lives.
Walter Blotscher
In July, 32-year old Anders Behring Breivik callously murdered 77 people, many of them members of the ruling Labour Party's youth wing. In court appearaces since then, he has admitted that he killed them, but has refused to plead guilty, on the grounds that he does not recognise the court's competence to try him.
Those appearances have been closed to the public, and have resulted in extensions to his being remanded in custody. Today was the first open appearance in court, an event that was attended by many of the survivors of the massacre and the victims' relatives. He was again remanded in custody, and a trial date set for 16 April next year, pending the outcome of psychiatric tests.
Many expected this first meeting between Breivik and the survivors to result in uproar. However, it apparently passed off in silence. Many said that it was merely important for them to see him again in person, and in a situation where he was as powerless as they were in July. It was one of the crucial first steps in enabling them to move on with their lives.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday 13 November 2011
POTENTIAL MELTDOWN (6)
Europe is dominating the (bad) economic headlines at the moment. But a time bomb is ticking away in America, and that should not be forgotten.
The August deal that allowed the raising of the federal debt ceiling included a conscious decision to ignore the most difficult issue, namely how to cut the federal Government's huge and continuing budget deficit. The problem was handed over to a bipartisan committee consisting of 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans, three each from the House of Representatives and the Senate. They have to agree, by 23 November, savings of US$1.5 trillion over 10 years. If they can agree, then the proposals are put to both chambers on a straight yes-no vote; if they can't agree, then US$1.2 trillion of spending cuts automatically kick in, split evenly between defence (dear to Republicans) and domestic programmes (dear to Democrats).
The latter is an Exocet provision, designed to encourage cooperation. Yet cooperation is the last thing that both parties have on their mind at the moment. The Democrats believe (rightly) that the country's budget problems can only be solved through a mix of spending cuts and tax rises. But a large number of Republican legislators have pledged never to vote to raise taxes, and they appear to mean what they say.
So, things seem to be back where they were at the beginning of August, the only difference being that the U.S.' credit rating is no longer the AAA it used to be. A fudge will probably found to keep things going, at least until next year's Presidential election is over and done with; but the price of that fudge may well be a further credit downgrading.
Walter Blotscher
Europe is dominating the (bad) economic headlines at the moment. But a time bomb is ticking away in America, and that should not be forgotten.
The August deal that allowed the raising of the federal debt ceiling included a conscious decision to ignore the most difficult issue, namely how to cut the federal Government's huge and continuing budget deficit. The problem was handed over to a bipartisan committee consisting of 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans, three each from the House of Representatives and the Senate. They have to agree, by 23 November, savings of US$1.5 trillion over 10 years. If they can agree, then the proposals are put to both chambers on a straight yes-no vote; if they can't agree, then US$1.2 trillion of spending cuts automatically kick in, split evenly between defence (dear to Republicans) and domestic programmes (dear to Democrats).
The latter is an Exocet provision, designed to encourage cooperation. Yet cooperation is the last thing that both parties have on their mind at the moment. The Democrats believe (rightly) that the country's budget problems can only be solved through a mix of spending cuts and tax rises. But a large number of Republican legislators have pledged never to vote to raise taxes, and they appear to mean what they say.
So, things seem to be back where they were at the beginning of August, the only difference being that the U.S.' credit rating is no longer the AAA it used to be. A fudge will probably found to keep things going, at least until next year's Presidential election is over and done with; but the price of that fudge may well be a further credit downgrading.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 12 November 2011
THE 2011 PROJECT (6)
The last part of the 2011 Project was completed today when I planted two cherry trees in the middle of my new lawn. My neighbour is a cherry farmer who has just uprooted his stock of trees and planted new ones. I asked him a couple of months ago if he could reserve two for me, when he did that. Today I went round and collected them, paid him kr.100, and then put them to bed for the winter. He tells me that there won't be any fruit next year, but there should be some the year after that.
So, now I can start thinking about next year's project, getting to grips with the orchard. Top priority is a new chain for the chainsaw.
Walter Blotscher
The last part of the 2011 Project was completed today when I planted two cherry trees in the middle of my new lawn. My neighbour is a cherry farmer who has just uprooted his stock of trees and planted new ones. I asked him a couple of months ago if he could reserve two for me, when he did that. Today I went round and collected them, paid him kr.100, and then put them to bed for the winter. He tells me that there won't be any fruit next year, but there should be some the year after that.
