Balkans’ countries and especially Albania and North Macedonia, candidats to become a State member of the European Union (EU) since 2005 never get to the negotiations level. It’s been about 14 years that both countries are considered as being « candidates for the European Union », and member states such as France, Netherland, and Danemark used their veto for the opening of negotiations.
Map of the Balkan. Credit : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans#/media/File:Former_Yugoslavia_2008.PNG
Now the question is why ? As we know, the European Union is living such an institutional crisis, that the French Président, Emmanuel Macron remembered to justify the French position by saying « before integrate any new State member we have to know how to reform ourselves ». In fact, the European Union has become an administration more and more bureaucratic et doesn’t « talk to people » anymore. What’s interesting, is that North Macedonia changed its name in January 2019 after Greece reclamations, and reached all inclusion criteria. We are about forgetting, that opening negotiations doesn’t automatically mean, adhesion. Why France is slowed down ? The public opinion is pretty much unfavourable to Balkans’ integration in the European Union, however, we seem to forget that this is not the public opinion or any polls which have to be decisive to take decisions. This what criteria and réglementation are made for.
Italy, in turn, knows a lot of disagreement with France and underlines them by its strategical postions. It considers there is a « huge mistake » but also a missing « appointment with the History » which escaped to the European Union. By the way, Italy gets closer to the Balkans. This is a strategic zone where there are about 1000 Italian companies settled in the Albanian field. Economic exchanges between both countries represent about 34% of the Albanian exchanges.
The Italian interest in this Geographic Zone can be explained by the proximity to the Mediterranean sea, close to Turkey, making it strategically, and nowadays it takes more importance in the international arena. This zone also raises the interest of Russia and China. We have to remember that Albania has been under the Chinese influence for a while. This geographic location is considered as being a priority zone by the Italian President, Giuseppe Conte. He shows that it presented a risk to get back under the Russian or the Chinese influence, putting a danger of the geo-strategies that Italy would like to lead, or even become a reconciliation zone of Russia, Turkey or China in the European continent.
The integration of the Balkans stays a problem since 15 years which doesn’t seem to get resolved and make tensions between Albania, North Macedonia and Europe. De facto, both consider as being benched, or even not being taken seriously by their potential partners.
Despite sharing 1,900-miles-long border with massive populations of 220 million and 1.3 billion inhabitants, relations between India and Pakistan has remained worst particularly over Kashmir.
Map of Kashmir. Credit :BBC
In timescale of more than seventy year, these two countries have fought four decisive wars and a couple of skirmishes. The first major war erupted in 1947, shortly after the controversial partition of the subcontinent after British Empire withdrew the subcontinent; ending in 1948 with a division of Kashmir with a Line of Control ( also known as the Berlin Wall of Asia); however, both India and Pakistan have been claiming sovereignty of both sides of the Kashmir.
While the fact is Kashmiris do not want to be controlled by either side, most of the Kashmiris want freedom and an independent government and a sovereign state of their own. But what makes Kashmir a flash point is its geo-strategic importance that has been addressed in The Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshal. According to the author, the full control of Kashmir would give India a window into the Central Asian countries and a border with Afghanistan (which is already a proxy of two countries especially now when the most NATO forces has left the region).
And it would ultimately benefit India as she would be in direct access to the Central Asian oil that is also one of the main reasons India joined Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2017. Additionally, the full control by India would also deny the Pakistani border with China that would diminish the Pakistan-China relations which is often propagated as “taller than mountains and deeper than the oceans.” This was actually propaganda to making United States nervous about cutting Pakistan off from the massive military aid it received from Washington to fight their so-called war on terror. But this propaganda could not work in Donald Trump’s presidency. On the other hand, if Pakistan would have full control of Kashmir it would directly strengthen Islamabad’s foreign policy options and deny Indian opportunities. It would also help Pakistan’s water security that Indus River originates in Himalayan Tibet, but passes through the Indian-administered part of the Kashmir before entering Pakistan so it would help storing more water for the growing population of Pakistan.
This strategic-depth of Kashmir has remained it history’s long disturbed and the most militarized zone of the world and this issue has to be unsolved until states of Pakistan and India stop their armies and militias fighting with each other and leaving the both countries spilling over a full-scale war with inherent danger of the use of nuclear weapons as it is already experienced in 1999; and notably, this was the second time that the world was on the brinks of nuclear disaster after the famous Cuban Missile Crisis. According to one the prominent scholar of Pakistan, the state of Pakistan has lost it’s almost chances to get Kashmir’s full control; Pakistan cannot get an inch of Kashmir, according to the current scenario, especially when India has annexed Kashmir last year in August, 2019. Despite the action was a unilateral and against the United Nations Security Council’s articles on Kashmir that claim Kashmir as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, but the Indian action was also a real political because on the one hand, using force in interest of the state is realism, and on the other, believing in international norms and cooperation is a liberal idea on which Pakistan stood and faced an immediate defeat in Kashmir. Point here to make is Pakistan had been an aggressive power and it always initiated war stages, and India was seen on a responding side. But what happens this time is contrary to the historical events, it was an attack on Pakistani interest when India annexed Kashmir by abolishing article 370 and 35A, in response what we see was just nothing in response from Pakistani side expect claiming internationalization of the dispute. The truth is Pakistani leadership and policy makers actually failed to understand that Kashmir could only be conquered through force; and Pakistan had got that chance so many times in 1947, 1965, 1987, 1995 and finally in 1999. In 1984 also, Pakistan and India fought skirmishes on the Siachen Glacier at the altitude of twenty-two thousand feet which is considered as the history’s highest battle. But still this highness also didn’t give Pakistan a piece of Kashmir. At the end of the day, one can say that Pakistan has lost Kashmir not once, but so many times. Kashmir at the moment is officially an Indian state and Pakistan has lost the battle and even the nuclear deterrence also could not work.
