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The Belgian Curtain
Europe after Communism
1st EDITION
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.
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Lidija Rangelovska
Lidija Rangelovska
A Narcissus Publications Imprint, Skopje 2003
First published by United Press International – UPI
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Saturday's vote in Ireland was the second time in 18 months that its increasingly disillusioned citizenry had to decide the fate of the European Union by endorsing or rejecting the crucial Treaty of Nice. The treaty seeks to revamp the union's administration and the hitherto sacred balance between small and big states prior to the accession of 10 central and east European countries. Enlargement has been the centerpiece of European thinking ever since the meltdown of the eastern bloc.
Shifting geopolitical and geo-strategic realities in the wake of the September 11 atrocities have rendered this project all the more urgent. NATO - an erstwhile anti-Soviet military alliance is search of purpose - is gradually acquiring more political hues. Its remit has swelled to take in peacekeeping, regime change, and nation-building.
Led by the USA, it has expanded aggressively into central and northern Europe. It has institutionalized its relationships with the countries of the Balkan through the "Partnership for Peace" and with Russia through a recently established joint council. The Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary - the eternal EU candidates - have full scale members of NATO for 3 years now.
The EU responded by feebly attempting to counter this worrisome imbalance of influence with a Common Foreign and Security Policy and a rapid deployment force. Still, NATO's chances of replacing the EU as the main continental political alliance are much higher than the EU's chances of substituting for NATO as the pre-eminent European military pact. the EU is hobbled by minuscule and decreasing defense spending by its mostly pacifistic members and by the backwardness of their armed forces.
That NATO, under America's thumb, and the vaguely anti-American EU are at cross-purposes emerged during the recent spat over the International Criminal Court. Countries, such as Romania, were asked to choose between NATO's position - immunity for American soldiers on international peacekeeping missions - and the EU's (no such thing). Finally - and typically - the EU backed down. But it was a close call and it cast in sharp relief the tensions inside the Atlantic partnership.
As far as the sole superpower is concerned, the strategic importance of western Europe has waned together with the threat posed by a dilapidated Russia. Both south Europe and its northern regions are emerging as pivotal. Airbases in Bulgaria are more useful in the fight against Iraq than airbases in Germany.
The affairs of Bosnia - with its al-Qaida's presence - are more pressing than those of France. Turkey and its borders with central Asia and the middle east is of far more concern to the USA than disintegrating Belgium. Russia, a potentially newfound ally, is more mission-critical than grumpy Germany.
Thus, enlargement would serve to enhance the dwindling strategic relevance of the EU and heal some of the multiple rifts with the USA - on trade, international affairs (e.g., Israel), defense policy, and international law. But this is not the only benefit the EU would derive from its embrace of the former lands of communism.
Faced with an inexorably ageing populace and an unsustainable system of social welfare and retirement benefits, the EU is in dire need of young immigrants. According to the United Nations Population Division, the EU would need to import 1.6 million migrant workers annually to maintain its current level of working age population. But it would need to absorb almost 14 million new, working age, immigrants per year just to preserve a stable ratio of workers to pensioners.
Eastern Europe - and especially central Europe - is the EU's natural reservoir of migrant labor. It is ironic that xenophobic and anti-immigration parties hold the balance of power in a continent so dependent on immigration for the survival of its way of life and institutions.
The internal, common, market of the EU has matured. Its growth rate has leveled off and it has developed a mild case of deflation. In previous centuries, Europe exported its excess labor and surplus capacity to its colonies - an economic system known as "mercantilism".
The markets of central, southern, and eastern Europe - West Europe's hinterland - are replete with abundant raw materials and dirt-cheap, though well-educated, labor. As indigenous purchasing power increases, the demand for consumer goods and services will expand.
Thus, the enlargement candidates can act both as a sink for Europe's production and the root of its competitive advantage.
Moreover, the sheer weight of their agricultural sectors and the backwardness of their infrastructure can force a reluctant EU to reform its inanely bloated farm and regional aid subsidies, notably the Common Agricultural Policy. That the EU cannot afford to treat the candidates to dollops of subventioary largesse as it does the likes of France, Spain, Portugal, and Greece is indisputable. But even a much-debated phase-in period of 10 years would burden the EU's budget - and the patience of its member states and denizens - to an acrimonious breaking point.
The countries of central and eastern Europe are new consumption and investment markets. With a total of 300 million people (Russia counted), they equal the EU's population - though not its much larger purchasing clout. They are likely to while the next few decades on a steep growth curve, catching up with the West. Their proximity to the EU makes them ideal customers for its goods and services. They could provide the impetus for a renewed golden age of European economic expansion.
Central and eastern Europe also provide a natural land nexus between west Europe and Asia and the Middle East. As China and India grow in economic and geopolitical importance, an enlarged Europe will find itself in the profitable role of an intermediary between east and west.
The wide-ranging benefits to the EU of enlargement are clear, therefore. What do the candidate states stand to gain from their accession? The answer is: surprisingly little.
All of them already enjoy, to varying degrees, unfettered, largely duty-free, access to the EU. To belong, a few - like Estonia - would have to dismantle a much admired edifice of economic liberalism.
Most of them would have to erect barriers to trade and the free movement of labor and capital where none existed. All of them would be forced to encumber their fragile economies with tens of thousands of pages of prohibitively costly labor, intellectual property rights, financial, and environmental regulation. None stands to enjoy the same benefits as do the more veteran members - notably in agricultural and regional development funds.
Joining the EU would deliver rude economic and political shocks to the candidate countries. A brutal and rather sudden introduction of competition in hitherto much-sheltered sectors of the economy, giving up recently hard-won sovereignty, shouldering the debilitating cost of the implementation of reams of guideline, statutes, laws, decrees, and directives, and being largely powerless to influence policy outcomes. Faced with such a predicament, some countries may even reconsider.
The countries of central and east Europe - especially those slated to join the European Union (EU) in May next year - are between the American rock and the European hard place. The Czech republic, Hungary and Poland, already NATO members, have joined Spain, Britain and other EU veterans in signing the "letter of eight" in support of US policy in the Gulf. NATO and EU aspirants - including most of the nations of the Balkans - followed suit in a joint statement of the Vilnius Group.
The denizens of the region wonder what is meant by "democracy" when their own governments so blithely ignore public opinion, resolutely set against the looming conflict. The heads of these newly independent polities counter by saying that leaders are meant to mold common perceptions, not merely follow them expediently. The mob opposed the war against Hitler, they remind us, somewhat non-germanely.
But the political elite of Europe is, indeed, divided.
France is trying to reassert its waning authority over an increasingly unruly and unmanageably expanding European Union. Yet, the new members do not share its distaste for American hegemony.
On the contrary, they regard it as a guarantee of their own security. They still fear the Russians, France's and Germany's new found allies in the "Axis of Peace" (also known as the Axis of Weasels).
The Czechs, for instance, recall how France (and Britain) sacrificed them to Nazi Germany in 1938 in the name of realpolitik and the preservation of peace. They think that America is a far more reliable sponsor of their long-term safety and prosperity than the fractured European "Union".
Their dislike of what they regard as America's lightweight leadership and overt - and suspect - belligerence notwithstanding, the central and east Europeans are grateful to the United States for its unflinching - and spectacularly successful - confrontation with communism.
France and Germany - entangled in entente and Ostpolitik, respectively - cozied up to the Kremlin, partly driven by their Euro-communist parties. So did Italy. While the Europeans were busy kowtowing to a repressive USSR and castigating the USA for its warmongering, America has liberated the Soviet satellites and bankrolled their painful and protracted transition.
Historical debts aside, America is a suzerain and, as such, it is irresistible. Succumbing to the will of a Big Power is the rule in east and central Europe. The nations of the region have mentally substituted the United States for the Soviet Union as far as geopolitics are concerned. Brussels took the place of Moscow with regards to economic issues. The Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, assorted Balkanians, even the Balts - have merely switched empires.
There are other reasons for these countries' pro-Americanism. The nations of central, east and southeast (Balkans) Europe have sizable and economically crucial diasporas in the united States. They admire and consume American technology and pop culture. Trade with the USA and foreign direct investment are still small but both are growing fast.
