tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73877364123444776362010-03-07T11:27:08.917+01:00atlantic progressivesThis blog in English (et en français) is a follow up to the book La Liberté sinon rien. Mes Ameriques de Bastogne à Bagdad. It plans to cover the US progressive community and its transatlantic links and help build a more progressive US-European common agenda. Il publie également en français des notes sur le monde progressiste et "libéral" américainJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-26741720395978499432010-03-07T11:22:00.004+01:002010-03-07T11:27:09.055+01:00The rebellion of U.S. liberalsThe reactions of the liberals in the Democratic Party towards their representatives in Congress who kow tow to a more conservative agenda is a sign that should be followed closely by European progressives. See this article in the Washington Posthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/06/AR2010030602239_pf.htmlJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-88916992576141041042009-08-19T11:01:00.003+02:002009-08-19T11:07:33.320+02:00Robert Kuttner on how moderate reformers can stop the right wing crazeLeading liberal writer Robert Kuttner is upset at the right wing's hijacking of popular rage against dire economic conditions. Health care reform has become the target of anger thanks to the brutal "framing" of the issue by extremist rightist zealots backed by "economic royalists".President Obama, Robert Kuttner adds, is much to consensual to address this major challenge to his policies. The Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-56135529362455267382009-03-10T09:33:00.001+01:002009-03-10T10:05:00.283+01:00U.S.-Euro support for Arab reformThere is a growing suspicion among human rights advocates and neo-conservatives that a Barack Obama admnistration might downplay or even downgrade human rights diplomacy. In multiple columns and conferences these two circles (that tend to merge on some issues and diverge on others) try to put pressure on the White House and the State Department in order to re-emphasize the need for a strong Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-62035334444251823452009-01-22T10:43:00.006+01:002009-01-22T16:15:04.230+01:00Obama and grumpy EuropeEuropean politicians do not seem to get it when it comes to use the word "liberal" in the U.S. context. In Belgium "libéral" (i.e. center-right) politician Alain Destexhe refers to Obama as "one of us" while Ecolo MP Jean-Marc Nollet rejects Obama as a "one of them", as a "libéral" i.e. someone that belongs to the same ideological clan than Bush. The will to define one's own politics in relation Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-23490346387303311872009-01-14T07:56:00.003+01:002009-01-15T09:17:46.372+01:00We need a civil society transatlantic dialogue on the Israeli Palestinian crisisThe Gaza crisis shows the gap that will have to be bridged between Europe and the U.S. in order to work together for a long term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The difference will be less acute between the next U.S. administration and the current EU leadership. Although the responsibility of the region within the new administration will probably be attributed to a pro-Israeli Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-46743353258147232512008-12-29T09:42:00.005+01:002008-12-30T18:56:39.631+01:00Czech presidency: the wrong country at the wrong timeIt is regrettable that the Czech government will preside the EU presidency when Barack Obama will enter the White House. President Vaclav Klaus is not only a Euroscekptic and for all the bad reasons but he has also been a strong ally of the Bush administration and a promoter of a rightwing ideology that has shown its disinterest for ethical foreign policies and its lack of concern for social Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-48918363018533878412008-11-29T12:16:00.002+01:002008-11-29T12:25:41.544+01:00European reds have the bluesEuropean progressives are looking with interest and some concern at the Obama transition. The selection of the next administration’s top players in the economic sphere, at the State Department (Hillary Clinton) and at the National Security Council seems to contradict the promises of change.European social democrats who had depicted Barack Obama as one of their own, as a U.S. liberal “à la Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-31857442488053617252008-11-08T09:02:00.005+01:002008-11-08T18:33:51.187+01:00Is a European Obama possible?The question has been roaming around since Barack Obama became the Democratic Party nominee. The expectations are high among minority groups in most European countries. On Friday night after a theatre play in a café located in Saint-Josse, the most mutlicultural Brussels neighborhood, one comedian from Ivory Coast said: "Now that Obama has won I will