FRANCE : UNIONS FIGHT MACRON REFORMS

President Macron was elected on the promise he made to reform France because it's Economy had become the "Bad Boy" of the Eurozone !

His method is to identify the areas where costs are too high or objectives are not attained.  For at least the last 40 years previous Presidents of France have preferred to avoid conflicts with Trade Unions rather than apply painful solutions !

The Nationalised Railway system is a typical example of such a problem in France.   Over the years Unions have obtained "rights" for its members which today can no longer be logically  justified.  Better working conditions now exist but Unions defend the "rights" they obtained !

The National Rail system makes huge losses :  less investments are made to avoid or limit the costs which ultimately taxpayers have to fund ! 

There are numerous other sectors which Macron and his Ministers are investigating, like Education, the Health Service, the rising number of State Employees......

In the coming months France is ensured of numerous industrial conflicts : no one knows how and when this saga will end !

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PUTIN AND RUSSIA MUST BE RESTRAINED !

Western Politicians, except Corbyn and Juncker, have generally backed Theresa May's proposition that a DIPLOMATIC WAR against Putin should be observed after the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British Soil !

Alas, none of these high-powered Politicians or Diplomats have proposed any measures which could be taken to curb and restrain Putin.   His aims are clear : like a real Dictator he wants to restore the might of Russia and rule Russia like Stalin did !

Russia already has one army helping Syria in the Middle East War and another which occupies parts of Eastern Ukraine.  Is it Putin's aim to "grab" the whole of Ukraine and perhaps Syria ?    He has already snatched Crimea !

But, Putin and Russia have weaknesses which the West must exploit, to stop more Russian aggression. 

The simpliest method seems to be an ECONOMIC TRADE WAR by Western Allies, stopping all imports or exports with Russia.   This would quickly destroy the Russian Rouble, but also arouse internal anti-Putin protests. 

Putin had a landslide victory in the "Election" last Sunday but only because Opposing Candidates were prevented from participating !


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GB ALLIES FORM ANTI-PUTIN WALL !

After she declared a "Diplomatic War" against President Putin and Russia, Prime Minister Theresa May and Britain have quickly received spontaneous World-wide backing ! 

What is also significant is that this approbation  has not come only from the USA and Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand, but also from EU countries like Germany and France !

After Theresa May yesterday expelled 23 Russian Diplomats from London, speculation is rife !   Will Russia expel 24 British Diplomats in a "tit for tat" response ?  

Putin and Russia are wide open for sanctions after all their antics on the international scene during the last 10 years and more : Crimea, Ukraine, threats to cut gas supplies, war in the Middle East to support the Syrian butcher Assad....... !

A total trade embargo with Russia, (no exports and no imports), would rouse the anti-Putin Opposition.  It has been continually and totally silenced and subdued since Putin came to power in the year 2000.   Such an embargo could also provoke a Russian economic crisis !

Putin's real Achilles heel today is the World Football Cup which Russia will host in June 2018 !   If he wants to impress the World with his might, who would want to run the risk of going to Russia in June, either as a Spectator or as a Player ?

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PRIME MINISTER MAY LEADS THE WAY !

Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, seems to have evidence that Russia has tried to assassinate a former Russian Spy on British soil, with a nerve gas which is internationally banned !   The Spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, are at present both fighing for their lives, after having been attacked with a nerve gas in the street.

The Prime Minister has declared a "DIPLOMATIC WAR" against Putin and this morning announced that 23 Russian Diplomats, who in fact are  undeclared intelligence officers, have been given a week to leave the country !     

Putin's systematic method of defence is to reject all allegations of wrongdoings, by demanding all the evidence which justify accusers to attack him or Russia !

In fact for Putin these allegations come at a delicate moment ! This weekend he will be  "reanointed" President of Russia and vast celebrations have already been prepared. 

Likewise another "Putin Triumph" to be celebrated is the closing ceremony of the World Football Cup which Russia hosts at the end of June - even if Russia does not the Win the Cup !  

Before then Theresa May and others could have further sanctions against Putin and Russia to announce !

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GB : MORE SEX GROOMING SURPRISES !

Again, to the "surprise" of everyone responsible for ensuring the security of citizens, more gangs "sex grooming young girls" have been discovered. 

At least 10 years ago, gangs near Rochdale and Manchester were found : now there are Press reports of "sex grooming" gangs in the Birmingham area !

But what is also disturbing are the similarities in all these Reports !  For example, 

  -  The security of local citizens, particularly of young girls, was not ensured for more than 20 years !
  -  The Police have no trace of any reports made by worried victims, parents or neighbours !
  -  Even the Police appear to be surprised gangs have been operating in their area for so long !
 
  MPs, Local Councillors and the Police now all want to start a full-scale Enquiry to identify who was responsible or what went wrong.   Why ?


Usually this takes a long time and usually the official result is that there was a collective fault !  

What is required NOW is ACTION but at Ministerial level ! 
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LES SENIORS LACHERONT ILS MACRON ?

C'est le "Journal du Dimanche" du 11 mars qui l'écrit en page7: "Macron perd sa carte senior" !   