Though the EU is the new and aspiring members' biggest trading partner and foreign investor - it has, to borrow from Henry Kissinger, no "single phone number". While France is enmeshed in its Byzantine machinations, Spain and Britain are trying to obstruct the ominous re-emergence of French-German dominance.
By catering to popular aversion of America's policies, Germany's beleaguered Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, is attempting to score points domestically even as the German economy is imploding.
The euro-Atlantic structures never looked worse. The European Union is both disunited and losing its European character. NATO has long been a dysfunctional alliance in search of a purpose. For a while, Balkan skirmishes provided it with a new lease on life. But now the Euro-Atlantic alliance has become the Euro-Atlantic divide.
The only clear, consistent and cohesive voice is America's. The new members of NATO are trying to demonstrate their allegiance - nay, obsequiousness - to the sole identifiable leader of the free world.
France's bid at European helmsmanship failed because both it and Russia are biased in favor of the current regime in Iraq. French and Russian firms have signed more than 1700 commercial contracts with Saddam's murderous clique while their British and American competitors were excluded by the policies of their governments.
When sanctions against Iraq are lifted - and providing Saddam or his hand-picked successor are still in place - Russian energy behemoths are poised to explore and extract billions of barrels of oil worth dozens of billions of dollars. Iraq owes Russia $9 billion which Russia wants repaid.
But the United States would be mistaken to indulge in Schadenfreude or to gleefully assume that it has finally succeeded in isolating the insolent French and the somnolent Germans. Public opinion - even where it carries little weight, like in Britain, or in the Balkans - cannot be ignored forever.
Furthermore, all the countries of Europe share real concerns about the stability of the Middle East. A divided Iraq stands to unsettle neighbours near and far. Turkey has a large Kurdish minority as does Iran. Conservative regimes in the Gulf fear Iraq's newfound and American-administered democracy. In the wake of an American attack on Iraq, Islamic fundamentalism and militancy will surely surge and lead to a wave of terror. Europe has vested historical, economic and geopolitical interests in the region, unlike America.
Persistent, unmitigated support for the USA in spite of French-German exhortations will jeopardize the new and aspiring members' position in an enlarged EU. Accession is irreversible but they can find themselves isolated and marginalized in decision making processes and dynamics long after the Iraqi dust has settled. EU officials already gave public warnings to this effect.
It is grave error to assume that France and Germany have lost their pivotal role in the EU. Britain and Spain are second rank members - Britain by Europhobic choice and Spain because it is too small to really matter. Russia - a smooth operator - chose to side with France and Germany, at least temporarily. The new and aspiring members would have done well to follow suit.
Instead, they have misconstrued the signs of the gathering storm: the emerging European rapid deployment force and common foreign policy; the rapprochement between France and Germany at the expense of the pro-American but far less influential Britain, Italy and Spain; the constitutional crisis setting European federalists against traditional nationalists; the growing rupture between "Old Europe" and the American "hyperpower".
The new and aspiring members of NATO and the EU now face a moment of truth and are being forced to reveal their hand. Are they pro-American, or pro-German (read: pro federalist Europe)? Where and with whom do they see a common, prosperous future? What is the extent of their commitment to the European Union, its values and its agenda?
Last week, Bulgaria, currently sitting on the Security Council, was one of ten east and southeast European countries - known as the Vilnius Group - to issue a strongly worded statement in support of the United States' attempt to disarm Iraq by military means. This followed a similar, though much milder, earlier statement by eight other European nations, including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, the EU's prospective members in central Europe.
The Vilnius Ten - including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - called the evidence presented to the Security Council by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State - "compelling". Iraq posed a "clear and present danger" - they concluded.
Bulgaria and Romania pledged free access to their air spaces and territorial waters. The first US military plane has landed today in the Safarovo airport in the Black Sea city of Burgas in Bulgaria. Other members are poised to provide medical staff, anti-mine units and chemical protection gear.
Such overt obsequiousness did not go unrewarded.
Days after the common statement, the IMF - considered by some to be a long arm of America's foreign policy - clinched a standby arrangement with Macedonia, the first in two turbulent years. On the same day, Bulgaria received glowing - and counterfactual - reviews from yet another IMF mission, clearing the way for the release of a tranche of $36 million out of a loan of $330 million.
Partly in response, six members of parliament from the ruling Simeon II national Movement joined with four independents to form the National Ideal for Unity. According to Novinite.com, a Bulgarian news Web site, they asserted that "the new political morale was seriously harmed" and "accused the government of inefficient economic program of the government that led to the bad economic situation in the country."
Following the joint Vilnius Group declaration, Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Macedonia received private and public assurances that their NATO applications now stand a better chance. Bulgaria started the second round of negotiations with the military alliance yesterday and expects to become full member next year. The head of the US Committee on NATO Enlargement Bruce Jackson stated: "I'm sure that Bulgaria has helped itself very much this week."
Yet, the recent rift in NATO (over Turkish use of the Alliance's defense assets) pitted Germany, France and Belgium against the rest of the organization and opposite other EU member states. It casts in doubt the wisdom of the Vilnius Group's American gambit. The countries of central and east Europe may admire the United States and its superpower clout - but, far more vitally, they depend on Europe, economically as well as politically.
Even put together, these polities are barely inconsequential. They are presumptuous to assume the role of intermediaries between a disenchanted Franco-German Entente Cordiale and a glowering America. Nor can they serve as "US Ambassadors" in the European corridors of power.
The European Union absorbs two thirds of their exports and three quarters of their immigrants. Europe accounts for nine tenths of foreign direct investment in the region and four fifths of aid. For the likes of the Czech Republic and Croatia to support the United states against Germany is nothing short of economic suicide.
Moreover, the United States is a demanding master. It tends to micromanage and meddle in everything, from election outcomes to inter-ethnic relations. James Purdew, America's ambassador to Sofia and a veteran Balkan power broker, spent the last few weeks exerting pressure on the Bulgarian government, in tandem with the aforementioned Bruce Jackson, to oust the country's Prosecutor General and reinstate the (socialist) head of the National Investigation Services.
Bulgaria is already by far the most heavily enmeshed in US military operations in Asia. It served as a launch pad for US planes during the Afghanistan campaign in 2001-2. It stands to be affected directly by the looming war.
Bulgaria is on the route of illicit immigration from Iraq, Palestine and Iran, via Turkey, to Greece and therefrom to the EU. Last Friday alone, it detained 43 Iraqi refugees caught cruising Sofia in two Turkish trucks on the way to the Greek border.
The Ministry of Interior admitted that it expects a "massive flow of (crossing) refugees" if an armed conflict were to erupt.
The Minister of Finance, Milen Velchev, intends to present to the Council of Ministers detailed damage scenarios based on a hike in the price of oil to $40 per barrel and a 3-4 months long confrontation. He admitted to the Bulgarian National Radio that inflation is likely to increase by at least 1-1.5 percentage points.
The daily cost of a single 150-member biological and chemical defense unit stationed in the Gulf would amount to $15,000, or c. $500,000 per month, said the Bulgarian news agency, BTA. The Minister of Defense, Nikolai Svinarov, told the Cabinet that he expects "maximum (American) funding and logistical support" for the Bulgarian troops. The United States intends to base c. 400 soldiers-technicians and 18 planes on the country's soil and will pay for making use of the infrastructure, as they have done during operation "Enduring Freedom" (the war in Afghanistan).
Bulgaria stands to benefit in other ways. The country's Deputy Foreign Minister, Lyubomir Ivanov, confirmed in another radio interview that the Americans pledged that Iraqi debts to Bulgaria will be fully paid. This can amount to dozens of millions of US dollars in fresh money.
Is this Bulgaria's price? Unlikely. Bulgaria, like the other countries of the region, regards America as the first among equals in NATO. The EU is perceived in east Europe as a toothless, though rich, club, corrupted by its own economic interests and inexorably driven by its bloated bureaucracy.
The EU and its goodwill and stake in the region are taken for granted - while America has to be constantly appeased and mollified.