I. Vladimir Putin’s accession to power and his actions at the head of the state : which leader is he ?
As officer of the KGB posted in Dresden at the time of the fall of the Wall, he began his political career at the town hall of St Petersburg, then became one of the closest advisers to President Boris Yeltsin, who made him director of the Federal Security Service in 1998, then President of the Government of Russia the following year. From 31 December 1999, following the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, he served as Acting President of the Russian Federation. He became full President on 7 May 2000, after winning the presidential election in the first round. Comfortably re-elected in 2004, he pursued a major reform policy marked by a recovery of the national economy and an institutional policy geared towards a concentration of presidential powers.In 2008, as the Constitution forbade him to run for a third consecutive term, he supported the candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev for the presidency. Once elected, Medvedev appointed him president of the government. Vladimir Putin then took over the leadership of the United Russia party. Frequently accused of authoritarianism in the exercise of his power, he is for the first time significantly challenged following the 2011 parliamentary elections.
Russia,The Motherland.
As candidate in the 2012 presidential election with the support of President Medvedev, he won in the first round and regained the post of President of the Russian Federation for an extended term of two years by virtue of an amendment adopted in 2008. During this period, he worked to restore Russian influence on the international stage. On the one hand, in the context of the Donbass war, following a disputed referendum, he allowed the Crimean peninsula to be attached to Russia, an act that was widely perceived as a violation of international law. On the other hand, it involves Russia militarily in the Syrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad. He is seeking a new term in the presidential election of 2018, which he won in the first round with a score never before achieved by a candidate in a post-communist presidential election.
Vladimir Putin, determined to restore what he calls “the vertical of power”, governs with a style considered by some analysts to be authoritarian; some Western media and political opponents speak of him as neo-Tsarism.
Putin’s administration’s return to control of the country, after the period of unrest and laissez-faire that prevailed under Boris Yeltsin, satisfies a large part of the population, tired of the political upheavals and capitalism in transition (the “shock therapy”) that appeared after the fall of communism, as well as those nostalgic for the power of the former Soviet Union that disappeared in 1991. This recovery also responds to the risk to the unity of the Russian Federation posed by the rise of nationalism in the ethnically non-Russian republics and increasingly autonomous local governors: the weakening of central power and the economic and social collapse following the disappearance of the Soviet Union forced the large Russian regions to seek self-administration during the 1990s. From the beginning of his presidential term, Vladimir Putin stated in a determined manner his objective to fight against the tax evasion by the oligarchs, whose control over the Russian economy was becoming a major concern of the population after an era of laissez-faire and complicity of Boris Yeltsin in the creation of this oligarchy. The Yukos affair is a fairly good illustration of the struggle against the oligarchs that prevailed during his first mandates and is characteristic of Putin’s vision in the 2000s. From the very beginning of his term of office, Vladimir Putin has undertaken important socio-economic and political reforms which have significantly transformed Russia.
In the social and economic fields :
tax reform: introduction of a single rate of 13% for income tax, introduction of a unified social tax, reduction of the VAT rate, reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 24%, which has made it possible to simplify taxation and limit fraud and corruption ; land reform introducing the right to sell agricultural land; opening up to competition of rail freight, which accounts for 80% of the country’s freight traffic. Pension reform : introduction of a three-pillar system with compulsory capitalization and voluntary savings, without raising the retirement age; implementation of the National Priority Projects and the demographic policy in order to reform the social sector and finance major projects in the field of health, education, accessibility of social housing, support for the agricultural sector and the increase in the birth rate.
In the political field, reforms have focused on the creation of a “vertical power” to make power more concentrated and effective (this process was accelerated following the Beslan tragedy in September 2004):
reform of the territorial division with the creation of seven Federal Districts by Presidential Decree No. 849 of 13 May 2000 ; reform of the Council of the Russian Federation (2000-2002), and the discontinuation of the election of governors by the subjects of the Federation: district governors are now appointed by the President of the country (Kremlin) with subsequent endorsement by local legislation (September 2004) ; creation of consultative bodies: a State Council (Gossoviet), consisting of the governors and a Chamber of Society (Obchtchestvennaya Palata), made up of influential and well-known personalities; implementation of measures ensuring better cohesion between the so-called siloviki public order ministries (Interior, Army, FSB) and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Vladimir Putin’s accession to power testifies to the complexity of the post-Soviet world in the 1990s and the nodes of intertwining that define the power relations in this area. His accession to power is the result of the rise of the levels of power in his country, particularly within the intelligence services. Putin appears to be an indisputable leader who has relieved Russia after the chaotic 1990s for the country. He has undertaken numerous reforms in this direction, particularly in the first part of his action (the 2000s). Is his track record appreciated by the population for all that? Is it as popular as people think? What challenges await Putin and what actions will he take until 2024?
II. Vladimir Putin’s present and future at the head of Russia : trajectories and prospects of the Russian political regime
Vladimir Putin’s popularity rating is impressive to Western observers. It reached nearly 60% in 2008, at the height of the war with Georgia. In August 2011, it falls to 39%, but he remains the most popular politician in the country, according to a survey by the Levada Analytical Centre, which emphasises that ‘people tend to hold Medvedev responsible for the country’s problems [while] Putin is seen more as the national leader who resolves crises. The work of Timothy Frye, Scott Gehlbach, Kyle L. Marquardt and Ora John Reuter is also very eloquent in this regard. They suggest that despite international observations on the political situation in Russia, fear of reprisals and the lack of opposition that would increase Putin’s popularity, his popularity remains high because of his action at the head of state. They conclude by saying : “More broadly, our results suggest that the main obstacle at present to the emergence of a widespread opposition movement to Putin is not that Russians are afraid to voice their disapproval of Putin, but that Putin is in fact quite popular ». Putin’s main occupation during his current term of office will be to persevere with his current policy, particularly in foreign policy : in the Middle East of course, but also in Central Asia with the perpetuation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which is becoming much more important in view of the extension of the new Silk Roads
Having become aware of the strong social discontent that has been growing in Russia for several years and the relative decline in its popularity Vladimir Putin has taken advantage of the 2018 presidential election to develop a new discourse centred on the social and demographic priorities of the Russian regions, as well as on the urgency of innovation and economic development in Russia. The main challenge of this mandate will therefore be to resolve the country’s internal crises in order to enable it to re-establish its popularity and, by the same token, its authority. According to some observers, this is the major challenge of this mandate. Moreover, a constitutional amendment adopted on March in the Duma authorises the Russian President to seek two new mandates, although he was originally due to step down in 2024. The main challenge ahead for Vladimir Putin will therefore be to reconcile the population’s expectations of change and modernity with the requirements of Russian foreign policy.
