EU Spectacle
The word spectacle is carefully chosen, since this is what the current drama of which Greece is the symptom, not the cause, has become. It no longer bears any relationship to coherent democratic leadership or process of governance in a workable political and currency union. The cancellation at a moment’s notice of a summit of all EU leaders is extraordinary.
There is a problem with Greece, but it is not that difficult to solve. Indeed this blog working alone would be able to negotiate a workable solution. What is proving impossible is to find an acceptable solution, because the institutions normally established to process decision making at national and international levels are not there, or there in such abundance nobody can detect who is in charge. And to make matters worse the structure of the currency itself is unsustainable as it lacks a treasury and a finance minister answering to an elected government. A committee of finance ministers at loggerheads, elected by only one member state in each case, on conflicting mandates and to differing electoral timetables will work only in the good times and becomes dysfunctional under pressure.
So all we know at this moment is that Greece may or may not go bust tomorrow, the euro looks more like an impediment to growth than an engine of it, and the reputation of the EU as a coherent political union is severely damaged. Beneath that a big gap is developing between the north and the south of Europe, between the politicians and their electors everywhere and between those in the eurozone who want to stand firm to high principle even if it brings the whole thing down, led by the Germans, and by those who feel pragmatic reality demands compromise, led by France and Italy.
At the heart of of this crisis now engulfing the whole EU are three violated principles. You cannot have a democratic political union without an elected forum from which all authority flows. You cannot have a currency which cannot be printed. You cannot have capitalism which does not permit debtors to go bust. The first is violated because the whole EU is wrongly configured. The last two are rescinded because Germany says No.
Yes, the Brit into Space is amusing. But the space race doesn't have much significance as far as who is really ahead in which kind of technology. I personally have never thought much of all this outer space stuff. I don't think it is leading to anything. The unmanned probes might have a limited future as far as pure science is concerned. But I personally don't think man has a future in space. I don't think this is a subject that has ever come up in our discussions before.
Ultimately most historians don't have any access to history except through first hand sources. They read it and assemble it all and make judgements. Some of your memories of WW2 and indeed firsthand sources such as what you remember as a child about various bombings. You experienced it yourself. What you were told by your parents or older relatives is close to being firsthand. It's not the same as if you saw it or heard it yourself. But I've seen interviewers ask families about what their parents and grandparents told them. It's certainly better than second hand sources where people who have no memory of events just assemble information from others and make judgements based on that. This is part of the reason why I urge you to get your uncle's letters into the hands of the historian of your choice.
Nothing ever happens the exact same way twice. That's a safe assumption. But Germany is clearly on the rise. Merkel has probably made a mistake to admit so many Syrian refugees into the country. If Germany goes to the "right", it would obviously never be called the National Socialist Party. And it's unlikely it would have the "nationalistic" coloring of Hitler's Party. Also Germany has some constitutional limitation about sending troops abroad. This would have to be changed for it to perform "police keeping" functions in Eastern Europe and Western Europe the way the US now does. This would bring in the US and who knows what then. Really what it comes down to is a power struggle. When the British Empire started to decline (somehow it must have started even before WW1) it left a huge power vacuum at the top. That's what the Germans were trying to take advantage of.
I notice that when you talk about what is going on in Europe you never talk about Italy. You talk about Germany, Britain, France, and even Russia which isn't really part of western Europe. But Italy gets left out.
This business where in Europe you still have antagonism between the British and the Germans is inconceivable here. I've sailed back and forth between Southampton and Hamburg four times now. The distance is too short. You are too close together. How could you be fighting? Also here in the States the Germans and British are all WASPS. They are sort of like the establishment. They don't fight each other even in comedies. To Americans it would sound senseless.
Linda wrote: "This business where in Europe you still have antagonism between the British and the Germans is inconceivable here. I've sailed back and forth between Southampton and Hamburg four times now. The dis..."I must have not made sense in my comment. Brits and Germans get along fine and have love ins at anniversaries of the battles of the past and all is forgiven. But if a Nazi style government emerged with popular support in Germany the mood would very quickly change. There was a lot of anti- German comment when they got heavy with Greece over its debt (including my blog). I shudder to think if there had been troops involved.
Linda wrote: "I notice that when you talk about what is going on in Europe you never talk about Italy. You talk about Germany, Britain, France, and even Russia which isn't really part of western Europe. But Ital..."The European powers are France, Germany and Russia although all the politicians do their best to exclude Russia. Italy and Spain are in the next division. Both have suffered because adopting the Euro meant an up valuation of their currencies and they became less competitive while Germany had a devaluation and did very well indeed.