Still, the members of the Vilnius Groups have misconstrued the signs of the gathering storm: the emerging European rapid deployment force and common foreign policy; the rapprochement between France and Germany at the expense of the pro-American but far less influential Britain, Italy and Spain; the constitutional crisis setting European federalists against traditional nationalists; the growing rupture between "Old Europe" and the American "hyperpower".
The proclamations of the European eight (including the three central European candidates) and the Vilnius Ten must have greatly disappointed Germany - the unwavering sponsor of EU enlargement. Any further flagrant siding with the United States against the inner core of the EU would merely compound those errors of judgment. The EU can punish the revenant nations of the communist bloc with the same dedication and effectiveness with which it has hitherto rewarded them. Ask Israel, it should know.
Russia Straddles the Euro-Atlantic Divide
By: Dr. Sam Vaknin
Also published by United Press International (UPI)
Also Read
The Janus Look
Russia's Second Empire
Russian Roulette - The Security Apparatus
Russia as a Creditor
Let My People Go - The Jackson-Vanik Controversy
The Chechen Theatre Ticket
Russia's Israeli Oil Bond
Russia's Idled Spies
Russia in 2003
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday, in an interview he granted to TF1, a French television channel, that unilateral American-British military action against Iraq would be a "grave mistake" and an "unreasonable use of force".
Russia might veto it in the Security Council, he averred. In a joint declaration with France and Germany, issued the same day, he called to enhance the number of arms inspectors in Iraq as an alternative to war.
Only weeks ago Russia was written off, not least by myself, as a satellite of the United States. This newfound assertiveness has confounded analysts and experts everywhere. Yet, appearances aside, it does not signal a fundamental shift in Russian policy or worldview.
Russia could not resist the temptation of playing once more the Leninist game of "inter-imperialist contradictions". It has long masterfully exploited chinks in NATO's armor to further its own economic, if not geopolitical, goals. Its convenient geographic sprawl - part Europe, part Asia - allows it to pose as both a continental power and a global one with interests akin to those of the United States. Hence the verve with which it delved into the war against terrorism, recasting internal oppression and meddling abroad as its elements.
As Vladimir Lukin, deputy speaker of the Duma observed recently, Britain having swerved too far towards America - Russia may yet become an intermediary between a bitterly disenchanted USA and an irked Europe and between the rich, industrialized West and developing countries in Asia. Publicly, the USA has only mildly disagreed with Russia's reluctance to countenance a military endgame in Iraq - while showering France and Germany with vitriol for saying, essentially, the same things.
The United States knows that Russia will not jeopardize the relevance of the Security Council - one of the few remaining hallmarks of past Soviet grandeur - by vetoing an American-sponsored resolution. But Russia cannot be seen to be abandoning a traditional ally and a major customer (Iraq) and newfound friends (France and Germany) too expediently.
Nor can Putin risk further antagonizing Moscow hardliners who already regard his perceived "Gorbachev-like" obsequiousness and far reaching concessions to the USA as treasonous. The scrapping of the Anti Ballistic Missile treaty, the expansion of NATO to Russia's borders, America's presence in central Asia and the Caucasus, Russia's "near abroad" - are traumatic reversals of fortune.
An agreed consultative procedure with the crumbling NATO hardly qualifies as ample compensation. There are troubling rumblings of discontent in the army. A few weeks ago, a Russian general in Chechnya refused Putin's orders publicly - and with impunity. Additionally, according to numerous opinion polls, the vast majority of Russians oppose an Iraqi campaign.
By aligning itself with the fickle France and the brooding and somnolent Germany, Russia is warning the USA that it should not be taken for granted and that there is a price to pay for its allegiance and good services. But Putin is not Boris Yeltsin, his inebriated predecessor who over-played his hand in opposing NATO's operation in Kosovo in 1999 - only to be sidelined, ignored and humiliated in the postwar arrangements.
Russia wants a free hand in Chechnya and to be heard on international issues. It aspires to secure its oil contracts in Iraq - worth tens of billions of dollars - and the repayment of $9 billion in old debts by the postbellum government. It seeks pledges that the oil market will not be flooded by a penurious Iraq. It desires a free hand in Ukraine, Armenia and Uzbekistan, among others. Russia wants to continue to sell $4 billion a year in arms to China, India, Iran, Syria and other pariahs unhindered.
Only the United States, the sole superpower, can guarantee that these demands are met. Moreover, with a major oil producer such as Iraq as a US protectorate, Russia becomes a hostage to American goodwill. Yet, hitherto, all Russia received were expression of sympathy, claimed Valeri Fyodorov, director of Political Friends, an independent Russian think-tank, in an interview in the Canadian daily, National Post.
These are not trivial concerns. Russia's is a primitive economy, based on commodities - especially energy products - and an over-developed weapons industry. Its fortunes fluctuate with the price of oil, of agricultural produce and with the need for arms, driven by regional conflicts.
Should the price of oil collapse, Russia may again be forced to resort to multilateral financing, a virtual monopoly of the long arms of US foreign policy, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The USA also has a decisive voice in the World Trade Organization (WTO), membership thereof being a Russian strategic goal.
It was the United States which sponsored Russia's seat at table of the G8 - the Group of Eight industrialized states - a much coveted reassertion of the Russian Federation's global weight. According to Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a Russian paper, the USA already announced a week ago that it is considering cutting Russia off American financial aid - probably to remind the former empire who is holding the purse strings.
But siding with America risks alienating the all-important core of Europe: Germany and France. Europe - especially Germany - is Russia's largest export destination and foreign investor. Russia is not oblivious to that. It would like to be compensated generously by the United States for assuming such a hazard.
Still, Europe is a captive of geography and history. It has few feasible alternatives to Russian gas, for instance. As the recent $7 billion investment by British Petroleum proves, Russia - and, by extension, central and east Europe - is Europe's growth zone and natural economic hinterland.
Yet, it is America that captures the imagination of Russian oligarchs and lesser businesses.
Russia aims to become the world's largest oil producer within the decade. With this in mind, it is retooling its infrastructure and investing in new pipelines and ports.
The United States is aggressively courted by Russian officials and "oiligarchs" - the energy tycoons. With the Gulf states cast in the role of anti-American Islamic militants, Russia emerges as a sane and safe - i.e., rationally driven by self-interest - alternative supplier and a useful counterweight to an increasingly assertive and federated Europe.
Russia's affinity with the United States runs deeper that the confluence of commercial interests.
Russian capitalism is far more "Anglo-Saxon" than Old Europe's. The Federation has an educated but cheap and abundant labor force, a patchy welfare state, exportable natural endowments, a low tax burden and a pressing need for unhindered inflows of foreign investment.
Russia's only hope of steady economic growth is the expansion of its energy behemoths abroad. Last year it has become a net foreign direct investor. It has a vested interest in globalization and world order which coincide with America's. China, for instance, is as much Russia's potential adversary as it is the United State's.
Russia welcomed the demise of the Taliban and is content with regime changes in Iraq and North Korea - all American exploits. It can - and does - contribute to America's global priorities. Collaboration between the two countries' intelligence services has never been closer. Hence also the thaw in Russia's relations with its erstwhile foe, Israel.
Russia's population is hungry and abrasively materialistic. Its robber barons are more American in spirit than any British or French entrepreneur. Russia's business ethos is reminiscent of 19th century frontier America, not of 20th century staid Germany.
Russia is driven by kaleidoscopically shifting coalitions within a narrow elite, not by its masses - and the elite wants money, a lot of it and now. In Russia's unbreakable cycle, money yields power which leads to more money. The country is a functioning democracy but elections there do not revolve around the economy. Most taxes are evaded by most taxpayers and half the gross national product is anyhow underground. Ordinary people crave law and order - or, at least a semblance thereof.
Hence Putin's rock idol popularity. He caters to the needs of the elite by cozying up to the West and, in particular, to America - even as he provides the lower classes with a sense of direction and security they lacked since 1985. But Putin is a serendipitous president. He enjoys the aftereffects of a sharply devalued, export-enhancing, imports-depressing ruble and the vertiginous tripling of oil prices, Russia's main foreign exchange generator.
The last years of Yeltsin have been so traumatic that the bickering cogs and wheels of Russia's establishment united behind the only vote-getter they could lay their hands on: Putin, an obscure politician and former KGB officer. To a large extent, he proved to be an agreeable puppet, concerned mostly with self-preservation and the imaginary projection of illusory power.