Putin’s challenges are therefore very great: enjoying assured popularity in his country, he must, however, face the rising discontent and demands for reform of his people. His international action reflects a long-term vision: it is therefore destined to be perpetuated during his next term of office. There remains the question of how long Vladimir Putin will remain at the head of state: answering this question seems very complex in view of Putin’s internal and external relations. As things stand at present, the wisest course of action is not to take a decision. However, it is safe to say that if the situation does not change in the next decade, Vladimir Putin has every chance of remaining at the head of Russia.
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Literature, articles and websites :
Axel Gyldén et Alla Chevelkina, « Limonov : “Stalin ruelle by the blood, Putin rulles by the total lie” », 16th jan. 2012.
Catherine Mercier-Suissa. Restauration de l’Etat de Droit ou captation de la rente pétrolière en Russie. NAQD d’études et de critique sociale, 2009, janv/fev (25), pp.69-85.
2004 OECD report and 2003 Walter report cited by François Benaroya, L’économie de la Russie, Paris, La Découverte, coll “Repères : économie” (no. 436), 2005, 123 p.
http://lenta.ru/lib/14160711/
International Chronology: Russia and CIS 2000 in La Documentation française
“The pressing issue now is how to retain the environmental benefits post the COVID-19 epidemic shrinks, and takeaways to replicate from this crisis-response in the pursuit ofsustainable, low carbon economy” – Tsewang Nuru Sherpa
We are currently residing in one of the most challenging times of the year, as repercussions manifested in our lives due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The collective global effort to fight the virus is in full swing, with medical practitioners incorporating all the strategies for vaccine developments, and philanthropist donating money to various health and food institutions. The plethora of never-ending news coverage and discussions dominated by the subject of COVID-19 has made us ponder the foreseeable future. For sure, its inextricably hard to fathom the situation right now, with people losing their jobs, education institutions halting the progress of the courses, and continuity of apprehension on the health of our beloved ones.
Protect the Ocean.
The severe effects of the societal disruption manifested in a low level of fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are clearly evident, with significant reductions of carbon emissions as global tourism and travel declined exponentially, and pollution has decreased dramatically. China experienced an unprecedented decline in carbon emission with an estimated 18% between February and March, as highlighted by the CarbonBrief. Following the same trend, the European Union also recorded a decline in power demands and consequently caused the emission to fall by tentatively 400 million metric tons. The global carbon emission trend has flattened while the curve of the virus outbreak has elevated.
Despite both COVID-19 and Climate crisis being deeply rooted in the abusive economic behavior, and with their similar threat to civilization, the response towards both of these crises has been different. As COVID-19 catapulted an immediate threat, the subject received a rapid response. However, the same scenario is not reflected in climate change stories. Therefore, how can we ensure that the equivalent level of urgency and speed in taking action is replicated evenly with the climate change crisis? One way of differentiating the subject of COVID-19 and climate crisis lies in the temporal variability. The existence of climate denial, as well as the slow emergence of the consequences that are felt sporadically and unevenly, can be attributed as one of the reasons why climate change evokes a muted response. On the other hand, pandemics and outbreaks are transmissible, and their rapid rate of infection evokes urgency and danger, that shocks people into taking immediate actions. During a time of life and death, people become responsive and receptive to taking actions to combat the risks. In the past few years, as a result of Climate change, many deaths and casualties have been recorded, but immediate responses have not been deployed. As evidenced by the report on the World Economic Forum (WEF), people inspired by the sole idea of ultimate salvation act on the immediate demand of the near future. With the lockdown being lifted, China has already experienced a resurgence in the level of carbon emissions. Currently, our environment is clear. However, much of the production will ramp up once everything gets back to normalcy as evident by the factories in china. Thus, the underlying question is how do we maintain the stability in the environmental benefits after the end of the COVID-19 outbreak, and how should the environmental pursuit be designed to have a speedy response like allocated for the COVID-19? One of the strong takeaways from the COVID-19 crisis is that governments are capable of taking actions and creating change. The climate emergency imposes the same level of risks as COVID-19 did and should be treated with equanimity and austerity.
This April 22 marks the historic 50 years of earth day ever since it was first launched in 1970. The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. Today, climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the interconnected support systems that make our world habitable. Thus, the recovery effort from the virus must be reckoned with climate change. Taking Action
COVID-19 can be plausibly deemed as the biggest global threat since world war II. However, the long-term effects of climate change relatively outweigh the virus outbreak. But if there is one similarity that binds these two crises is that both demand a high level of global cooperation. Both of these problems require government leadership. The government leadership is paramount in inventing policy that is directed in an ecologically and environmentally sound direction. The green stimulus must be outlined, which equivalently aligns with health care priorities. As governments in different regions of the world, right now embark on the colossal undertaking of concocting stimulus and recovery packages, it is paramount to accelerate the shift towards sustainable, decarbonized economies and resilient societies. The energy transition must be highlighted as the core part of the recovery measure, in the pursuit of a resilient future. Energy transitions are already soaring around many parts of the world as evidenced by the formulation of policy frameworks and cheaper forms of energy such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power.