So, now I can start thinking about next year's project, getting to grips with the orchard. Top priority is a new chain for the chainsaw.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 11 November 2011
11 NOVEMBER
In Britain, 11 November marks the day when the First World War ended with an armistice. Although there are very few people still alive, who were around in 1918, the day is often marked with a two minute silence at 11.00am, the exact time the armistice started. A national service of remembrance for those that have fallen in war - all wars, not just WW1 - takes place on the nearest Sunday to 11 November; and this Sunday will be no exception.
Denmark does not have the same military traditions as the U.K., having manged to avoid both world wars and a lot of other conflicts. So the news today has concentrated on the record number of people who have decided to get married today, the special date of 11/11/11. 60 couples got married on the small island of Ærø, for instance, a popular destination for Germans in particular, since the paperwork is apparently much easier than back home.
Walter Blotscher
In Britain, 11 November marks the day when the First World War ended with an armistice. Although there are very few people still alive, who were around in 1918, the day is often marked with a two minute silence at 11.00am, the exact time the armistice started. A national service of remembrance for those that have fallen in war - all wars, not just WW1 - takes place on the nearest Sunday to 11 November; and this Sunday will be no exception.
Denmark does not have the same military traditions as the U.K., having manged to avoid both world wars and a lot of other conflicts. So the news today has concentrated on the record number of people who have decided to get married today, the special date of 11/11/11. 60 couples got married on the small island of Ærø, for instance, a popular destination for Germans in particular, since the paperwork is apparently much easier than back home.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday 10 November 2011
GOOD AND BAD TAXES
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, financial guru to France's King Louis XIV, is supposed to have said once that "the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing". Since Finance Ministers the world over are short of cash, they would do well to look at the feather/hissing trade-off. For any given amount of money raised, some taxes are better than others.
Taxes should, if possible, be efficient (i.e. cheap and easy to collect), not distort incentives (unless done so on purpose) and "broadly" fair. I say broadly, since what constitutes fair is different for different people. Low rates on a broad base, a mix of income, expenditure and assets, are in general better than high rates on a narrow base.
A good example of a tax which meets these requirements is property taxes (the old household rates in the U.K.). They help to dampen down property market bubbles, which are otherwise ramped up by other policies such as the tax deductibility of interest and the absence of capital gains tax on a main residence. They are broadly fair, since bigger houses are in general owned by richer people and taxed more than smaller houses. And they are easy to collect; you grab either the registered owner or the person living there, while houses can't up and move abroad in order to avoid the charge. Mrs Thatcher forgot the value of property taxes, and it cost her her job as Prime Minister. She had a bee in her bonnet about local authorities, which used to collect the rates, and tried to undermine them by abolishing the rates and replacing them with a poll tax. The first time England had a poll tax was in the late fourteenth century, and it led directly to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. A similar revolt saw off the Iron Lady pretty smartly.
Another good tax is that much maligned one, VAT. It works in both a positive and negative sense, so that if you produce negative added value (either because of operating losses or because of investment), you get an immediate refund. There is a positive in-built incentive to export and a corresponding disincentive to import. And the ultimate burden of the tax falls on consumers (i.e. pretty much everybody). Governments sometimes try to make it more complicated by zero-rating various categories, leading to arguments as to the dividing line (is a chocolate biscuit chocolate or a biscuit?) By and large, though, these are limited.
In contrast to VAT, which is uniform throughout the E.U., are the systems of overlapping sales taxes in (eg) the U.S. or India. These make internal trade across state boundaries ridiculously complicated, and introduce all sorts of distortions into what should be fairly straightforward transactions. Introducing a national VAT system would greatly increase the efficiency of the U.S. tax system at a time when it is crying out for reform. Sadly, that proposal is not on any politician's agenda.
Walter Blotscher
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, financial guru to France's King Louis XIV, is supposed to have said once that "the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing". Since Finance Ministers the world over are short of cash, they would do well to look at the feather/hissing trade-off. For any given amount of money raised, some taxes are better than others.
Taxes should, if possible, be efficient (i.e. cheap and easy to collect), not distort incentives (unless done so on purpose) and "broadly" fair. I say broadly, since what constitutes fair is different for different people. Low rates on a broad base, a mix of income, expenditure and assets, are in general better than high rates on a narrow base.
A good example of a tax which meets these requirements is property taxes (the old household rates in the U.K.). They help to dampen down property market bubbles, which are otherwise ramped up by other policies such as the tax deductibility of interest and the absence of capital gains tax on a main residence. They are broadly fair, since bigger houses are in general owned by richer people and taxed more than smaller houses. And they are easy to collect; you grab either the registered owner or the person living there, while houses can't up and move abroad in order to avoid the charge. Mrs Thatcher forgot the value of property taxes, and it cost her her job as Prime Minister. She had a bee in her bonnet about local authorities, which used to collect the rates, and tried to undermine them by abolishing the rates and replacing them with a poll tax. The first time England had a poll tax was in the late fourteenth century, and it led directly to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. A similar revolt saw off the Iron Lady pretty smartly.
