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03 Mar 2012 13:30

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World: Sarkozy says he’s not fit to lead European Commission or Council

  • I don’t think I have the qualities to be a good European Commission or European Council President.
  • French President Nicolas Sarkozy • Responding to a reporter’s question about his political future at an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium. The French president’s future came into question because, with elections next month and polls showing him in second, it’s possible this could be his last appearance at an EU summit. Sarkozy also voiced his support for recently re-elected European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, saying “I am sure I would do it less well than him.” source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 10:22

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World: Anyone want to spot Portugal some money? They kinda need it

  • €70 billion (or more) needed to help bail out Portugal source
  • » Coming today — the request: Portugal’s current caretaker government plans to solicit the European Union for bailout money today. However, the fact that it is a caretaker government complicates things, because some argue that they may not have the proper authority to take on such a task. To put this in perspective, Ireland’s outgoing government made a similar bailout request, only to have to the new government ask for changes after they got into office — something that the people handing out the money didn’t like. Gift horse, mouth, all that stuff.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 09:59

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World: What happens to Libya’s expatriates during a crisis like this?

  • issue For years, many Libyans have attempted to leave the country – illegally, mind you – on refugee boats that travel through the Mediterranean. The refugees have mostly headed to Italy.
  • tactic Before the current crisis, Libya and Italy had a deal where the two countries would intercept them and send them back to Libya to detention centers – which is, um, a human rights violation.
  • problem People are leaving in larger numbers now – 5,000 in the past week – and Libya has threatened to stop cooperating. So now, the EU is trying to figure out a way to take in the expatriates. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2010 09:42

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Biz, Tech: European Union targets its frickin’ laser beam at Google’s head

  • Is Google acting anti-competitively? Does it use its search-engine prowess to favor its own services over those of competitors? Does the company’s market share (66 percent in the U.S., 80 percent in Europe) constitute a monopoly? Do sites like Foundem, eJustice.fr and Ciao (the latter owned by Microsoft) have bad luck with Google because of crappy information-thin design that completely wastes your time and has little relevance (which we’d argue with the first two) or because there are competitive issues afoot (which seems realistic with the last one)? The European Union is asking these questions themselves as part of an antitrust trial. Seems Google’s getting too big for its britches. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2010 20:29

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World: Greece gets the first part of that massive aid package of theirs

  • $38.6B
    will get loaned to Greece over the next three years by the IMF
  • $7B
    hits the country’s coffers as of right now; the rest comes later
  • $141B
    was offered to the country in an aid package accepted last week source
  • » Will this improve the country’s dismal state? It’ll improve the global market most likely but won’t ease tensions among its citizens. The extremely unpopular austerity measures were a condition of the aid package they got from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission. So they’re not going away, kids.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2010 20:41

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World: The E.U. hoppin’ mad about fake passports used in Hamas killing

  • They plan to issue a sternly-written letter shortly. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh’s assassination in Dubai last month has increasingly gotten more intriguing as the story has unfolded, and the use of fake IDs by the reported assassins, besides being a plot point for a Jason Bourne movie, has only boosted attention on the case. While their statement won’t expressly cite Israel for what happened, we’re guessing the EU wants to infer it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Dec 2009 10:58

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Tech: On the flip side, Microsoft and the EU no longer locking horns

  • Now if only Intel could get some of MS’s juju. The European Union has been on the company’s back over lack of browser choice, something Microsoft has responded to by actually listening to them and offering choices other than Internet Explorer to its users. The EU’s response? They’re dropping the suit, and MS gets to roam (somewhat) free. Happy time! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Nov 2009 20:14

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World: The new European Union president: He sure blends into a crowd

Who’s the least-recognizable person in this lineup? If you chose the dude on the bottom right like we expected, you just picked new EU president Herman Van Rompuy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2009 09:03

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U.S., World: Europe: Avoid visiting the U.S. or Mexico due to swine flu

  • The European Union’s health commissioner told its citizens to avoid traveling to the U.S., so as to prevent a swine flu pandemic. source
  • Swine flu has already made its way to Spain, with one confirmed case and 17 suspected. And it could get worse. Panic! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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