Putin's great asset is his pragmatism and realistic assessment of the shambles that Russia has become and of his own limitations. He has turned himself into a kind of benevolent and enlightened arbiter among feuding interests - and as the merciless and diligent executioner of the decisions of the inner cabals of power.
Hitherto he kept everyone satisfied. But Iraq is his first real test. Everyone demands commitments backed by actions. Both the Europeans and the Americans want him to put his vote at the Security Council where his mouth is. The armed services want him to oppose war in Iraq. The intelligence services are divided. The Moslem population inside Russia - and surrounding it on all sides - is restive and virulently anti-American.
The oil industry is terrified of America' domination of the world's second largest proven reserves - but also craves to do business in the United States. Intellectuals and Russian diplomats worry about America's apparent disregard for the world order spawned by the horrors of World War II. The average Russian regards the Iraqi stalemate as an internal American affair. "It is not our war", is a common refrain, growing commoner.
Putin has played it admirably nimbly. Whether he ultimately succeeds in this impossible act of balancing remains to be seen. The smart money says he would. But if the last three years have taught us anything it is that the smart money is often disastrously wrong.
Invited by a grateful United States, the Czech Republic on Saturday sent a representative to meet with Iraqi opposition in Kurdish north Iraq. The country was one of the eight signatories on a letter, co-signed by Britain, Italy, Spain and the two other European Union central European candidate-members, Poland and Hungary, in support of US policy in the Gulf.
According to The Observer and the New York Times, American troops in Germany - and the billions of dollars in goods and services they consume locally - will be moved further east to the Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic states. This shift may have come regardless of the German "betrayal". The Pentagon has long been contemplating the futility of stationing tens of thousands of soldiers in the world's most peaceful and pacifistic country.
The letter is a slap in the face of Germany, a member of the "Axis of Peace", together with France and Belgium and the champion of EU enlargement to the east. Its own economic difficulties aside, Germany is the region's largest foreign investor and trading partner. Why the curious rebuff by its ostensible protégés?
The Czech Republic encapsulates many of the economic and political trends in the erstwhile communist swathe of Europe.
The country's economic performance still appears impressive. Figures released yesterday reveal a surge of 6.6 percent in industrial production, to yield an annual increase of 4.8 percent. Retail sales, though way below expectations, were still up 2.7 percent last year. The Czech National Bank (CNB) upgraded its gross domestic product growth forecast on Jan 30 to 2.2-3.5 percent.
But the country is in the throes of a deflationary cycle. The producer price index was down 0.8 percent last year. Year on year, it decreased by 0.4 percent in January. Export prices are down 6.7 percent, though import prices fell by even more thus improving the country's terms of trade.
The Czech koruna is unhealthily overvalued against the euro thus jeopardizing any export-led recovery. The CNB was forced to intervene in the foreign exchange market and buy in excess of 2 billion euros last year - four times the amount it did in 2001. It also cut its interest rates last month to their nadir since independence. This did little to dent the country's burgeoning current account deficit, now at over 5 percent of GDP.
Unemployment in January broke through the psychologically crucial barrier of 10 percent of the workforce. More than 540,000 bread earners (in a country of 10 million inhabitants) are out of a job. In some regions every fifth laborer is laid off. There are more than 13 - and in the worst hit parts, more than 100 - applicants per every position open .
Additionally, the country is bracing itself for another bout of floods, more devastating than last year's and the ones in 1997. Each of the previous inundations caused in excess of $2 billion in damages. The government's budget is already strained to a breaking point with a projected deficit of 6.3 percent this year, stabilizing at between 4 and 6.6 percent in 2006. The situation hasn't been this dire since the toppling of communism in the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
Ironically, these bad tidings are mostly the inevitable outcomes of much delayed reforms, notably privatization. Four fifths of the country's economy is alleged to be in private hands - a rate similar to the free markets of Estonia, Slovakia and Hungary. In reality, though, the state still maintains intrusive involvement in many industrial assets. It is the reluctant unwinding of these holdings that leads to mass layoffs.
Yet, the long term outlook is indisputably bright.
The ministry of finance forecasts a rise in the country's GDP from 59 percent to 70 percent of the European Union's output in 2005 - comparable to Slovenia and far above Poland with a mere 40 percent. The Czech Republic is preparing itself to join the eurozone shortly after it becomes a member of the EU in May 2004.
Foreign investors are gung ho. The country is now the prime investment destination among the countries in transition. In a typical daily occurrence, bucking a global trend, Matsushita intends to expand its television factory in Plzen. Its investment of $8 million will enhance the plant's payroll by one tenth to 1900 workers. Siemens - a German multinational - is ploughing $50 million into its Czech unit. Siemens Elektromotory's 3000 employees export $130 million worth of electrical engines annually.
None of this would have been possible without Germany's vote of confidence and overwhelming economic presence in the Czech Republic. The deteriorating fortunes of the Czech economy are, indeed, intimately linked to the economic stagnation of its northern neighbor, as many an economist bemoan. But this only serves to prove that the former's recovery is dependent on the latter's resurrection.
Either way, to have so overtly and blatantly abandoned Germany in its time of need would surely prove to be a costly miscalculation. The Czechs - like other central and east European countries - mistook a transatlantic tiff for a geopolitical divorce and tried to implausibly capitalize on the yawning rift that opened between the erstwhile allies.
Yet, Germany is one of the largest trading partners of the United States. American firms sell $24 billion worth of goods annually there - compared to $600 million in Poland. Germany's economy is five to six times the aggregated output of the EU's central European new members plus Slovakia.
According to the New York Times, there are 1800 American firms on German soil, with combined sales of $583 billion and a workforce of 800,000 people. Due to its collapsing competitiveness and rigid labor laws, Germany's multinationals relocate many of their operations to central and east Europe, Asia and north and Latin America. Even with its current malaise, Germany invested in 2001 $43 billion abroad and attracted $32 billion in fresh foreign capital.
Indeed, supporting the United States was seen by the smaller countries of the EU as a neat way to counterbalance Germany's worrisome economic might and France's often self-delusional aspirations at helmsmanship. A string of unilateral dictates by the French-German duo to the rest of the EU - regarding farm subsidies and Europe's constitution, for instance - made EU veterans and newcomers alike edgy. Hence the deliberate public snub.
Still, grandstanding apart, the nations of central Europe know how ill-informed are recent claims in various American media that their region is bound to become the new European locomotive in lieu of an aging and self preoccupied Germany. The harsh truth is that there is no central European economy without Germany. And, at this stage, there is no east European economy, period.
Consider central Europe's most advanced post-communist economy.
One third of Hungary's GDP, one half of its industrial production, three quarters of industrial sales and nine tenths of its exports are generated by multinationals. Three quarters of the industrial sector is foreign-owned. One third of all foreign direct investment is German. France is the third largest investor. The situation is not much different in the Czech Republic where the overseas sales of the German-owned Skoda alone account for one tenth the country's exports.
The relationship between Germany and central Europe is mercantilistic. Germany leverages the region's cheap labor and abundant raw materials to manufacture and export its finished products. Central Europe conforms, therefore, to the definition of a colony and an economic hinterland. From a low base, growth there - driven by frenzied consumerism - is bound to outstrip the northern giant's for a long time to come. But Germans stands to benefit from such prosperity no less than the indigenous population.
Aware of this encroaching "economic imperialism", privatization deals with German firms are being voted down throughout the region. In November, the sale of a majority stake in Cesky Telecom to a consortium led by Deutsche Bank collapsed. In Poland, a plan to sell Stoen, Warsaw's power utility, to Germany's RWE was scrapped.
But these are temporary - and often reversible - setbacks. Germany and its colonies share other interests. As The Economist noted correctly recently:
"The Poles may differ with the French over security but they will be with them in the battle to preserve farm subsidies. The Czechs and Hungarians are less wary of military force than the Germans but sympathize with their approach to the EU's constitutional reform. In truth, there are no more fixed and reliable alliances in the EU. Countries will team up with each other, depending on issue and circumstances."