Another good tax is that much maligned one, VAT. It works in both a positive and negative sense, so that if you produce negative added value (either because of operating losses or because of investment), you get an immediate refund. There is a positive in-built incentive to export and a corresponding disincentive to import. And the ultimate burden of the tax falls on consumers (i.e. pretty much everybody). Governments sometimes try to make it more complicated by zero-rating various categories, leading to arguments as to the dividing line (is a chocolate biscuit chocolate or a biscuit?) By and large, though, these are limited.
In contrast to VAT, which is uniform throughout the E.U., are the systems of overlapping sales taxes in (eg) the U.S. or India. These make internal trade across state boundaries ridiculously complicated, and introduce all sorts of distortions into what should be fairly straightforward transactions. Introducing a national VAT system would greatly increase the efficiency of the U.S. tax system at a time when it is crying out for reform. Sadly, that proposal is not on any politician's agenda.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 8 November 2011
ITALY (2)
It seems as if Italy's politicians have been reading this blog. Suddenly there has been a flurry of calls for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, and a statement signalling that he will step down, once the current reform package has been passed through Parliament. Mr. Berlusconi won a vote on the budget today, but only because a large number of deputies abstained, the number voting in favour was less than an absolute majority.
If/when Mr. Berlusconi goes, Government is likely to be handed to a group of technocrats until new elections can be held. As in Greece, it seems that some modern countries can't be trusted to be run by politicians.
Walter Blotscher
It seems as if Italy's politicians have been reading this blog. Suddenly there has been a flurry of calls for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, and a statement signalling that he will step down, once the current reform package has been passed through Parliament. Mr. Berlusconi won a vote on the budget today, but only because a large number of deputies abstained, the number voting in favour was less than an absolute majority.
If/when Mr. Berlusconi goes, Government is likely to be handed to a group of technocrats until new elections can be held. As in Greece, it seems that some modern countries can't be trusted to be run by politicians.
Walter Blotscher
Monday 7 November 2011
ITALY
Italy seems to have leapfrogged Ireland, Portugal and Spain to become the E.U. country next at risk (after Greece) in this Euro crisis.
At first blush, this is somewhat odd. True, Italy has a public debt of more than 120% of GDP. But it was over 100% long before the crisis started, is mainly held domestically, and has been serviced until recently without problems, since Italy has a high savings rate and the Government runs a primary surplus (i.e. a budget surplus before interest payments). In other words, the country is - in contrast to Greece - solvent.
However, like all European countries, Italy needs to push through reforms in order to make it more competitive, and it is here that doubts begin to surface. Italy's current problems are, at the end of the day, political, in that its E.U. partners (and others) no longer believe the Italian Government will do what is necessary. Indeed, they don't believe that the Government will do what it has already committed itself to do.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi originally came to power as a successful businessman determined to inject some much needed private sector discipline into the notoriously sluggish Italian state. However, a succession of corruption trials, accusations of unsavoury behaviour and general politicking have meant that nothing has happened. Mr. Berlusconi is now widely seen as a buffoon, both inside and outside the country. More seriously, he is a class buffoon that Euro headmistress Angela Merkel no longer trusts.
There is no reason why Italy should go down the same path as Greece. However, in order to avoid the fate of its southern neighbour, it needs to ditch its current leader, and soon.
Walter Blotscher
Italy seems to have leapfrogged Ireland, Portugal and Spain to become the E.U. country next at risk (after Greece) in this Euro crisis.
At first blush, this is somewhat odd. True, Italy has a public debt of more than 120% of GDP. But it was over 100% long before the crisis started, is mainly held domestically, and has been serviced until recently without problems, since Italy has a high savings rate and the Government runs a primary surplus (i.e. a budget surplus before interest payments). In other words, the country is - in contrast to Greece - solvent.
However, like all European countries, Italy needs to push through reforms in order to make it more competitive, and it is here that doubts begin to surface. Italy's current problems are, at the end of the day, political, in that its E.U. partners (and others) no longer believe the Italian Government will do what is necessary. Indeed, they don't believe that the Government will do what it has already committed itself to do.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi originally came to power as a successful businessman determined to inject some much needed private sector discipline into the notoriously sluggish Italian state. However, a succession of corruption trials, accusations of unsavoury behaviour and general politicking have meant that nothing has happened. Mr. Berlusconi is now widely seen as a buffoon, both inside and outside the country. More seriously, he is a class buffoon that Euro headmistress Angela Merkel no longer trusts.