The valuable lessons must be learned from the responses directed towards to the COVID-19 and must be replicated to the climate emergencies as well, by incorporating health equity at the core level of all the policymaking, and creating behavioral changes our consumption pattern to reduce global emissions, and successfully reach the targeted 1.5 degree Celsius targets of achieving a sustainable global green economy. Some of the core preventive mechanisms that we have adopted for COVID-19 can be accustomed to our daily lifestyle post the crisis: commuting less, reducing household waste, and promote local supply chains.
The science behind climate change has not changed, as we continue to see growth in the emissions level, while global warming impacts have intensified the challenges on all the social, and economic levels. Yes, the virus has caused a temporary decrement in the emission level but the schadenfreude of celebrating this only renders our sadistic nature, as a result of the lockdown, jobs have vanished steering sheer chaos and ambiguity amidst the social and economic spectrum. Thus, the stimulus and recovery measures to combat the outbreak should be able to enrich economic amelioration and provide employment opportunities, emphasizing on social equity and welfare. Countries around the world must stand in solidarity and cooperate for the greater purpose and ambition of transitioning to a sustainable, low carbon economy that limits global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Photo Credit- Middlebury Institute of International Studies
United Kingdom one of the most influential members of the EU is no longer its ally now. European Union finally lost one of its most powerful & strong members – the United Kingdom on 31st January after a long hustle. European Union has been an intergovernmental organization of European Countries for over 45 years. U.K had great importance to EU in many essential aspects – Geographically, Economically & Politically.
Though, the effect of Brexit remains speculative until the U.K’s post-Brexit relationship become clear with the EU. Eventually, U.K will need to have a good relationship with the EU because of its economical & trade needs whereas it will be hard to cooperate with Brexit loss for EU as well.
Unambiguously, there are a few things which Brexit has indicated sharply – During the 11 months Brexit Transition Period (February 1st to December 31), U.K would gradually & securely settle its market & economic ties outside EU agreement. Thus, it’s a period of Brewing & reorganizes their structures out of EU world. At the same time, there is a mammoth loss for EU caused due to Brexit as EU powers are destined to decline further in the upcoming years. Europe as a Continent is already facing a long term democratic crisis. Europe is the oldest continent across the Earth with a median age of 45. Its working-age to decline to approximately 50 million people by 2035.
Apparently, on the other side, the EU has many Competent & Capable militaries with Robust Economies. Which strengthen the European Union regime & its influence across the world. EU still comprise 3 out of 10 economies that belongs to Top 10 Economies Club even post Brexit – France, Germany & Italy. EU will leave the UK with new tariffs & other barriers will come into forces after the Transition period ends on January 31. This will put an onus over UK administration to cope up with new Trade rules. Now, it’s a need of an hour for UK to have some tax relaxation with EU in Trade deals. Here, the EU has a chance to negotiate according to its favours as the EU is a big market for UK which unfolds a great negotiation space for EU.
Brexit – Again for the U.S
The day after Brexit was voted, the currency market was in turmoil. The Euro fell 2% to $1.11 & Pound fell 8% to $1.36. Which means both increased the value of Dollar. Thus, Directly or Indirectly the whole Brexit exercise will benefit to the U.S as well to an extent.
The threat of Dissolving EU
Vividly, if we have a look at entire Brexit exercise, we may see a rise of Anti-immigration parties throughout Europe. And, if these parties get a good ground in France & Germany which is the backbone economies of the European Union. Then, France & Germany can also lead to vote against the EU which may hit the EU badly.
European Union should somehow turn its attention towards these sensitive concerns before it is too late. In this hard time when Coronavirus has hit EU the most, it is going to face a big crisis which may derail its attention towards the real issues affecting the European Union. A partisan is never a good option though it looks like a solution.
Let's Stay Healthy while travelling dear Young Diplomats!
The most important tip while traveling is: It only matters how you feel inside and doesn’t matter how much you weight. Jean’s size is not all about while traveling to stay fit and healthy.
It’s more about how you feel in your own body, how much energy you have, and your daily outlook.
This is not all about diet, calories, and extreme workouts but to set yourself up for happiness and balanced health as you travel around the world.
Let’s Stay Healthy while travelling dear Young Diplomats!
First of all, you have to remember that these tips are not about “how to keep you skinny while vacation” or “how to eat less”. This is all about making the best and healthy choices above anything else. [5 Tips] How to Eat Healthy While Traveling 1. Start With A Big Healthy Breakfast
This could sound like your mom talking, but this is what fuels your energy for the whole day and your metabolism gets pumping. You can take different kinds of veggies, bread and butter and some other things you want to have. And you can easily make them using your regular kitchen gadgets like griddle, bread machine, and oven as well. Also, there are a lot of hotels that include breakfast and if you are a budget traveler, you won’t want to miss it anyway.
2. Add ½ a plate of vegetables – No matter what it is
Actually, it doesn’t matter what you order. This can be a healthier lentil salad or a giant steak, order ½ a plate of vegetables to go on the side. You can find the veggies listed on almost every restaurant’s side-menu or you can also whip them up with stock from the kitchen. And this is truly a great food hack. Because you are filling up on veggies, you will eat less of your naughty food. Also, your body will have essential minerals and vitamins as you will get more veggies into your day.
3. Drink A Lot Of Water To Stay Fit
Make sure that you drink a lot of water to stay healthy while traveling. This will keep you hydrated, away from drinking bad things because this will keep you full. You will find bottled water easily in most places, but if you don’t, invest some money for a quality self-filtering water bottle for yourself.
4. Instead Of Always Eating out – Try Groceries
Instead of always eating out at restaurants, buy groceries while you are traveling. Not only this will save money but also save you from overeating. This will also help you to keep your healthy diet on schedule. You may buy tea, oatmeal, soup, eggs, and popcorn and use a coffee machine or a tea kettle to make them.