Thus, the partners, Germany and central Europe, scarred and embittered, will survive the one's haughty conduct and the other's backstabbing. That the countries of Europe currently react with accommodation to what, only six decades ago, would have triggered war among them, may be the greatest achievement of the Euro-Atlantic enterprise.
How the West Lost the East
Also Read
The Pew Research Center published last week a report expansively titled "What the World Thinks in 2002". "The World", reduced to 44 countries and 38,000 interviewees, included 3500 respondent from central and east Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Uzbekistan stood in for the formerly Soviet central Asia. The Times-Mirror 1991 survey, "The Pulse of Europe" was used as a benchmark.
With the implosion of communism in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, large swathes of central and eastern Europe found themselves devoid of an internal market, an economic sponsor, or a military umbrella.
The countries of central Europe - from Slovenia to Hungary - and the Baltic dismissed the communist phase of their past as a "historical accident" and vigorously proceeded to seek integration with Western Europe, notably Germany, much as they have done until the rise of Fascism in the 1930s.
The polities of eastern Europe bitterly divided into the "nostalgics" or "reactionary" versus the "European", or "progressive". The first lot - including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - sought to resurrect an economic incarnation of the former USSR. The latter - notably Poland - reclassified themselves as "central Europeans" and emulated the likes of the Czech republic and Hungary in a desperate bid to curry favor with the European Union and the United States.
The Pew report reveals that the concerns of the denizens of central and east Europe are varied but closely aligned with the global agenda. In this sense, the iron curtain has, indeed, lifted and total integration has been achieved despite massive economic disparities. The publics of the former Soviet Bloc place surprisingly great emphasis on the environment, for instance - hitherto thought to be a preoccupation of their more affluent neighbours to the west.
Consider the war on terrorism.
People in Russia are vehemently opposed to the use of force to dislodge Saddam Hussein. They regard the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a greater threat to peace in the Middle East.
They are convinced that the USA is bent on war in the Gulf to secure its oil sources. Europe is likely to pay the price, say the Russians, by becoming a target for international terrorism.
Yet, in a sweeping reversal of sentiment, Russians now regard the world as safer with a single superpower. In Uzbekistan, whose crumbling economy has enjoyed a fillip from the presence of 1500 US troops, support for America's military campaigns is understandably high.
Yet, the most startling and unambiguous revelation was the extent of anti-American groundswell everywhere: among America's NATO allies, in developing countries, Muslim nations and even in eastern Europe where Americans, only a decade ago were perceived as much-adulated liberators. "People around the world embrace things American and, at the same time, decry U.S. influence on their societies. Similarly, pluralities in most of the nations surveyed complain about American unilateralism."- expounds the report.
The image of the Unites States as a benign world power slipped dramatically in the space of two years in Slovakia (down 14 percent), in Poland (-7), in the Czech Republic (-6) and even in fervently pro-Western Bulgaria (-4 percent). But it rose exponentially in Ukraine (up 10 percent) and, most astoundingly, in Russia (+24 percent, albeit from a very low base).
Still, rising anti-Americanism may have more to do with a nonspecific wave of gloom and dysphoria than with concrete American policies. "People who are less well off economically are more likely than those who are more financially secure to dislike the U.S." - says the report.
Only two fifths of Czechs are satisfied with their own life or with the state of their nation. Three quarters are unhappy with the world at large. The figures are even way lower in Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. Only Uzbeks are content, probably for want of knowing better.
In Russia, less than one fifth are at ease with their life, their country, or the world. Bulgaria takes the prize: a mere 8 percent of Bulgarians find their life gratifying. One in twenty five Bulgarians is optimistic regarding his or her nation. One in eight approves of the world.
East Germans are far more pessimistic than the Wessies, their brethren in the western Lander. East European are exceedingly displeased with their income, though they find their family lives agreeable and, in the lands of vertiginous unemployment levels, their jobs appealing.
Nine in ten Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Poles and Slovaks maintain a negative view of their national economies. In Russia the figure is 83 percent and even in the Czech Republic it is 60. Three quarters of east Europeans surveyed - including east Germans - do not believe that economic conditions will improve.
"Will my kids go hungry? Will they be stuck with my debts? … It looks bad and it can only get worse. I mean, you can hope it will get better but it does not look good" - muses a forlorn 69-years old Polish farmer.
Incredibly, these dismal figures reflect a rise in satisfaction throughout the region since the demise of communism in 1989-91. Significantly, the young are double as hopeful than those older than 35. Between one third (Bulgaria, Czech Republic) and one half (Ukraine, Slovakia and Russia) of respondents of all age groups believe in a better future - far outweighing the pessimists. Only in Poland are the majority of people are anxious for the future of their children.
Still, "while Eastern Europeans feel their lives are better off since the collapse of communism, many say they have lost ground over the past five years. A majority of Bulgarians (55%) believe their lives are worse today, as do pluralities in Ukraine, the Slovak Republic and Poland. Again, Czechs are the exception – 41% think they have made progress while 27% believe they have lost ground. Russians are divided on this point (37% say they have lost ground, 36% feel they have made progress)."
Poverty is a potent depressant. The greater part of Russians and Ukrainians reported that "there have been times in the past year when they had too little money to afford food", medical care, or clothing. So did half the Bulgarians, one third of the Poles and one sixth of Slovaks. Ninety-two percent of the Bulgarians interviewed identified economic problems as having the most effect on their lives.
Similar figures obtained in Russia (85), Ukraine (79) and Poland (73). These data are as bad as it gets. Senegal, Mali and Bangladesh are in the same league. The situation is better in Slovakia (63 percent). At 46 percent, the Czech Republic proved equal to the much richer United Kingdom and United States.
People everywhere do not blame their economic predicament on inapt administrations, or on specific leaders. Vladimir Putin is much more popular in Russia than his cabinet but the government get good marks. The leadership in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, suffered precipitous drops in popularity since 1991. East Europeans - except the Russians - also rate the European Union higher than they do their own authorities. In Slovakia the ratio is a whopping three to one.
With the notable exceptions of Ukraine and the Czech Republic, east Europeans approve of their religious leaders. Ukrainians distrust their military - but all other nationalities are fond of the armed forces. The media and journalists are universally highly rated as positive social influences.
Russians and Uzbeks are concerned about lack of housing. Health is a universal headache: two fifths of Russians, one third of Poles and Czechs and one quarter of Slovaks listed it as such. Central and east European education still yields superior results so only one fifth of Russians find it worrying. Respondents from other countries in the region did not.
Between two thirds and four fifths of the denizens of the crime-infested societies of the countries in transition registered delinquency as a major scourge, followed by corrupt political leaders, AIDS and disease, moral decline, poor drinking water, emigration, poor schooling, terrorism, immigration and ethnic conflict.
East Europeans are as xenophobic as their counterparts in the West. Between half and three quarters of all respondents - fully 80 percent in the Czech Republic - thought that immigrants are a "bad influence on the country". Only Bulgaria welcomes immigration by a wide margin. But nine of ten Bulgarians decry emigration - Bulgarians fleeing abroad. Three quarters do so in Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland and the former East Germany.
Ironically, the more xenophobic the society, the more concerned its members are with ethnic hatred. Almost three fifths of all Czechs identify it as the major problem facing the world today. Other east Europeans are equally worried by nuclear weapons, the gap between rich and poor, the environment and infectious diseases.
The survey reveals both the failure of transition and a decisive break between central and eastern Europe. The shared brief episode of communism failed to homogenize these parts of the continent. Central Europe - including Slovenia - with its history of industrial capitalism, modern bureaucratic governance and the rule of law - is reverting to its historical default. It is being reintegrated into the European mainstream.
The countries of east Europe - Poland included - are unable to catch up. Their transition is tortuous and unpopular among their subjects. Their lot is, indeed, improving but glacially and imperceptibly. They are being left behind by a largely indifferent West. Their erstwhile central European co-inmates in the gulag of communism are now keen to distance themselves. They are considered a drag and an embarrassment. Their unquenched hopes for a better future are smothered by insurmountable economic and social problems.
