The NATO that I used to know There is now an avowed crisis in NATO, an organization that has been unable to inspire confidence in the citizens it is supposed to protect. Pity it does such a good job to protect its supposed reputation, but that's bureaucracy for you. This article has been inspired by a Wall Street Journal piece which is singularly below the usual high standard of journalistic integrity they apply, and that can be found here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-countries-defense-spending-europe-russia-ukraine-2cae6723?st=ei8f5zo4ptb4txq While the article quotes official sources the message is deceptive: on reading it one would think European members of NATO have largely mended their miserly ways and are now serious about being actually able to defend themselves, while reality projects a very different message. There are points that are particularly misleading so I will parse it. “ Some 23 of 32 NATO member countries are on track to spend at least 2% of t...
Milei: The only real news of the year The year 2023 has been far from uneventful and there are scores of very good “year in review” posts. But for an Italian like me, and for the world in general, nothing in my opinion comes close to the free election of Milei in Argentina. Argentina has been a sick man of South America for longer than I have been alive. But that was not always the case, and while present day society, with its weak familial relationships and indifference of history can ignore it, It was indeed a wealthy and thriving society in the latter part of the 1800 and early 1900. For me, that's part of the family lore since of the five brothers one of which was my paternal grandfather, three emigrated to Argentina in the early part of the past century. I probably have more relations there than here in Italy. That was partly due to a federalist constitution and a series of market friendly governments which allowed the country to make the most of its advantages...
August 9th, 2023 THE END OF MELONI? DISCLAIMER: nothing in this article is or is meant to be "financial advice" under current legislation. drink fluids, eat healthy and exercise. I had some doubts about how the new government of Italy would develop, see my previous post on the subject . But here we are, not one year into the current government, and it all falls apart in one day. First an explanation: by “fall apart” I do not mean that the government falls, loses parliamentary votes, suffers internal defections etc. If anything, the one speculative thoughts I had, that Meloni would last the legislature, is the less dented of my opinions, expectations and desires. In fact, I surmise that between declaring the experience ended and proclaiming a snap election, or the present predicament, the first was the better alternative... provided she had an inkling about what happened. What I mean is that what made Meloni "something else" is lost, and probably irretrie...
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