I would like to extend the warmest welcome to Evey Hammond, a very special person to me.
She kindly agreed to co-author the blog, so she will be reporting sentiment and opinions from Germany, primarily in the German language.
-[T]he United States and their allies in NATO are facing the fast of the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad’s regime in Syria after which they will set about Iran and then the CIS countries including Russia. For this reason. the strengthening of ties with countries neighboring Iran and Russia meets the US interests.
News.Az interviews political scientist Vafa Guluzade
What can you say about reports that the Pentagon-assigned package of military aid to Azerbaijan will be some $10M to go for improvement of the opportunities of marine forces on war on terror?
It is yet another proof that the United States views Azerbaijan as a very important state with which it is developing a geostrategic partnership in the region. Development of US-Azerbaijani relations meets the interest of both states. And the assignment of $10m to Azerbaijan by the Pentagon testifies to the US interest in deepening military cooperation with our country. The logical outcome of this cooperation will be Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO.
Could you specify terms of the announced admission of Azerbaijan to NATO?
I don’t want to specify terms but I would say that it is about a middle term perspective. The matter is that at the current stage the United States and their allies in NATO are facing the fast of the overthrow of Bashad Assad’s regime in Syria after which they will set about Iran and then the CIS countries including Russia. For this reason. the strengthening of ties with countries neighboring Iran and Russia meets the US interests.
In this case, can the military aid to Azerbaijan by the United States raise concerns in Iran?
Undoubtedly, it can. But it will not affect the US plans, based on their own interests, rather than the interests of Iran or any other country. Openly speaking, Iran is well aware of the US plans to conduct a military operation against it and it is preparing to resist this military operation. As for Azerbaijan, we merely cannot stay aside from US plans related to Iran.
Do the US plans envisage shift of powers in Armenia? There are no doubts that they do. The United States is planning to reduce Armenia’s dependence on Russia and Iran for which they seek to bring their protégé to power in Armenia. The issue is about who it will be and which events will promote implementation of the US plans. Russia is unable to resist these US plans regarding Armenia, since it has no serious resources in terms of army or economics. Additionally, Russia will face the issue of resisting the plans of the United States and their allies in NATO, while in these conditions, Russia will have no time for Armenia.
How would that scenario, you are speaking of, influence the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh? The impact will be a most positive one. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh will be settled in case the indicated US plans come true. The main obstacle on the way to its settlement is Russia…Tension is on the air. History is never how the victor tells it, nor how you study it on the books or how you see it on TV. What happens behind the scenes is an inherently inverse problem, much like Plato's cave.
I just spoke to an officer and another Austrian ejpañol in Brussels, who has visitilla to me. I have confirmed this date for redemption formal, just after Galegas elections. Terms of rescue:It is remarkable that Merkel has agreed the bailout to be requested after the Basque and Galician regional elections. It is even more remarkable that the short-selling ban from the CNMV (Spanish SEC) ends on October, 23rd, as per the 3-month ban establised on July, 23rd. Mainstream media also hint this date, referencing consulting firms. Goldman Sachs even says Spain is to officially announce it next week, with the following agenda:
- Pensions KO
- Unemployment benefits KO, will be left very reduced
- Government deficit will be reduced to 3% of GDP, regions not meeting to immedately lose self-governance.
September 12: German constitutional court gives its blessing to the ESM. Although we expect some procedural riders to be attached to the decision, this would allow German ratification to be completed and the ESM to be established in relatively short order.There you go guys, with uncle Benny printing like mad across the pond, risk is on again. Bankia is up 100% from lows. Buy, buy, buy!!!
September 13-14: Spain to make formal request for EFSF support at the Eurogroup meeting. With a large (and uncovered) redemption looming at the end of October (and under pressure from other Euro area governments), we expect Spain to move towards seeking support.
Second half of September: Conditionality required by EFSF will have to be accepted by the Spanish authorities, presumably requiring a parliamentary vote. In parallel, approval of other Euro area countries for the provision of EFSF support will need to be obtained: in some countries (notably Germany), this will also require parliamentary approval.
By end-September / early October: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) codifying conditionality is signed, formalising the availability of EFSF support for Spain. At this point, the necessary conditions established by Mr. Draghi for ECB purchases of sovereign debt will have been met, well ahead of
large Spanish bond redemption.
A few days ago, at the McDonalds (btw, shitty place)Why the hell a girl who is unemployed spend EUR 6,000 in increased breast size but is so desperate to return to McDonalds to ask for a job.
I was eating some shitburger while noises start coming to my ear and since I was alone, I eavesdropped the gossip of others.
It turns out that a former employee of McDonald had gone to eat there and of course, she and her female ex-coworkers grabbed a place so that they could catch up what had been going on with their lives.
At one point a McWorker asks her:
- "Hey sista, wearin' new tits?"
- "Yeah, you see, I got operated a few months ago"
- "And how's it like, how much it costs?"
- "Very well sista, I notice that guys look at me more, paid EUR 6000 in the clinic XXX"
And a few minutes later they departed and the one wearing silicone told them: "Hey, you need someone? I am still unemployed and all that..."
This is an unusual film: an adult thriller about the danger of fiscal manipulation. It's also unusual in that it remains relevant, perhaps even more so than when it was released; no less a person than renowned investor Warren Buffet has recently been warning of the dangers of having so much U.S. debt held by countries whose political agendas may not always require a stable or strong U.S. economy.
But is it a good film? With some reservations, I would argue that it is. Director Alan Pakula and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno have done a very good job of shadowing the action; rarely does anything take place in strong light, and then almost always when the action either involves the Saudis (the first meeting between the cartel and Lee Winters, played by Jane Fonda, for example) or serves their interests (e.g. the death of bank inspector Mr. Fewster). The locations, large and small, take on their own lives; the World Trade Center becomes a monolithic anthill, and there is a wonderfully ominous shot of the arrangement for Lee Winters's death being made by two men amid a crowd on a descending escalator which captures powerfully the essential isolation of the individual amid the crowds, and thus wordlessly encapsulates the underlying political concern of the film. The 720 degree pan just before the film's ambiguous coda is a marvel, one of those things which looks quite simple until one realizes the amount of work that must have gone into making it work smoothly. [...]
The screenplay handles the difficult task of dramatizing monetary transactions well; it is less effective when portraying the love scenes, especially the initial motivation for the central affair. But the climactic confrontation between Hume Cronyn and Kris Kristofferson is spot on; rarely does a character reveal moral bankruptcy as starkly as does Cronyn's, yet his words and his delivery both demonstrate his utter unawareness of the truth about himself. Indeed, the script generally manages to be both clear (albeit complex, requiring attention) and straightforward without becoming preachy or overly didactic.