5. Eat Yogurt Every-day – At Least One
You should eat yogurt every day whether you are at home or traveling. First of all, this will keep you full, it’s easy and cheap and this keeps you from having bloating or diarrhea as AKA it controls your digesting system and keeps your tummy happy as well.
Seriously, this will also help you to regulate your PH in your vagina which keeps it fresh and healthy. Don’t believe me, check it on Google.
[5 Tips] How to Stay Fit & Active While Traveling 1. Take The Stairs – Every Time When You Get The Chance
It could sound like a simple tip but a very powerful technique to stay fit while traveling. You should avoid taking elevators or escalators. Try taking the stairs even if you are staying on the 10th floor of the hotel.
We know that taking the stairs is an awesome and simple exercise and better than taking the elevator. Most people don’t take it seriously but you should take the hard way because it is one of the best ways to stay in shape and fit.
2. Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is as essential as staying active while traveling. You will produce two hormones like ghrelin and cortisol if you lack on a good night’s rest and that will make you bloated, cranky and hungry as well. Due to a lack of energy, it will be easier to skip going on an exciting tour. Go to your bed early so that you can get up early and get enough sleep.
3. Walk Everywhere – Near Places
Traveling is to explore, isn’t it? You should skip the taxi, bus or train and go on foot. You won’t enjoy and do much of that if you travel on vehicles. Walk everywhere and you will explore so many things around. A beautiful thing might catch your eye and suddenly you just have found an amazing restaurant or boutique that you will never get in any travel guide.
4. Do Mini Workouts In The Hotel Room
There are some basic workouts that you can do without any equipment in a small place. Some basic exercises you can do like sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, lunges, leg lifts, and yoga salutations, and so on while you are waiting for room service, watching TV, or packing your suitcase.
Also, you can do some stretches before going to bed will really help you to relax your body.
5. When Waiting For Your Flight – Walk Around The Airport
We always come to the airport early to avoid any trouble. Try walking around the airport to explore new things instead of sitting in the lounge. Because you’ll be sitting on the airplane for a long time to come. So, try to take as many steps as you can and this will help you to enjoy your sitting in the plane by the way.
These are not the only things you can do but hope these will help you a lot to eat healthily and stay fit while traveling and also, enjoy your tour in a proper way.
Actually, staying fit and healthy is very important while you are traveling because you have to stay fit to travel to your desired places. On the other hand, you have to avoid being sick while traveling as well.
Bernie Sanders lost the Democrat Primary to Joe Biden. What is more interesting is where he lost, and even, where he won.
While in the 2016 Primary Bernie Sanders won Michigan over Hillary Clinton in a surprise upset, in 2020 Joe Biden won over Bernie Sanders in a landslide.
Bernie in Action.
Bernie Sanders also did poorly among non-college educated working class people, and among blacks, where his strength was with college-educated youths, and Hispanics, people whose Bernie Sanders’s message was not meant to appeal to.
So, why was it that Bernie Sanders, who did well among non-college educated working class in 2016, did terrible in 2020? Well, there are multiple theories, but one of those theories was proposed not by Bernie Sanders, nor my any modern political science theorist, but instead by Vladimir Lenin.
In 1920, Lenin wrote a book called “Left Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder” from which the phrase Infantile Leftism comes from. The basic message of the book was to warn people of communists to the left of Lenin; essentially saying that anyone who claimed to be a communist, yet criticized Lenin, was not a true communist; mainly directed against Julius Martov and his Mensheviks.
In essence, it was a bit of reaffirming a semi-religious cult around Leninism. But there was one thing he warned of in the book that many people don’t even know: Lenin spoke of “bourgeoisie communists”; socialist revolutionaries who don’t come from the mass of uneducated peasants, rather from the class that the movement was trying to overthrow.
Now, the notion of bourgeoisie communism extends beyond Lenin. In George Orwell’s 1937 book “The Road to Wigan Pier” he states that the reason why the working man, although in favor of socialist ideals, ultimately rejects socialism because of it’s ability to attract sandal and tweed-wearing vegetarian nudist feminists, who, although can spout Marxist dogma, have done very little, if any at all, manual labor in their lifetime. Indeed, Lenin himself was a highly educated man, who traveled all over the world and was fluent in multiple languages. Britain’s last socialist PM, Harold Wilson, graduated from Oxford and never did a day’s work of manual labor in his life, and while in public he smoked a pipe, in private he preferred cigars, the symbol of the upper-class elite. And Italy’s college-students who joined the Marxist-Leninst Red Brigades in the late 1960s all went to prep schools.
It is worth noting, however, that what Orwell concluded in “The Road to Wigan Pier” is different than what Lenin concluded in “Left Wing Communism: An Intellectual Disorder”. Lenin primarily railed against the social democrat movements of Germany and Britain for giving to heavily into capitalist demands, the Mensheviks for support of continuing the war against the Central Power, as well as anarchists and other Marxists for calling for a dissolution of parliamentary government. In addition, he railed against Labor Unions for creating “another branch of aristocracy” for going against trade unions.
Yet, Lenin’s railing of bourgeoisie communism, and Orwell’s warnings in “The Road to Wigan Pier” do present its warnings in the Sanders campaign. Ultimately, if people who benefit the most from socialism see that the socialist movement is filled with “bourgeoisie communists” and “sandal and tweed-wearing vegetarian nudist feminists”, the people that it was meant to go against, the blue-collar working class will oppose the movement.
Now, Bernie Sanders is no bourgeoisie communist. Born and raised in a rent-controlled apartment in Midwood, graduating from the University of Chicago, and spending time on a kibbutz is certainly not the path of a sandal and tweed-wearing vegetarian nudist feminist. But it nonetheless has shown in its results. Why?
One of the main reasons is that since Bernie Sander’s biggest strength was young voters who went to college, he focused heavily on them, and not the non-college educated blue-collar rust belt, leaving Michigan wide open for Joe Biden. As George Orwell wrote in “The Road to Wigan Pier”, many of these middle-class socialists are “cranks” who care more about dialectial materialism than they do about fighting for the blue-collar working class.