Funnily enough people never talk of going to Italy. It is always the city. Rome. Milan, Genoa, Venice, Florence, Padua etc but never Italy. I think Italian cities are regarded as the greatest in Europe by far. And Italian cuisine is actually more popular than French. Italians are regarded as the most civilized Europeans. Their politics are regarded as theatre and nobody takes them seriously.
You shudder to think if troops had been involved in Greece. How could troops be involved in an economic issue? However, as far as the powers that be in Greece are concerned, they probably wished for troops. Germany's constitution forbids troops being sent abroad I think. However, in the future if the US gets lax and the Germans get more aggressive, maybe.I visited Greece once when I was a senior in high school. I knew a family of Greek Americans who ended up going back to Athens. It's all very complicated, and Greece comes close to being in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. That's the explosive zone in Europe. It was occupied by Turks. Remember Byron? They went and ruined everything. All these countries need acknowledged boundaries. That's one thing at least.
Obviously no one takes Italy seriously. Even Rommel joked about his Italian troops during WW2. They were the country that was on both sides. And they take no responsibility for the war. When you say nobody talks of going to Italy and they just talk about cities, that's not true here. Even Italian Americans and there are lots and lots of them talk about Italy. Then they say exactly where in Italy they came from. But even Italians think of themselves as amusing. I remember when I was in Italy the waiters offered to sing and dance for us, for a tip of course. And I remember the taxi cab driver in Rome who told us about his brother in New York while trying to get us to book a tour to Pompeii with his other relative while he was driving us the long way back to our hotel so he could charge us more money. I also remember the lady in the small car who ran into our tour bus. Then she got out waving her bottle of wine at us and screaming at the driver until he got out his wallet and gave her money. Then she zoomed off. This sort of thing went on all the time.
Russia is a power in Eastern Europe, not Western Europe. In Western Europe it is a follower. It mostly follows Germany although in the 19th century the Russian aristocracy liked to visit Paris and speak French. Tolstoy's War and Peace is full of French dialogue. Much of the aristocracy raced off to Paris after the Russian Revolution started.
"Britain, France, and Russia would act independently of the US because they are all nuclear and armed". This is your statement. First of all Britain and the US act together. They don't tend to act independently. And it wouldn't look good if they did. I don't think this has to be "enforced". France is almost like Italy and Spain. You don't take it seriously. At least Americans don't. And they were certainly mostly Nazi followers during WW2.
Russia makes little military jabs here and there if the US lets them and doesn't pay attention. But I don't think they would make a big move without our consent. Ultimately we seem very strange to them. We're not part of their history. They interface with Europe, not the US. But they don't want their government to fall. So they watch what they do around the US. We don't want their government to fall. We don't want a repeat of WW1 and the instability it brought to the whole region.
The US reaction to the Nazis is mostly to think they are comic book characters. Hitler is considered supernatural. It would be easy to convince people here that he was a cannibal and ate Jewish children. My grandfather would have believed this. Although he was 100% German and a first generation American at that, he thought Europe was corrupt. He always refused to visit it though he could have afforded it. He took a dim view of whatever went on there. He is one of my models for Mr. Benley in the Edward Ware Thriller Series. At the same time my grandfather spoke German fluently. He read German. He could even write German. He married my grandmother Doris Benner who is the model for Dora in my series. She, too, spoke and read German which is why I emphasize that Dora was a German American. My grandfather collected German paraphrenalia such as beer mugs. My grandmother collected the sort of porcelain miniature statuary made in the Nymphenburg factory next to the palace in Bavaria, though both of them were from northern Germany.
What's fascinating to me now that I've studied Nazi Germany is how I was brought up by all these German Americans. Even my own mother, who came from a German family from Berlin, raised me to think that Germans were superior to other peoples in Europe as far as their culture went. She would read newspaper articles about nursing homes in America and tell me how superior they were in Germany and how you could always trust the Germans to do everything right --- not politically though.
Were they all National Socialists? No! I think what what's going on here is that my family preserved the folk memory from nineteenth century Germany when they came to America. This is pre-Nazi German thinking from the time of Bismarck. It might actually be preserved better here than in Germany! Some historian should study it. And Pittsburgh is a big area for this. It was the place of immigration of many German Americans. Right now they've even built their own Hofbrauhaus in downtown Pittsburgh along the river.
All very interesting thoughts and points Linda. I am going to go quiet for a few days because I have got my Christmas lunch here on Sunday and I am going to be v. busy with preparations.There is one point worth adding. There is a similarity between the UK and Russia because we are both at the extremities of Europe, Russia the eastern bookend and Britain the western. We both engage with Europe but also keep our distance, but when Europe gets into a turmoil we get dragged in.