European enlargement is likely to stall after the first intake of 10 new members in 2004. Those left out in the cold are excluded for a long stretch. Rather than relying on the double panacea of NATO and the EU, they would do well to start reforming themselves by bootstrapping. Surveys like these are timely reminders of this unpleasant reality.
Left and Right in a Divided Europe
Even as West European countries seemed to have edged to the right of the political map - all three polities of central Europe lurched to the left. Socialists were elected to replace economically successful right wing governments in Poland, Hungary and, recently, in the Czech Republic.
This apparent schism is, indeed, merely an apparition. The differences between reformed left and new right in both parts of the continent have blurred to the point of indistinguishability. French socialists have privatized more than their conservative predecessors. The Tories still complain bitterly that Tony Blair, with his nondescript "Third Way", has stolen their thunder.
Nor are the "left" and "right" ideologically monolithic and socially homogeneous continental movements. The central European left is more preoccupied with a social - dare I say socialist - agenda than any of its Western coreligionists. Equally, the central European right is less individualistic, libertarian, religious, and conservative than any of its Western parallels - and much more nationalistic and xenophobic. It sometimes echoes the far right in Western Europe - rather than the center-right, mainstream, middle-class orientated parties in power.
Moreover, the right's victories in Western Europe - in Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy - are not without a few important exceptions - notably Britain and, perhaps, come September, Germany. Nor is the left's clean sweep of the central European electoral slate either complete or irreversible. With the exception of the outgoing Czech government, not one party in this volatile region has ever remained in power for more than one term. Murmurs of discontent are already audible in Poland and Hungary.
Left and right are imported labels with little explanatory power or relevance to central Europe. To fathom the political dynamics of this region, one must realize that the core countries of central Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary and, to a lesser extent, Poland) experienced industrial capitalism in the inter-war period. Thus, a political taxonomy based on urbanization and industrialization may prove to be more powerful than the classic left-right dichotomy.


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The Biological Sciences degrees may be undertaken in any of the three Divisions within our Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BMB); Cellular, Developmental, & Integrative Biology (CDIB); and Systematics, Ecology, & Evolution (SEE). Over 60 faculty have a wide range of research interests. The 130 graduate students in the department receive funding from a combination of departmental teaching assistantships, fellowships, and external research support.
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Postcars of Faroe islands with matching Europa stamps of Postbilar in 2013. Thanks to Svea of Germany.
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My worldwide collection of postcards written stamped and mailed to me from the country of origin. Trying to get 20 postcards sent from every country. Thank you. Xie xie. Merci. Gracias. Terima kasih.


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App Detial
EasyGrocListSeller: NSHARE LLC
Price: FREE
Download EasyGrocList free via AppsHawk.
EasyGrocList is a shopping list app based on our grocery shopping experiences. There are 3 kind of items for our shopping. Some items like Milk are always needed. Some of the items that are always needed are seasonal. Grapes are available from June to December. A second category items are needed only when the inventory runs out or about to run out. An example in our case is salt or sugar. A third category of items are bought randomly or out of the blue. eg chocolate croissants.
Based on these experiences we have created the EasyGrocList App
Ability to create template lists for each store
Template lists have 3 main components. Recurring lists, Inventory lists and Scratch pad.
Recurring lists are used to capture items needed every week, along with an option to limit seasonal items to when they are available
Inventory list are for items to be included in the weekly shopping list when the item runs out.
Scratch pad is for random or occasionally needed items.
New lists can be created from the template lists. They can also be created from scratch or by taking a picture of a list written in paper.
Ability to clear items from the list once they are put in the shopping cart.
Share with your family and friends the grocery lists. You don't need your personal details like email , phone no etc to share the lists. All you need is the system generated shareId of your friend's EasyGrocList App. The shareId can be found under the ME section of Contacts
EasyGrocList is part of Nshare series of productivity apps and uses the same share Id to share the Items. The other apps are OpenHouses a decision support tool for real estate investing and AutoSpree a decision support tool for car buying


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CodyCross Under the sea - Group 33 - Puzzle 4
Here are the answers to CodyCross Under the sea - Group 33 - Puzzle 4. If you need help with any specific puzzle leave your comment below.
Jason was the Commander of the __.
Fictional Brit spy better known by three digits.
Large fish known for its teeth and aggression.
A box of matches, in days of yore.
Typical Irish food made with sodium bicarbonate.
Your handwritten name on a line.
Cosmetic designed to remove dead skin.
Russian instrument, triangle with guitar neck.
Captain Scott's Antarctic ship.
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Geovation Underground Assets Challenge
Field operatives need a simple tool to interpret complex and inter-related datasets when locating assets, and in particular when trying to avoid strikes.
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Once developed the device would also find applications in the natural resources sector, surveying, teaching (e.g. Geology) et al.


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Posted by Tewfik Allal on May 01, 2019
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Meaning of CLAMP in English
1. n. & v.
1. a device, esp. a brace or band of iron etc., for strengthening other materials or holding things together.
2 a device for immobilizing an illegally parked car.
1. strengthen or fasten with a clamp.
2 place or hold firmly.
3 immobilize (an illegally parked car) by fixing a clamp to one of its wheels.
Phrases and idioms:
clamp down
1. (often foll. by on) be rigid in enforcing a rule etc.
2 (foll. by on) try to suppress. clamp-down n. severe restriction or suppression.
Etymology: ME prob. f. MDu., MLG klamp(e) 2. n.1 a heap of potatoes or other root vegetables stored under straw or earth.
2 a pile of bricks for burning.
3 a pile of turf or peat or garden rubbish etc.
Etymology: 16th c.: prob. f. Du. klamp heap (in sense 2 related to CLUMP)
Oxford English vocab. Оксфордский английский словарь. 2012


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"There is no time for large principles, plenty of hype, or "experimental" sales and promoting tactics...several corporations are viewing substantial drops in business enterprise in The existing financial system.
En participant à nos activités spéciales ou en offrant vos expert services en tant que bénévole, vous pourrez non seulement maintenir
Beliefs is usually the distinction between failure and good results, happiness and unhappiness, among becoming caught or flourishing in the endeavours.
The prominence of Daoism and Buddhism One of the cultural elite as well as populace in general, nevertheless, did not imply the Confucian custom had disappeared. In actual fact, Confucian ethics was by then almost inseparable in the moral cloth of Chinese society.
Granted, in a handful of situations it turned out they were being married and concerned about obtaining caught, but even Adult males that I realized have been one did not want anybody to find out we were alongside one another. I must say, although, everyday living is a good deal simpler without the stress of courting and being rejected again and again and about.
) and authority. Greatly acknowledged as probably the most eminent in the noteworthy scholars who congregated in Jixia, the funds of the wealthy and potent Qi state in the mid-third century bce, Xunzi distinguished himself in erudition and by the quality of his argumentation. His critique from the so-called 12 philosophers gave an summary in the mental life of his time.
A lot of Confucian temples ended up also constructed. The imperial courts continued to here honour online Confucius from age to age; a Confucian temple finally stood in every among the 2,000 counties. Because of this, the Instructor—along with heaven, earth, the emperor, and fogeys—turned Probably the most-respected go to this website authorities in traditional China.
You may additionally strategy to maintain a journal you report your progress in or put aside time on a daily basis in solitude to mirror with your development. Remember that slip ups are usual! You might even strategy to obtain conversations with yourself, have a look at your self within the mirror each and every early morning repeating your new healthful Main belief sincerely, or visualize/hypnotize oneself right into a suggestible condition that prepares your unconscious thoughts for change. The chances are limitless.
That impact may have resulted through the unlucky perception of Confucius to be a mere commonsense moralizer who gave realistic tips to students in everyday predicaments. If audience approach the Analects
"Definitely loved today ... it has been stimulating, inspiring, complicated and still enjoyment. A really liberating encounter and one which reaffirms that change is achievable and may be quick.
What's one particular belief you'd most prefer to attempt on? Take it easy your assumptions and experiment with our website making an attempt it on for 30 days to check out if it's accurate on your or not.