En clair, les seniors, qui dans leur ensemble avaient soutenu Emmanuel Macron lors de  l'Election Presidentielle, semblent aujourd'hui prendre leurs distances avec leur jeune Président.

En cause :
- la hausse de la CSG de 1,7% pour les plus aisés d'entre eux, c'est à dire ceux qui disposent de retraites supérieurs à, excusez du peu, 1200 euros par mois !
 
- le maintien dans l'ISFI de la résidence principale alors que les avoirs financiers échappent désormais à l'ISF, ce qui avantage les "très riches"!
 
Certes Macron avait annoncé qu'un effort serait demandé aux retraités les plus aisés.  Mais ce faisant ne risque-t-il pas de dresser les générations les unes contre les autres ?
 
Jeudi 15 mars, les seniors défileront pour protester contre la baisse de leurs pensions.  Parallèlement les personnels des établissements d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes (EHPAD) manifesteront contre leur manque de moyens.
 
Un premier avertissement ?

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ONLY BRITAIN WANTS TO BOYCOT PUTIN ?

Has the time not come when Putin's wings must be clipped ?   For a long time on the international scene, has he not been doing whatever he wants, while at the same time testing the reactions of World Powers ?  

Is "not reacting" against what he does, in Putin's view, tantamount to condonning what he has dared to do ?  

Britain is now directly involved in such an event !  There has been an assassination attempt,  on British soil, of a former Spy for Russia, Sergei Skripal.   He became a turncoat and now lives in Britain with his daughter. 

British MPs want retaliation and suggest that Prince William (and England) should boycott the World Football Cup finals in Russia next year !

Is that really the right strategy ?   What solution would the thousands of serious, talkative, Diplomats of international standing propose, to stop Putin's antics or to punish him ?          

Should he be allowed to keep Crimea, an army in Ukraine, Syria and the Middle East, send doped competitors to sports events ?

Action is needed before he is re-anointed as the President of Russia at the end of this month of March 2018 !

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GB : BAN VEILS IN COURTS OF LAW !

The new President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, when addressing the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, regretted that the Lord Chief Justice had not published guidelines which had been promised two years ago ! 

Lady Hale wants no Veils in Courts of Law because they hide the demeanour of witnesses when they testify.  But, the ultimate definition should not be limited only to Veils or Islamic Veils !  Nothing should ever impair the visual appearance of witnesses. 

Lady Hale is right to insist that Guidelines are required.  They would help to prevent costly technical interuptions in court !

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WITH MERKEL WILL THE EU EVER CHANGE ?

After desperate negotiations, finally with her old Coalition Partners, Merkel has obtained what she wanted. . . her job as the Chancellor of Germany !

After her previous 12 years service as the Leader of Germany, many German electors as well as other citizens in the 28 country EU, had all been hoping that a new person would be appointed in the key position of Chancellor !

Action is wanted on 2 key EU issues : Immigration into the EU and the Control of internal and external EU Frontiers !
 
Merkel's CDU party and her SPD Coalition partners lost more than 100 seats in the General Election.  
 
Germany is not alone.   EU citizens have voted for more security in other recent Elections.  They want more economic security inside the EU and EU protection against foreign Terrorists !
 
Will Merkel be capable of satisfying all the aims of Germans and other EU citizens at the same time ? 

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MACRON:AU RISQUE DE DEPLAIRE...

faire ou plaire? il faut choisir!

FIFA MUST MODERNISE ITS RULES !

During the last 50 years, the way football is played has changed, equipment has changed (balls and boots) but the RULES referees must apply have virtually remained the same.

The effect of not modernising football rules, was seen in France last Sunday in the match Paris vs. Marseille : 11 yellow cards were issued for "minor" fouls.  

Neymar, a gifted player, was continually hounded throughout the 79 minutes he was on the pitch : in the end he was injured and obliged to leave !

BUT, only yellow cards were issued because the "fouls" were not "blatently serious attacks", just fouls of an "accidental" nature !   The reality is that a player would step on the toes of another player to hinder him !

Also, 50 years ago, the toe-caps of football boots were very hard : this helped when kicking balls which were much heavier and often caked with mud !   Footballs now are lighter and more bouncy. Football boots are also different : they are now soft and more like slippers !  These changes have made players more fragile.

Should the rules of football not take these changes into account ?   Keep the red card, but instead of the yellow card, why not introduce a short time penalty for petty fouls ?   This would in fact be instant justice !  

This kind of penalty has been used in Ice Hockey for more than a century ! 

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PSG WIN WITHOUT NEYMAR !

With reference to the pre-match article yesterday,  there were only two yellow cards, one for each team !   Marseille again lost 3 - 0 against a PSG team which this time was without Neymar.

PSG have therefore qualified for the semi-finals of the 2018 French Cup, but Neymar will be out of action for at least 6 weeks !   The Final is on May 8. 

If PSG qualify but Neymar is still not fit to play, perhaps he will get a "walk-on" substitution 2 or 3 minutes from the end of the match, to get the Medal he really deserves !   
 
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