dare to stick my photograph to my résumé!"The Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-77205579214687025712008-11-05T10:42:00.002+01:002008-11-05T10:54:52.891+01:00What can we do for Obama?Change has come ! The slogan has been flowing like a seagull over the Atlantic.Barack Obama’s victory has already made history. It is a tribute and a promise. It is a tribute to the millions of civil rights activists who have been fighting for freedom and justice since the early days of the United States. It is a promise for the tens of millions of Americans who voted for change.Change in Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-83533676175661486192008-11-04T08:32:00.004+01:002008-11-04T16:17:49.987+01:00Obama, a historic opportunityWe have reached the key moment of the election day and it will be a transformational moment for transatlantic politics. After 8 years of divisions and recriminations between the US and Europe but also within Europe an Obama victory will not only reopen a phase of consultations and respect. It will also open a new era because Obama means a break in global politics and because the world has changedJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-78787019522191992882008-10-30T18:02:00.004+01:002008-10-30T18:13:09.124+01:00And now Europe will look grey and brownEurope is thrilled by the prospect of an Obama victory at the polls : all surveys show that more than 70% of European citizens would vote for the Democratic contender against his Republican challenger. However an Obama presidency will be a major challenge for Europe. Suddenly in a few hours the image of the U.S. will change and Europe with its neo-nazis in Vienna, its trash TV king in Rome and Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-73075721625966733362008-10-13T15:41:00.003+02:002008-10-13T15:46:56.114+02:00Paul Krugman: his Nobel Prize is an indictment of Bush and McCain's casino economicsEveryone expected a strong political message from Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize and we got a honest and rather uncontroversial Finnish peace broker as a laureate.Politics however seems to be the name of the game for the selection of the Nobel Prize for Economics. And politics is definitely not a dirty word. By choosing Paul Krugman, the leading basher of neoconservatism and of Bushist economics Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-42448509308310332992008-10-02T08:49:00.003+02:002008-10-02T08:57:14.954+02:00A leading Spanish pundit, Gustavo Palomares, bets on Obama and finds Palin scary“A Barack Obama victory would be better for Europe. Sarah Palin is a worrying prospect”. These two judgments have been expressed by one of the leading foreign affairs commentators in Spain. In a TV interview broadcast on Safe Democracy website (www.safe-democracy.org), Professor Gustavo Palomares, who teaches at the Diplomatic School of the Spanish Foreign Ministry and is a frequent contributor Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-10883677126666941422008-09-29T10:27:00.002+02:002008-09-29T10:33:59.449+02:00From Wall Street follies to Austria's fearsThe Wall Street crisis should mark the beginning of the end of an economic and social model that has dominated the world economy since at least 1981 with the rise of the Reagan conservative revolution and the rule of Thatcherism in the United Kingdom.The Anglo-Saxon model of “free markets and unfettered capitalism”, as Inter Press Service John Lobe writes, has reached its limits.Which model will Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-92199807507562612652008-09-17T11:15:00.004+02:002008-09-17T11:22:08.277+02:00Un peu de sérieux/ Be seriousSummary: the U.S. media and politicians should talk about real issues and stop distracting voters. Progressives take the lead in pleading for serious discussions of serious issues.L’espace public américain est pollué depuis longtemps déjà par des commentateurs qui exploitent les erreurs les plus minuscules, les lapsus les plus insignifiants, des candidats. Cette pratique résulte d’un système Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-38715947849922460172008-09-15T18:09:00.003+02:002008-09-15T18:16:02.094+02:00Sarah Palin, the American scarecrowThe U.S. does not need enemies to shoot into its own leg. It just needs Sarah Palin. The selection of the extremist Alaska governor makes a joke of John McCain’s claims to be a more reliable, more experienced, leader for America than Barack Obama.Who in Europe even in conservative circles would not be scared of having to confront the terrible idea that Sara Palin might one day become the Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-61667953017863824302008-08-27T10:19:00.005+02:002008-08-30T22:14:56.210+02:00Liberals and only liberals can win the new cold warMany pundits resist the idea. Many politicians caution against a rush back to the past. Bernard