Interchanges with several historic figures and his disciples are accustomed to demonstrate Confucius in imagined and action, not being an isolated person but as being the centre of associations. Truly the sayings in the Analects
Based on Han Feizi (died 233 bce), Soon after Confucius's Dying his followers split into 8 unique educational institutions, all professing for being the reputable heir to the Confucian legacy. Presumably Each individual university was associated with or encouraged by one or more of Confucius's disciples. Yet the Confucians did not exert A lot affect inside the fifth century bce.
You can make now a blessing and a gift, or your can squander it. When you end up picking to act as if now is an incredible possibility to appreciate entirely and provides your presents deeply, new worlds will start to open up that you just didn't know could probably exist.


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Check AC cover on Roof
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Ron 184
Joined: 14 Jun 2017
Location: NC
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Posted: 08 May 2019 at 7:46am
I normally keep a cover on my R 180. We had planned a camping trip in late March. So I removed the cover about a week before we left. Didn't need the AC still cool weather. When I got home and parked the pod, which I didn't recover at the time. About three weeks went by before I got around covering the pod. I washed it and was checking the seals, caulking and such around the pod. When I discovered pine needles in the rood AC cover. I tried to flush it out with the hose but to no use. So I removed the cover to my surprise a bird had made a nest in the side to AC cover. I removed the nest best I could but mommy bird flew away leaving her eggs behind. Good thing I washed the pod that day before covering it up until we left for another trip. Whit mommy not being able to get out from under the pod cover I felt we would have had a very unwelcome smell when we turned on the AC, since the nest was next to the fan cage it would have blown into the camper.
R Woodward
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Just as a note.. there is no direct route for air into and out of the camper when the a/c is running. That's why the filters are on the inside of the camper. The air in the camper is filtered, cooled, and returned to the camper. The fans on the roof are to move air over and through the heat exchanger and compressor.
It's sad when ever we have to try to move a nest.. I doubt it ever goes well.
Mark, Susie, Micah, and The Maggie.
'11 RP177(sold) '17 Lance 2295FurPodsMods
'17 Ford F250 CCSB
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1. Problems with reading the hibernate.cfg.xml file --need help forum.hibernate.org
HI, I get the follwoing error when reading the hibernate config file : org.dom4j.DocumentException: Validation not supported for XMLReader: com.bluecast.xml.Piccolo@fb6c5f Nested exception: validation is not supported Nested exception: Validation not supported for XMLReader: com.bluecast.xml.Piccolo@fb6c5f Nested exception: validation is not supported org.dom4j.io.SAXReader.read(SAXReader.java:358) org.hibernate.cfg.Configuration.doConfigure(Configuration.java:1481) org.hibernate.cfg.Configuration.configure(Configuration.java:1425) org.hibernate.cfg.Configuration.configure(Configuration.java:1411) I'm using MySql database. i have tried putting the xml file both in the classpath, as well ...
2. reading hibernate.cfg.xml with DocumentBuilderFactory forum.hibernate.org
Newbie Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:30 am Posts: 14 I am trying to read in the hibernate.cfg.xml file using DocumentBuilderFactory. But it times out. It has problem with the following Code:
3. Read external properties file in hibernate.cfg.xml? forum.hibernate.org
4. read hibernate.cfg.xml using code forum.hibernate.org
I should be more specific about the issue, here it goes: the deployment environment of my current hibernate based project requires all configuration files to be in a separated dir which is outside the jar file. so I need to separate hibernate.cfg.xml from other xml files used for mapping. any idea how to achieve this? Thanks in advance!
5. Multiple hibernate.cfg.xml files, 2nd one not read? forum.hibernate.org
Hi, I have a problem using two libraries that both user Hibernate. Each library includes a hibernate.cfg.xml file in the root of its jar, and each library does the simplest possible hibernate configuration for itself, e.g. sessionFactory = new Configuration().configure().buildSessionFactory(). Both libraries work fine by themselves. But the 3rd library depends on both, and when it issues calls I get Hibernate ...


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I've seen these wooden DIY Growth Rulers all over Pinterest and have been wanting to make one for years. And when I say years, I'm talking about way back before I had my third child who is now 7. Anyway, I finally got around to making one last week and it was easier than I thought. I had all of the supplies on hand (except for the stain, I thought I had some but couldn't find it so I did have to buy that). I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I'm loving the dark wood with the white letters and numbers.
I plan to go back through my doctor appointment records and write in the heights for the kids at various ages. I'm going to record their height by age rather than by date. We can compare how tall each child was at a certain age rather than trying to do the math and figure out how old a child is at a particular date. I haven't gotten around to that part yet. Hopefully it won't take me another 7 years.
As for how I made this DIY Growth Ruler, I started out by sanding a 1" x 6" x 6' board.
Next I applied some Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner. It 'helps soft woods absorb stain evenly.' I don't know if my board is a soft wood or not but since I had the wood conditioner on had I figured I'd go ahead and use it. I used a sponge brush to apply it and it was like painting it with water.
After the wood conditioner dried, I put on the stain. I used Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain in a red mahogany color. Again, I used a sponge brush to apply it. Since I wanted my board dark, I left it on for 15 minutes before wiping it off.
Once it was dry, I brought it into my garage where it stayed for a few days until I could decide what I wanted to do about the numbers and lines. I finally decided to use a paint pen for the lines and vinyl for the numbers and words at the top. I was going to use vinyl for the lines but a paint pen just seemed easier.
I used a tape measure and pencil to mark off every inch. Using a square to make sure everything was straight and level, I went over it with a white Sharpie paint pen. I made the lines varying lengths like you'd see on a ruler.
Next up, I added the vinyl for the numbers and words.
There are various sayings I could have used but I liked this one best. Other contenders were "Our Growing Family", or our last name with initial behind it like THIS ONE or THIS ONE.
I drilled a hole in the back and hung it on the wall 8" above the floor, making sure the 1 foot line really was 1 foot off the floor. I hung it that high for three reasons. 1 - We have tall baseboards and I didn't want it right on top of the baseboard. 2 - I already had a picture there and I wanted the top of the Growth Ruler and the top of the picture to line up. 3 - We are a tall family so I wanted to make sure we could measure up to 6'6". Oh, and I also used some of those Command Velcro strips to further secure it to the wall so it wouldn't move.
In trying to decide where to hang it, I didn't have a whole lot of choices. I couldn't hang it in the upstairs hallway between the kids bedrooms because of vent and light switch placements. So that pretty much left the kitchen. This is the entrance to the kitchen where we are always coming and going.
It's the perfect spot and I love how it looks there, especially since it's now hiding this:
Yeah, that's a fist sized hole in the wall thanks to my teenage son. In all fairness he didn't do it on purpose. I mean he did hit the wall on purpose but it was with an open palm like a slap and he didn't intend to punch a hole. We refer to it like it's a piece of art and call it "Teenage Boy Meets Wall."
However, since we don't have any of the kitchen paint leftover (it was painted like that when we moved in), we have yet to fix it. I'm glad to have found a way to cover it up.
OK, back to my cute Growth Ruler.
Here's my little guy pointing to his number. He turned 3 recently and is happy to let people know about it.
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Published at Friday, February 22nd, 2019 - 22:23:19 PM. Bar Stools. By Darcel Bonnet.
Do you want more discreet seating, or do you want to make a design statement? Do those stools you want actually work with the space you have? The answers to those questions may very well help you with choosing the style of stools that work for your kitchen and ensure a relaxing morning meal.
If you are running a restaurant, it is very difficult to adjust metal stools in all types of settings. Wood bar chairs are comfortable and adjust well in all settings, either big or small. The best feature of wooden furniture is that it suits all types of furnishings as well. Wood furniture goes well in homes as well in every kind of interiors and decor.
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Posted: 6 Sep 2014
Toyota MR2 1.8 VVTS Convertible
This MR2 is in great condition and runs very well.
Original UK car, not an import.
MOT to May 2015 Tax to January 2015
Serviced in May.
96000 miles but in daily use.
The car drives extremely well and sounds very good, using it as my run about I am very impressed.
The black leather interior compliments the dark blue colour and its in perfect condition, no discolouration, rips etc
Everything works, electric windows up and down, central locking, starts first time, ticks over with a lovely burble. Passenger and driver airbags.
The roof is in perfect condition, easy to put up and down.