I never thought of Russia and Britain being the bookends of Europe before. That is interesting. But still Britain was the leading power in Europe for hundreds of years. Russia has never been the leading power. People in Russia want to learn English. The demand for lessons can't be met because they don't have enough English speakers. Our Russian expert says that all he would have to do is walk off the plane in Moscow and he could be instantly employed as a teacher of English and of course a Russian translator into English. All records in Russia have to be translated into English. I'm sure the British don't translate all their records into Russian, now do they?
Time to switch subjects. What are your recipes for your lunch on Sunday? Do you have photos? We usually have roast beef on Christmas. But this year I can't seem to find one in the grocery store. They advertise them, but they don't seem to be there. I've just bought a spiral ham. Maybe I'll serve that, though that's what I usually serve on New Year's.
I just bought my very last Christmas gift. I bought a Kindle edition of Downfall in Downing Street. We'll keep you posted as we read it.
I also listed Downfall on Downing Street on Goodreads as something I'm reading.
Linda wrote: "I never thought of Russia and Britain being the bookends of Europe before. That is interesting. But still Britain was the leading power in Europe for hundreds of years. Russia has never been the le..."No but English is the universal language of the world now. Language students used to favour French and German. Mandarin ( Chinese) and Russian are now on the up as choices. The British are not possessive about their language any more. Many foreigners speak it better than many Brits. Russians and Israelis speak it with an American accent mostly. Putin apparently speaks very good English but not in public.
Linda wrote: "Time to switch subjects. What are your recipes for your lunch on Sunday? Do you have photos? We usually have roast beef on Christmas. But this year I can't seem to find one in the grocery store. Th..."I will do you a cox.net email with details of my menu for Sunday and if it does not get too hectic on the day I will take some phone pics for you.
Linda wrote: "I just bought my very last Christmas gift. I bought a Kindle edition of Downfall in Downing Street. We'll keep you posted as we read it."I think you and Gary will enjoy it. It is very accurate as I was closely involved in the investigation of a money laundering case through my insurance office and I had connections into top politics of the day and was part of the London 'scene'.
It was a very sleazy period and again it is all pretty accurate. In fact one cabinet minister ended up in prison in real life. Another senior MP was found dead, a man, dressed in stockings and suspenders (garters) with a plastic back over his head, having embarked on an extreme sexual experience which got out of control. The real life Chancellor of the Exchequer had his credit card declined in a liquor store buying booze. So actually the book is quite tame.
I also appeared in Court as a prosecution witness in a money laundering case.
You see, the influence of the English language is the one thing you can't debate. That shows something important. For one thing it demonstrates the reach of the British Empire. For instance, why else do people in India speak English?
I’ll bet you your Prime Minister can’t speak Russian. In fact, I’ve noticed that most British politicians speak only English.
I can't wait for the recipes or the pictures. It's always fun to photograph what you are cooking, table arrangements, etc. You notice that I did that on Thanksgiving. All day on Christmas I usually take photos and movies. But then photography is something I do all the time. What was the camera you used again? I know you've mentioned it. I was using a Canon camcorder, the old-fashioned kind with tapes this past summer for the trip in addition to a pocket Leica, my Apple iPhone, and the Apple iPad. As it turned out the camcorder, which I took along for long takes, started to give out after we got back on the boat in Hamburg and started to really fail when we got back to the States. For one thing the zoom decided not to work. Then the sound got mixed up. The pocket Leica broke about two months after we got back and had to be sent back to Leica for warranty service. Neither one really had any right to break. The camcorder had hardly seen any service before this summer. I'd taken only two tapes on it last year. This year I took about 12 tapes. That was it! The Leica was brand new in March. It cost over $700.00. I didn't even use it until I was on the trip. And I didn't use it full-time until I was on the return trip. It decided to have zoom and lens problems, too. The iPhone made a good back up camera. I used the iPad mostly for taking pictures of menus, postcards, maps, etc and occasionally as a panorama camera. They ought to make cameras that last twenty years and only then need serviced.
Were you working for an insurance company in London in he 1990's? Were you living in London? What was the money laundering case called?
Linda wrote: "I’ll bet you your Prime Minister can’t speak Russian. In fact, I’ve noticed that most British politicians speak only English."That is certainly the case although the previous Deputy PM in the Coalition, Nick Clegg, spoke Russian, German, Spanish, French and I think Italian. (as well as English!). But he was of Russian origin some generations back.