The truth of the matter is that as much as the notion of solidarity of races, class, and creeds sounds like a winning model, the truth is a message of solidarity of collar color workers, and even then, many of the collars, such as blue collar and white collar, are in direct conflict with one another.
But a better example to show of the dangers of infantile leftism lies across the ocean in Britain, and Jeremy Corbyn’s cataclysmic defeat in the 2019 elections. There were many reasons for Corbyn’s unlikability, but the main reason for the Labour Party defeat appears to have been caused by the Party’s inability to come to terms with Brexit. By calling for a second referendum, the appearance was given that the only people who were supporting Labour were people who would have been unaffected by the Brexit referendum, which was clearly not the British working class, proving that Labour had fallen into the infantile leftist trap laid out by George Orwell in “The Road to Wigan Pier”. The fact that the Coal-mining regions of South Wales, solid Labour constituencies, went Conservative for the first time ever proves that the Labour Party needs to do some serious soul-searching if it is to figure out whether or not it is a working-class party, or a party of bourgeoisie communist sandal-tweed wearing vegetarian nudist feminists.
Now, Bernie Sanders is no Jeremy Corbyn. And his loss in the election is not, nor ever will be, as cataclysmic is Jeremy Corbyn’s. But, more often than not, their bases overlap considerably, in particular online, via the form of “Rose Twitter.” And like the Labour Party, the Bernie Sanders movement needs to do some serious soul searching about why is lost the rural-white non-college educated, when it won them in 2016.
What is needed to fix the problem of infantile leftism ultimately stems from 5 points outlined in George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier.” As outlined in Wikipedia:
Class prejudice. This is real and it is visceral. Middle-class socialists do themselves no favours by pretending it does not exist and—by glorifying the manual worker—they tend to alienate the large section of the population that is economically working-class but culturally middle-class.
Machine worship. Orwell finds most socialists guilty of this. Orwell himself is suspicious of technological progress for its own sake and thinks it inevitably leads to softness and decadence. He points out that most fictional technically advanced socialist utopias are deadly dull. H. G. Wells in particular is criticised on these grounds.
Crankiness. Among many other types of people Orwell specifies people who have beards or wear sandals, vegetarians, and nudists as contributing to socialism’s negative reputation among many more conventional people.
Turgid language. Those who pepper their sentences with “notwithstandings” and “heretofores” and become over excited when discussing dialectical materialism are unlikely to gain much popular support.
Failure to concentrate on the basics. Socialism should be about common decency and fair shares for all rather than political orthodoxy or philosophical consistency. (Let us be real, does the average working- class citizen care about what happens in Palestine?)
Now, there are some questions that this raises: How can climate change be told from a non-college educated working class perspective? How can America’s role in the world be told from a non-college educated working class perspective? These are, indeed, good questions.
The ultimate answer to this question is to keep it simple and straight. Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang were able to do just that, while the message by Bernie Sanders of “Are you willing to fight for someone you don’t know” is, while powerful, not simple and straight, and only falls into turgid language and dialectical materialism.
There needs to be a fundamental reevaluation of working class movements. Movements that don’t have elitist bourgeoisie lapping onto it. Movements that take the warnings of Lenin and Orwell. Then, and only then, can there be a fundamental shift in politics towards the working class and away from the privileged elite.
Initially seen as a mere local problem, the virus that flourished in the Wuhan province at the beginning of the ‘Year of the Rat’ spread rapidly, reaching every corner of the globe and thus putting the world under an unprecedented threat. In fact, this new form of influenza not only has raised sudden concerns linked to the appropriateness of the general healthcare system and its capacity to tackle an unexpected emergency, but it also led both people and experts to start questioning whether this pandemic will have long-terms consequences in this current, interconnected era.
Grimmy Forecast.
In particular, it is essential to focus on the impact that the illness could have on globalization. Defined as ‘the process of interaction and integration among people, companies and governments worldwide’, it saw a key turning point in the aftermath of the Cold War when, in pursuing a goal of more inclusivity, countries adhered to the principles of the Washington Consensus and embarked toward a path of a broader liberalization of the economy. Since 1989, the world has been characterized by decades of free movement of people and goods, but given the present circumstances, it is unavoidable to put this context under examination. More specifically, the COVID-19 has already heavily undermined the global economy in terms of production, demand and supply among a wide range of sectors, from cars to iPhones, and from the pharmaceutical to the entertainment and travel industries. This shock generated with the extended shutdown of many Chinese factories resulted in a disruption of the production of a lot of goods both in Asia and in Europe. This evolved in a downward trend in countries deeply interconnected to China, such as Japan, South Korea and Australia. To mention a few cases, Hyundai halted production at its factories due to a shortage of parts made in China, and Nintendo is facing a delay in delivering gaming consoles. But since China is universally recognized as a main provider for the global output, this drop reiterated yet again the massive dependence that the modern world has on the country at a factories and operational level.
The outcome of this turmoil highlighted the need for a reassessment of the world’s reliance on China, a tendency that was already underway with the trade war declared by President Trump, which consisted in imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods from China, hoping that this could force companies to bring back productions to the U.S. Now, the coronavirus outbreak is being taken by the whole administration as an additional indicator to reinforce pressure on companies to leave China. But the american tycoon is not the only one who displayed such protectionism oriented tendencies. The disease has indeed brought the concept of nationalism into the spotlight again, with extreme right-wing nationalistic leaders such as President Bolsonaro of Brazil and Viktor Orban accusing globalization to be the main responsible for the numerous economic woes of their respective countries. What can be deduced from this scenario is that integration of the world’s economy is undeniably in retreat on almost every front, as demonstrated by previous attempts such as Brexit, the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017, India’s removal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to protect domestic industries and jobs, as well as the western backlash against migration. These are clear proofs that multilateralism has taken a backseat, to the point that Walden Bello, a Philippine economist, coined the term ‘deglobalization’ to depict this behavior. For the professor, deglobalization implies the idea of making the domestic market the center of gravity of the economy rather than the global one, in addition to using tariffs and quotas to preserve local industries and agriculture from being overrun by the products of transnational corporations. This theory suggests then that deglobalization is more a matter of ethics, that prioritizes values above interests, cooperation above competition and puts a great emphasis to community rather than efficiency.