Very smart Sony CD, Tape, Radio and good speakers.
Looks very smart and pert on the roadif that makes sense.
The tyres are all excellent and the alloys are not kerbed or marked.
Underneath is very solid no signs of rust anywhere.
Please note the car is Cat D, this was from 2006 and car has been re-registered which means it is fit to be on the road. This shouldn't affect your insurance at all, but best check and get a quote.
Cat D is the least serious category. It usually means that the vehicle has suffered light damage but the insurance company's decision to repair it is dependent on the cost of the repairs and the value of the vehicle. MOT station said the car looked perfect. Any inspection very welcome. Car priced to reflect this. V5 present.
If you have any questions or want to view please call Paul 07876 258 355
Car is located near Edinburgh, can pick you up from train or plane if travelling up.
If you want the car held for you £100 deposit required.
Open to very sensible offers or p/x


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Here is the answer for: Failed to keep a commitment . Our website is built on sharing answers and solutions for many crossword clues and crosswords. The crossword we are sharing the answers for today is Thomas Joseph a famous and well played crossword by many people. It has many tricky question which will get you confused. We have shared below a list for all the answers of this game. Thank you for trusting our site with the solutions
CROSSWORD CLUE: Failed to keep a commitment
Last Seen: November 15 2018
Last Seen: November 15 2018
Already solved Failed to keep a commitment? Go back and see the other crossword clues for Thomas Joseph Crossword November 15 2018 Answers.


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How do you stop a 'cash cow' becoming a 'dog'?
Hay Group invented the market for Job Evaluation 60 years ago. For decades it remained at the core of their business. In recent years, relative complacency had seen this Hay Group heartland invaded by competitors with credible alternatives.
We were asked to create a differentiating proposition. The bigger issue in our view was the need to reignite the belief of their consultants in the strategic value of this key Hay Group tool. Our programme has achieved both.
"Youve helped us to fundamentally transform the way we think about what we do. Having launched nine months ago, the business is growing. Clients get it: weve won business we can attribute to an offer that is both different and credible. Consultants get it: we are having good success selling. And competitors get it: theres clear evidence of the competition adapting their marketing to counter our messaging."
Skype: mccarronassoc


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What-does.net is your comprehensive online definition dictionary. If you are not sure how to define Zeal, our website can provide you with the appropriate definition. On this page, you can find what is Zeal.
Zeal meaning
zeal - 4 dictionary results
zeal - examples of usage
- A rich harvest rewarded Mr. Lee's zeal. - "Daniel Defoe", William Minto.
- In his great zeal, however, he had nearly done mischief; for on returning from church, the horses of the bride's carriage took fright from the discharge of a row of old gun- barrels, which he had mounted as a park of artillery in front of the school- house, to give the captain a military salute as he passed. - "Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists", Washington Irving.
- They enter into her concerns with all the violent zeal and overwhelming sympathy with which little boarding- school ladies engage in the politics of a love affair. - "Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists", Washington Irving.


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London Hotels
Booking a last minute hotel in London
If you are in the enviable position of planning a visit to London, every kind of adventure awaits your arrival. This fabulous place remains one of the world's premier destinations for people from all around the globe. If fabulous can be improved upon, the UK capital is receiving a serious leg up on the tourist friendly front by the preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games. East London, an area of the city that often escapes the attention of tourists despite the mass of attractions, is going to be home to a host of new hotels, the country's premier sporting venues, entertainment venues and a reliable and variable transport infrastructure so it's easy to get around.
If there's one time to avoid the city it is probably going to be during the Olympics but at any other time, finding some great deals in last minute hotels in London can free up some cash to ensure the experience of a lifetime.The bad old days of booking a vacation
Do you remember the days when choosing a vacation was about a trip to the high street travel agent and returning home with a whole heap of glossy brochures? It was a pleasant if somewhat laborious process to wade through pages and pages, making comparison notes and finally deciding on the trip you wanted. Then it was back to the travel agency for the seemingly interminable booking process. The internet changed that dramatically; booking a trip is now exceedingly easy and whether you're looking for a package deal, a hotel or just a flight, your needs are often fulfilled with a few clicks of the mouse.
How to find last minute hotels in London
Don't be fooled into thinking that simply by entering "last minute hotels London" into a search engine will be the answer. All you will get is information overload and frankly, you'll be in no better position than if you're sitting down with a pile of holiday brochures. It's time to get clever and it's time to get selective. Some people swear by the big comparison sites which have become household names in the "last minute" field. These have also spawned innumerable copycat sites so if you're happy being generic in your search then by all means, go ahead and take advantage of them. This though doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the best deal in last minute hotels.Planning your trip
London is a huge metropolis and there is so much to see, North, South, East and West. If your time is restricted to but a few fun filled days, staying in a hotel closest to your preferred sights and activities is preferable. Obviously, the less travelling you have to do between sights, the better. London central is easily navigable on foot and you can easily cover Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Piccadilly and Chinatown in one trip and lump together The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye in another. If however, your trip to London is because you want to visit the fabulous museums or you want to shop till you drop, you'll find your intended destinations much more widespread.Narrow down your search
Before you search for last minute hotel deals, you can give yourself a big advantage of having some idea of where you want to visit and therefore be more specific in your searching. It's the best way to focus on the area you want to be in. You might well ask won't that mean missing out on great deals in other areas of town? Possibly, but overall you won't be disappointed. What is more important? Saving maybe $20 on your hotel bill or being able to fit in visits to all three of the major attractions in the Museum Quarter because you found a great last minute hotel deal in South Kensington? Plus, you'll be close to Harrods and any spare cash will probably be blown on something you don't need just so you can have one of their carrier bags.
Of course, you might choose to stay in South Kensington exactly because of the nearby fancy shopping in Fulham Road and Knightsbridge. If you're in London for a treat, your last minute hotel deal might be more towards the 5* rating than the budget end.
5-Star Accommodations in London
Top end hotels have vacant rooms just like any 1-star or unrated hotel and irrespective of room tariffs, an empty room is an income opportunity lost. Hotel discounts are available across the whole range of establishments so whilst you probably won't see the likes of the Ritz, the Savoy and the Dorchester listed on last minute hotel deal sites, you'll find plenty of very credible 5-star hotels. If you're in London over a weekend one of the best areas to look for top notch accommodation at reduced rates is close to the City Square Mile or nearby to Canary Wharf. These areas are the business end of the city and whilst the hotels do a rip roaring trade during the week, at weekends business is comparatively slow. With the Docklands Light Railway, the extended Victoria Line and the new transport links being built for the 2012 Olympics, a last minute hotel deal in a 5-star rating over on the city's East side is an attractive proposition.
Budget accommodations in London
It would be nice to be able to stay in London's finest hotels but let's face it, most of us are looking for something decent at a price we can afford. If we set a budget and find a great last minute hotel bargain to save a few bucks – so much the better. London accommodations are massive in range and variety. From functional but cheerful hostels to boutique hotels in Georgian townhouses, cheap doesn't mean dingy. Look out for last minute hotel cheapies on the edge of the CBD or out in the suburbs if you don't mind travelling on the tube. The London Underground doesn't just cover the main area of London but extends well into suburbia.
What makes the best hotel and the cheapest hotel is a highly subjective matter. It's all a matter of taste and affordability for your wallet.
Probably one of the most popular cities in the world, London holds its style and classiness. People from India, Saudia Arabia (Dubai) and many other places around the world visit or live in this beautiful British city. Find last minute hotels in or around London, Uk.
Cool things to visit in London:
- Buckingham Palace Gardens
- St James Park
- Green Park
- Hyde Park and The Serpentine
- Battersea Park
- Burgess Park
- The Victoria Tower Gardens
- Lincoln's Inn Fields
- Victoria Embankment
- Regent's Park
- Kennington Park
Find Last Minute Hotels Team 2015.
If you are traveling to or from London, you will find some cheap deals on not only hotels but flight (cheap tickets from our partners) and also car rental and motels. Have a beautiful vacation in England!


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Shines bright like a diamond - Check out diamondgirl's PV profile ...
I've never posted anything before. I just thought it would be crazy to do it once...I hope you enjoy them!
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