But yes it is a carry over from empire a bit like Latin which was the written language of learning for a thousand years after Rome fell.
Linda wrote: "I can't wait for the recipes or the pictures. It's always fun to photograph what you are cooking, table arrangements, etc. You notice that I did that on Thanksgiving. All day on Christmas I usually..."Maybe it was the Nikon D 3000 which is a digital SLR full size, but mostly for sending i now use either the phone or the iPad.
I didn't know anybody used camcorders now. I thought it was all digital. I can do movies on both my phone, iPad and also my Nikon. Mind you I never do.
Linda wrote: "Were you working for an insurance company in London in he 1990's? Were you living in London? What was the money laundering case called?"I worked in London from the late sixties to the early nineties. I don't think the case had a name.
I'll have to agree with you there about Latin and the English language. That's an astute observation. See, you can't knock it. English is the leading language. French used to be a language for diplomacy. But I think they blew it after the Versailles Treaty that ended WW1 in Paris in 1919. German used to be a language for science. When I was studying archaeology the assistant said if you want to be an archaeologist you ought to major in German. And that's still true for classical archaeology about Greece and Rome. But that's a rather minor exception. English is the language for Egyptology as witnessed by all the Egyptian exhibits at the British Museum. They're about to have another one about sunken cities in ancient Egypt such as a place called Canopus.
It is a high definition digital camcorder that I'm talking about, a mini dv. But it still uses tapes instead of cards. And you don't tend to view the tapes until later, which is the bad part. From now on I'm going to use a digital camcorder that uses a card so it is easier to download on the computer and view. It's important to check your film footage to avoid unpleasant surprises. In fact, I'll give you the name of it. It is a Canon HV10 high definition mini dv camcorder with a hand strap. They have a picture of it on Amazon, which is where I bought it.Also I've used the Apple iPhone and iPad to take pictures and movies. First of all, it's hard to grab and shoot if you see something suddenly. There is too much of a lag time to get to the camera interface. Also neither had a zoom at least that I'm aware of. Also the iPad is kind of big to hold while you are shooting, and it's an awkward shape for a camera. I found that it was most useful on the trip for scanning items and taking pictures of menus, postcards, and other documents while I was holding it in both hands and aiming down at an object lying on my lap or on a table.
I also own a Canon Rebel full size SLR camera, which I am trying to use more. It has lenses that zoom and don't have the same problems as the other cameras. But I keep on forgetting to take it with me. I certainly can't fit it in my pocket. It could ride in a larger handbag, though.
Zooming in seems to be one of the real tests of a camera. The pocket cameras break ifyou do it too much and they don't focus well and they take awhile to do it. Even the Canon HV10 has a zoom with problems that doesn't focus well anymore. The Canon Rebel has interchangeable lenses.
Can't wait to hear about your recipes. I hope you had a good time at lunch today. I'm at the point where I have to write my summary of the year and start thinking of predictions for next year. Can you imagine summarizing this year and all the wild things that have gone on? I was thinking about it last night and I decided to call it "The Year Where We Became Characters In A Thriller Novel". That has to include all the stuff about the mover chasing us about and all the lawsuits and roaming around the globe. We even had a skiff at sea.
I got your email about the Christmas pudding. What is Christmas pudding? What is your recipe for it? And you are making both salmon and turkey at the same time. Do you really have to make two main dishes? Or is the salmon not a main dish? Stilton cheese sounds really good. I'm a cheese fanatic. But you can't get it around here unless you order it online. I'd have to order it from a place called igourmet.com. Just reading about it puts me in the mood to do that. At this point I'd be ordering for New Years.
As far as the wines go you'd find me boring. I'm a teetotaler. I don't drink anything alcoholic. I'd prefer hot tea or even iced tea which is something you don't seem to have much of in Europe. How about a Coke? I'm not a great fan of hot coffee either. But the German chocolates sound good. But why German? I didn't know the Germans were noted for chocolates. I just got done going to Belgium. They seemed to have nothing to eat except cheeses, pastries, and chocolates.
I have to decide today whether we're having ham or turkey for Christmas. What we don't have on Christmas we'll have on New Year's. If we have turkey I have to put it in the refrigerator to defrost probably by tonight. Do you have a recipe for either to help me make up my mind?
I answered all the cooking queries etc on your cox.net.
When you said that you can do movies on your iPhone, iPad, and Nikon but "mind you, I never do" what does that mean? You don't take any movies? Lately I think I've been taking more movies than still shots. For one thing I'm taking more movies of Putlitz and Rommel. I've got loads of movies from the past month or two of Putlitz playing with sparkle balls and wand toys. He's trying to show the dog that he's hot stuff.