There is no reason why Italy should go down the same path as Greece. However, in order to avoid the fate of its southern neighbour, it needs to ditch its current leader, and soon.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday 5 November 2011
THE EURO CRISIS (2)
A week ago I was supporting the E.U.'s strategy of "muddling through" the current crisis, buying time with various stopgap measures, while groping towards more difficult, longer-term changes that might represent a real solution to the problems.
Then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced - apparently completely off his own bat - that the rescue package for his country, painfully agreed at the recent E.U. summit, would be put to a referendum of the Greek people. The French President and German Chancellor were, to put it mildly, not amused. At a stroke, Mr. Papandreou had managed to turn a deal, which promised much but which lacked details, into a morass of uncertainty. No wonder he was dragged up to the G20 in Cannes and told by the joint headmasters a) that the only possible referendum would be on whether Greece wanted to be in the Euro or not and b) that no more tranches of cash would be forthcoming until the outcome had been decided. Against that background, it seems that the referendum idea will be dropped.
It's hard to see what Mr. Papandreou was up to. Yes or no referenda, by their nature, are not suitable for getting approval of a compromise package, since the most likely honest answer is "I like some bits of it, but not others". Furthermore, when (as in this case) the unpalatable bits of the package hugely outweigh the goodies, the chances of the vote being no must have been pretty high.
Perhaps the answer lies in internal Greek politics. The Greek Government is currently facing a vote of no confidence, which will take place in a couple of hours, after the U.S. markets have closed for the weekend. By means of his referendum ploy, Mr. Papandreou has at least managed to get the Greek opposition to state that they support the E.U. deal. If so, he paid a high price for clarity.
Walter Blotscher
A week ago I was supporting the E.U.'s strategy of "muddling through" the current crisis, buying time with various stopgap measures, while groping towards more difficult, longer-term changes that might represent a real solution to the problems.
Then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced - apparently completely off his own bat - that the rescue package for his country, painfully agreed at the recent E.U. summit, would be put to a referendum of the Greek people. The French President and German Chancellor were, to put it mildly, not amused. At a stroke, Mr. Papandreou had managed to turn a deal, which promised much but which lacked details, into a morass of uncertainty. No wonder he was dragged up to the G20 in Cannes and told by the joint headmasters a) that the only possible referendum would be on whether Greece wanted to be in the Euro or not and b) that no more tranches of cash would be forthcoming until the outcome had been decided. Against that background, it seems that the referendum idea will be dropped.
It's hard to see what Mr. Papandreou was up to. Yes or no referenda, by their nature, are not suitable for getting approval of a compromise package, since the most likely honest answer is "I like some bits of it, but not others". Furthermore, when (as in this case) the unpalatable bits of the package hugely outweigh the goodies, the chances of the vote being no must have been pretty high.
Perhaps the answer lies in internal Greek politics. The Greek Government is currently facing a vote of no confidence, which will take place in a couple of hours, after the U.S. markets have closed for the weekend. By means of his referendum ploy, Mr. Papandreou has at least managed to get the Greek opposition to state that they support the E.U. deal. If so, he paid a high price for clarity.
Walter Blotscher
Friday 4 November 2011
JULEBRYG
One of the things I like about living in Denmark is that the breweries make special brews at Christmas (julebryg) and Easter (påskebryg). This practice dates from olden times, when everyday beer was very weak and watery (small beer in English), and they only made the real stuff at certain times of the year. The special brews are much stronger and more hoppy, which is why I like them.
Julebryg makes its annual appearance on J-day, the first Friday in November (i.e. today), and it is often given out free by the breweries. Which means that there are a lot of young people running around Denmark at this very moment, getting thoroughly drunk. Including my daughter, whom I drove to a party a couple of hours ago.
Walter Blotscher
One of the things I like about living in Denmark is that the breweries make special brews at Christmas (julebryg) and Easter (påskebryg). This practice dates from olden times, when everyday beer was very weak and watery (small beer in English), and they only made the real stuff at certain times of the year. The special brews are much stronger and more hoppy, which is why I like them.
Julebryg makes its annual appearance on J-day, the first Friday in November (i.e. today), and it is often given out free by the breweries. Which means that there are a lot of young people running around Denmark at this very moment, getting thoroughly drunk. Including my daughter, whom I drove to a party a couple of hours ago.
Walter Blotscher
Thursday 3 November 2011
SCANDINAVIAN THRILLERS
Scandinavia seems to have taken over the thriller genre in recent years. Airport bookshops are stuffed full of the Stieg Larsson trilogy, now made into three Swedish films and three forthcoming American ones. There's Wallander on T.V. in both Swedish and English. And Denmark's The Killing has become a cult, even down to detective Sarah Lund's Faroe Island sweater.