Even though this vision can appear quite radical, it is indisputable that globalization has been a major contributor to the decline of inflation over time, speeding even more when China joined the WTO in 2001. It is also true that a considerable degree of interconnectedness leads to greater vulnerabilities and that the COVD crisis thrown the global economy into a tailspin. But, on the other hand, it must be acknowledged that globalization brings with itself an incomparable set of advantages, including the creation of more employment opportunities and lowering the risk of currency manipulation problems. For these reasons, it can be stated that globalization is not destined to die, but it will probably undergo significant changes despite the fact that there are still too many uncertainties surrounding the duration of the pandemic. Moreover, because of the way the global economy has developed since 1980, to question globalization today is equivalent to question the entire world’s relationship with China. In this sense, an entire or partial shift from trade and manufacturing can put at risk the personal legacy of Secretary General Xi Jinping, who has made technocratic competence the core of his legitimacy. But a detachment from the Chinese supply chain could also weakens China’s position in the international relations’ realm, since the national origins of the pandemic can reaffirm the belief that China is dangerous and incapable of behaving responsibly.
Although many businesses have realized the risks of counting only on China, in order to resolve the potential damage that derives from the COVID upheavals, both governments and firms need to learn how to achieve a balance between concerns of the local, the national and the global sphere when dealing with economic related matters. At the same time, companies should be prone to recognize that trade is becoming more regional, and should consequently invest more in doing business with regions in order to shorten supply chains and decrease costs. This does not mean, however, that this kind of pattern must become a new universal rule, but it can surely bring at least a temporary relief from the harm that the Chinese virus has caused to the global economy.
The Eastern sun is rising and the Western sun is setting. The Western adoption of a Marxist philosophy has made this evolution actually a revolution. This leftist, activist manipulator has worked his agenda through cultural and social engineering which eventually will show its ugly head but at a time too late.
Early on, the West will be the loser and the East the gainer. Eventually, this germ will infect the globe if the East does not have the mental strength to recognize and expose this insidious imposter, posing as something for good only to hide its true purpose for power by a few.
Social and cultural engineering is a fraud upon humanity in that it lowers nature’s evolutionary process of natural selection and progress and substitutes false recipes in claiming the cake will be better. This mass pre-varication did not make for a better cake but for a lesser one. The West is already showing decline for this Marxist formula for centralization and pitting one group against another, not for betterment but for power. Marxism at its best.
The left’s scheme is to impose an attractive solution where the reason is simply an underlying reach for power. The U. S. civil rights movement in the 1960’s had at its roots a move to weaken the whites and empower the blacks. (Not spear-headed by the blacks, contrary to the media) Time has shown it had nothing to do with equality. In many ways, the blacks have become the privileged minority and, yet, still the call for reparations with wails of unfair treatment. Empower one group to disempower another.
Compared to the East, U.S. especially social and cultural engineering has given us inferior education, medicine, infrastructure, and government for the money. The common error in America is to compare the U.S. to Western Hemisphere and EEU progress rather than use the East for a competitive measure.
Michael G. Mehrige
About the Author
Michael G. Merhige played semi-pro high school baseball in the Ban Johnson League for two summers in Kansas. He received a scholarship to the University of Alabama as a baseball letterman. He served in the US Army as an officer attached to the Navy and Marines during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Caribbean. He was also a CIA officer in the Far East (official cover) and in South America (non-official cover). He retired as a Corporate Development Executive in private industry.
The racism problem in America is an obsession turning from a molehill to mountain to an insanity. This has become the ridiculous to the more ridiculous. There is absolutely no basis for such an animalistic reaction. Nor is there any justification for the white population to be going to their knees and crawling off like guilty pets. Not today. It is now nothing more than a manufactured hold on the nation that is neither healthy nor wise.
Why? Because this molehill, at the very best, has been fire gassed and stoked by the media and select, subverting groups. The grievances are nothing more than manipulated talking points from a group of elite opportunists and a leftist media. The racial advances since the 1960’s are there for the world to see, and yet, we have instigator elements that are behind these whining and tantrum throwing disrupters. A sane nation would not allow such destruction.
” We have become a more violent country ”
Yes, we have police abuse that is escalating but some of it is a reaction to an escalating ‘at your throat’ society. Let’s not exaggerate the matter by violent actions and then look to scapegoat others. We have become a more violent country for many reasons that are not at all police related. As expected, however, leftist groups and their media will scapegoat all but themselves when they are the perpetrators. The elite left has been at it since the 1960’s. They are the element who seeded this manufactured crisis to change the culture so to be one under their complete control.
The breakdown began to occur in the 60’s with leftist challenges in the courts and a media blitz to attack the culture. None of what we see here today was spearheaded by the blacks for they were not organized, but taught and prodded to demonstrate. Leftist media was always there with extreme coverage. Legal organizations, such as the political, left ACLU, became very active taking up black causes while non- blacks were left on their own unless these organizations saw some mileage for their culture change agenda.
No one can dispute that police organizations throughout the U.S. have been allowed to become politically too strong. Their unions are almost inviolate demanding financial contracts for salaries, over time, retirement and other benefits. Their tables of organization are too extensive, so this has become too costly. Anyone who has negotiated with unions knows the two points not negotiable for unions are the seniority rule and protection for rotten apple cops. Try to get rid of a bad apple or a troublesome union employee with seniority. Quite notably, the costliest unions are in the major cities, but a subject unto itself with unions, local government and the populous sharing in the blame.