What you wrote about your background for writing Downfall in Downing Street you should include as an afterword. Have you thought about that? It might be interesting. You might even include it on Amazon on your author's page. You know, a nonfiction angle to your fiction.
Are you doing any Christmas promotions for your books? I noticed that Downfall in Downing Street didn't cost me anything to buy. I was disappointed. I wanted to pay something. But most readers would think otherwise. Are you doing anything else like that? I am doing free promotions for Dark 3, Key to Lawrence Special Edition, and a novel called Minotaur. We tried the Amazon giveaway, and that didn't work either.
Linda wrote: "When you said that you can do movies on your iPhone, iPad, and Nikon but "mind you, I never do" what does that mean? You don't take any movies? Lately I think I've been taking more movies than stil..."No I never do movies. Not least because i would never have time to watch them! But they don't really interest me. Except yours. I love those.
Linda wrote: "What you wrote about your background for writing Downfall in Downing Street you should include as an afterword. Have you thought about that? It might be interesting. You might even include it on Am..."Yes, Max suggested something on those lines. I will give it some thought.
Linda wrote: "Are you doing any Christmas promotions for your books? I noticed that Downfall in Downing Street didn't cost me anything to buy. I was disappointed. I wanted to pay something. But most readers woul..."Yes I put HFL, P Killing, Two Spooky Mys and Downfall on free download for 2 days. About a couple of hundred takers, less than last year but the books are older now. Now I am just working on follow up ads for sales.
That's remarkable about the movies. But then I guess it depends what you consider a movie. Are book trailers movies? Are interviews? Are talks about your book? I watched a movie about you a year ago. But then I guess you weren't taking it.
Hopefully you will get some actual sales for HFL, P Killing, Two Spooky Mys, and Downfall. As far as the books being older, you could issue new editions of the books every couple of years if you wanted to. That's where you could add your biographical material to Downfall and call it a new edition. That sort of thing with new covers, etc.
That’s what you could do! More talks about your books. You could post them on your website and on Amazon. The iPad and iPhone have a “selfie” camera which I detest but you could use to your advantage.
I read on your website that you are available for after dinner speeches. Do tell. Do you have any takers? What do you talk about?
You talk about your currency being overvalued on your website. As far as I know the British pound has always been worth more than the American dollar. A little more than one hundred years ago it was worth at least five times as much as the dollar. It just seems normal, and you think it is a problem because of trade. But it certainly doesn't seem to hurt tourism.
I assume you are off today to Canterbury. What are you going to have for dinner on Christmas? Are you going to help out as a traveling chef? Or is your son a chef, too?
Linda wrote: "I read on your website that you are available for after dinner speeches. Do tell. Do you have any takers? What do you talk about?"I had forgotten all that stuff about after dinner speeches was still on there. I think I am a bit past that now. That's the advantage of self publishing. You don't sell so many books but you don't have to do all their promotions.
Linda wrote: "You talk about your currency being overvalued on your website. As far as I know the British pound has always been worth more than the American dollar. A little more than one hundred years ago it wa..."Yes but then Britain was one of the great industrial powers of the world. We even out produced Germany in WWII. Now manufacturing is less than 10% of GDP. We import 90% of everything we use. Last month our trade gap of imports over exports was over $ 20 billion just for November.
Did you do after dinner speeches? Was it for a publisher? Still it sounds interesting. I've never heard of that here unless it goes by another name. Is it the same as getting booked for a speaking tour to promote your book? That sort of thing is usually associated with nonfiction, not so much fiction. But once I did attend a Book and Author Dinner at a department store in Richmond, Virginia where some bestselling fiction writers spoke alongside a few nonfiction writers. And when I was publishing books with Scholastic USA they wanted to know if you would be available to speak at schools, etc. But very few authors did that sort of thing. One nice thing about Cora Verlag was that absolutely nothing was required of me in the way of book promotion.
This is a slightly pointless discussion because if Germany re-Nazified it would be most unlikely that America would be there. And if neo Nazi Germany started re-arming and building up large armies to threaten its neighbours it would only do so if it calculated that America had other things on its mind.
Britain, France and Russia would act independently of the US because they are all nuclear armed. When I talk about nukes, I don't mean strategic. I mean tactical nuclear weapons with a yield of 1-5 kilotons.
But its not going to happen so it is pointless to talk about it. I brought it up only to emphasize that whilst B, F and R are happy with modern Germany and admire it there is a visceral hatred of the Nazis which will never go away. It is quite different in America because it was never touched in its homeland.