Now comes Norwegian Jo Nesbø. I haven't read any of his books, though they also litter Stansted Airport's bookshop. The new film Headhunters, the first of his books to be filmed, premiered earlier this year, and has now come to the local cinema. I went up to see it last night with my wife and daughter.
I have to say that it wasn't very good. Unlike all the other thrillers mentioned above, which are all about slow-moving plots in various parts of the far north, Headhunters tries to be both a thriller and a comedy. That's not normally a winning combination (think back to Beverly Hills Cop), and it isn't here either. They should have dropped the comedy bits and made it just a thriller. Scandinavian thrillers travel well, but Scandinavian comedy doesn't.
Walter Blotscher
Scandinavia seems to have taken over the thriller genre in recent years. Airport bookshops are stuffed full of the Stieg Larsson trilogy, now made into three Swedish films and three forthcoming American ones. There's Wallander on T.V. in both Swedish and English. And Denmark's The Killing has become a cult, even down to detective Sarah Lund's Faroe Island sweater.
Now comes Norwegian Jo Nesbø. I haven't read any of his books, though they also litter Stansted Airport's bookshop. The new film Headhunters, the first of his books to be filmed, premiered earlier this year, and has now come to the local cinema. I went up to see it last night with my wife and daughter.
I have to say that it wasn't very good. Unlike all the other thrillers mentioned above, which are all about slow-moving plots in various parts of the far north, Headhunters tries to be both a thriller and a comedy. That's not normally a winning combination (think back to Beverly Hills Cop), and it isn't here either. They should have dropped the comedy bits and made it just a thriller. Scandinavian thrillers travel well, but Scandinavian comedy doesn't.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday 2 November 2011
TEA IN THE EVENING
I never used to drink tea in the evening, it was always coffee or alcohol. Tea was something one had in the afternoon at teatime, mornings and evenings required something stronger.
It was my children who got me to change. They are all big tea drinkers (though my second son, having lived in Switzerland, is shifting to coffee), ever since we used to give them milky tea as toddlers. Gradually I started having tea with them after dinner, and now I have got to like it. Indeed, in a sort of Pavlovian dog reaction, I start to get really thirsty about this time of the evening, and have to make a cup before I go to bed.
As I have just done, to drink while I write this. Earl Grey, in case you're wondering.
Walter Blotscher
I never used to drink tea in the evening, it was always coffee or alcohol. Tea was something one had in the afternoon at teatime, mornings and evenings required something stronger.
It was my children who got me to change. They are all big tea drinkers (though my second son, having lived in Switzerland, is shifting to coffee), ever since we used to give them milky tea as toddlers. Gradually I started having tea with them after dinner, and now I have got to like it. Indeed, in a sort of Pavlovian dog reaction, I start to get really thirsty about this time of the evening, and have to make a cup before I go to bed.
As I have just done, to drink while I write this. Earl Grey, in case you're wondering.
Walter Blotscher
Tuesday 1 November 2011
MOLE WARFARE (9)
The long-awaited autumn offensive duly took place, with a coordinated attack by the Mole Army in four different places; the hedge by the front lawn, the edge of my new lawn, the paddock and a new area at the edge of the back lawn. Since I only have three traps, this necessitated difficult choices. So I abandoned the paddock and the new area, and concentrated on the first two, where they could do most damage.
A tactical victory for the enemy? Well, although the moles have the advantage of numbers, they also have shit for brains, as my son would say. Since I now have an almost encyclopædic knowledge of the tunnel networks on my property, it was merely a question of placing the traps in the right places and waiting for them to fall into them. Sure enough, I have picked them off one by one, and we are currently mole-free. It will only be temporary of course, but satisfying nevertheless.
Walter Blotscher
The long-awaited autumn offensive duly took place, with a coordinated attack by the Mole Army in four different places; the hedge by the front lawn, the edge of my new lawn, the paddock and a new area at the edge of the back lawn. Since I only have three traps, this necessitated difficult choices. So I abandoned the paddock and the new area, and concentrated on the first two, where they could do most damage.
A tactical victory for the enemy? Well, although the moles have the advantage of numbers, they also have shit for brains, as my son would say. Since I now have an almost encyclopædic knowledge of the tunnel networks on my property, it was merely a question of placing the traps in the right places and waiting for them to fall into them. Sure enough, I have picked them off one by one, and we are currently mole-free. It will only be temporary of course, but satisfying nevertheless.
Walter Blotscher
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