Most important to solving these mentioned problems is the selection process. The hiring standard and sticking to it are vital to insure safe and efficient police protection. A lax hiring standard will insure police abuse. For obvious reasons, police need to be tough and with good common sense. Those with a propensity for brutality are ill-fit for any enforcement position, no matter how physically able. Yet, more than should be are hired.
” The police are necessary “
Before all, the hiring standards and process are a vital part and first line of defense to avoid aggressive police behavior. One should note, however, that this increase in hostile police behavior mirrors the amount of aggressiveness that has become so common in our population. And, it is here that the media will never report this link. Nor will he media always report when the police had good reason to shoot a black. Only that they shot him. On the other hand, police lie on their reporting to protect their wrongful actions and keep the offending officers away from being charged.
The police are necessary for a multitude of reasons. We remember the abuse but how about police rescuing children, the aged, other adults and even pets in harm’s way. How many persons in need are assisted or saved by police actions every day? While the agenda media is always scouting around to report white police abuse of blacks, how much are we fed about black crime? To purposefully ignore it is to be dishonest. The American agenda media is notorious for ignoring or hiding matters but hunting and exposing others, all based upon how it fits their leftist agenda. They have become a major instrument by certain elements as a method to influence or even rule.
Why more crime and population aggressiveness today than in the 1940’s and 1950’s? You will hear it is due to more population and racism. Well, we have been taught since the 60’s to hate and distrust by those who want the unequivocal right to rule. Civil rights means equal treatment – not equal status in society. It does not exist in nature. Equity is the proper word. The instigator’s modus operandi has been to divide and conquer by citing a problem, inflating it to pit one group against another so to weaken the target. In the process, over the decades, our country has become more violent and distrustful. Too often now, these decisive saboteurs choose a sore spot as an opportunity to advance their policy, not to solve a problem but to grow it for their benefit. These elite power seekers hijacked the civil rights movement to change the culture to be more malleable to their intentions. Yes, there was certainly a most plausible excuse for civil rights justice. We cannot argue with that but there was a hidden agenda to disempower the whites and change the culture. Other devices have been employed such as illegal immigration that will continue to be used. The activists will not stop until they change the culture to their liking.
” Leftist challenges “
The breakdown began to occur over half a century ago with leftist challenges in the courts and a media blitz to attack the culture. None of what we see here today was spearheaded by the blacks for they were not organized, but taught and prodded to demonstrate. Leftist media was always there with extreme coverage. Legal organizations, such as the political ACLU, became very active taking up black causes while non- blacks were left on their own unless these organizations saw some mileage for their culture change agenda. Disrespect for law officers is partly the fault of the police abuse but more so the preaching by the media and leftist groups that encourages civil disobedience. Do it in large numbers and chances are you will void arrest.
On balance, police abuse exists but elements provoking a fight did not start when the police hit back. That came after black crime exploded, after the civil rights movement’s success was well established and even making the blacks a privileged minority. While the Civil Rights Movement had its place, there was very much an agenda within to empower for reasons bringing America to where it is. If we look to blame let’s not blame the police but focus on the source. What is going on now is not justice for abuse but sabotage to change the culture. Trillions of U.S. dollars have been spent to assist blacks with education, jobs, welfare, et alia to assist their progress and their communities. Yet, if we continue to confuse bad intention with good, this racial/cultural problem will only get worse. The instigators do not sleep so America will have to read their true motives. When it comes to leftist media reporting, look for the hidden agenda. Invariably, you will uncover their faulty, purposeful reporting. Those changing the country’s culture are political activists who will not sleep until they get it their way.
From the ridiculous to the more ridiculous
Today, we are told how to think, what to say, who to like and dislike. And too many of us accept it like sheep in the meadow.
Police abuse exists but not in a vacuum. This is a fight that did not start when the police hit back. That came after black crime exploded starting in the 60’s while spurred by other elements. We need to deter police violence but we need to expose the methods the radical left and media have used to fuel this country with a propensity to hate. Constant selective references to our historic faults are meant to aggravate, not ease relations. It always pertains to black racism or anti-Semitism. Other races or ethnic groups are treated as if they do not exist. This speaks loudly as to the falseness and hypocrisy of this so-called civil rights movement. Here we have nothing more than a ploy to change the culture and only help the activists seeding this destruction. Unless we, as a nation, become more adept to flushing out agenda politics masking as a move for justice, America will be burn more and be brought to its knees. The number of people who have been dismissed from their jobs for being accused of saying things anti-Semitic, racial or other things considered politically incorrect is enormous. Hate crime laws are now in existence which bring more severe punishment and socio/economic consequences. To hate is not a crime. If acted upon then the crime is the criminal act. This is political legislation which has become so common the last 60 years and frankly unconstitutional as it is administered. All along, Americans have given in to the leftist hijacking of the country and now we are where we are. Not good.
Some words to the wise specifically exposing the U.S. elite, leftist media from the book, Thoughtful Pauses -Chapter 6:
(“There exists no weapon more potent than big media’s monopoly for controlling the minds and freedoms of the masses. They intrude, embellish, exaggerate, bully, prevaricate, invent, ignore, target, intimidate, politicize, and propagandize to foment their elite agendas. A population can recognize the power of physical weapons but cannot discern big media’s destructiveness. All sectors of society are in fear of their attack and yet are impotent to respond in kind. Today, absolute freedom of speech is their domain and theirs alone.”)
Michael G. Mehrige
About the Author
Michael G. Merhige played semi-pro high school baseball in the Ban Johnson League for two summers in Kansas. He received a scholarship to the University of Alabama as a baseball letterman. He served in the US Army as an officer attached to the Navy and Marines during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Caribbean. He was also a CIA officer in the Far East (official cover) and in South America (non-official cover). He retired as a Corporate Development Executive in private industry.
Michael G. Merhige is the author of Thoughtful Pauses. He perfectly understands the internal crisis in the US.