Kouchner, who, as the French say, “does not keep his tongue in his pocket”, tried yesterday in an interview with France 2 to put some nuances into his condemnation of Moscow’s rash behaviour..But a fact is a fact. The succession of moves and countermoves around the Georgia crisis can be termed as a newJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-60417873907551296222008-08-24T12:26:00.004+02:002008-08-24T12:30:21.432+02:00The Democrats, less liberals than "libéraux"The events hosted by the National Democratic Institute, the “foreign policy” arm of the Democratic Party, during the Democratic Party convention in Denver over the next few days tells a lot about the ideological affinities of the U.S. democrats.Although some European progressives would like to think that the Democrats belong to the left, the reality shows that their point of gravity lies more Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-24672448971262801152008-08-23T17:20:00.005+02:002008-08-23T17:23:49.567+02:00Le Global Marshall PlanLancée à l’initiative du rabbin Michael Lerner, directeur de la revue juive progressiste Tikkun, cette association de « spiritual progressives » se veut résolument œcuménique et comprend, outre M. Lerner, la sœur bénédictine Joan Chittister et Cornell West, professeur de religion à l’Université de Princeton et intellectuel renommé de la communauté africaine-américaine.Fortement impliquée dans la Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-35070213297873481042008-08-20T08:28:00.005+02:002008-08-20T08:41:36.437+02:00Obama and Le Monde diplomatiqueAlthough Barack Obama has drawn huge crowds in Europe (Editor’s note: you can link to his Berlin speech on this site) and has raised high expectations among “second generation immigrants” dreaming of a more multicultural Europe the French “left of the left” is not completely convinced of the Democratic candidate’s promise of change.Serge Halimi, the editor in chief of Le Monde diplomatique, the Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-37242572883980474232008-08-20T07:48:00.006+02:002008-08-20T09:25:01.524+02:00U.S. Former Diplomats Back ObamaSome 200 former foreign policy professionals have joined to express their support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as the best placed to reestablish U.S. leadership based on respect, credibility and international cooperation. The text follows.We are a diverse group of over 200 former Foreign Service officers. Each of us has had extensive experience in implementing the Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-32925157619431291672008-08-14T11:40:00.001+02:002008-08-14T11:50:49.855+02:00Common values are more important than consultationIn a recent article (August 13, 2008) Le Monde foreign affairs columnist David Vernet is pouring buckets of cold water on these enthusiastic Europeans, Germans in particular, that seem to expect miracles from an Obama victory in the November 4 presidential elections.While acknowledging that Obama’s discourse on transatlantic dialogue and community of values has a nicer sound than Bush’s Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-30634120403875471662008-08-13T10:35:00.006+02:002008-08-20T07:57:09.932+02:00Georgia on our mindThe Russia-Georgia war has immense implications for the transatlantic relationships and it challenges liberals and progressives on both sides of the ocean to shape their own response to this new arc of insecurity in a region that is strategic both for the European Union and the United States.Although they have reaffirmed their unity within NATO the US and Europe seem again to have taken differentJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-34262739179238097462008-07-27T11:01:00.004+02:002008-07-27T11:36:09.855+02:00Obama's "idealism" is the new realismBeing progressive means addressing the issues that if kept unsolved will make it impossible to be even a moderate.Terrorism, climate change and "clashes of uncivilizations" are key tests of the capacity of democracies to address vital challenges.The threat of terrorism is in itself a brutal attack against the most progressive values of humanity and by provoking a “security backlash” it underminesJean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387736412344477636.post-3373904554941295942008-07-13T18:39:00.002+02:002008-07-13T18:41:34.981+02:00Obama is "ein Berliner"The U.S. election is inviting itself to Europe, showing that there are several ways of imagining the transatlantic relations. By questioning Barack Obama’s intention to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German reunification, some leaders of the most conservative wing of the Christian Democratic Party seem to want to create an embarrassment for the Democrats and boost John McCain’s Jean-Paul Marthozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985889019287726183noreply@blogger.com1