SAGGEZZA SLOVACCA. (Slovak wisdom)

Da Eurasia (28/11/2008)

La scorsa settimana, a Bruxelles presso la sede della NATO, si sono riuniti i Capi di Stato Maggiore di più di 60 Paesi, membri dell’alleanza o semplicemente associati in uno dei vari accordi di partenariato che la stessa ha instaurato. Il cosiddetto “Incontro Autunnale” del Comitato Militare della NATO è stato presieduto dall’ammiraglio Giampaolo Di Paola e, fra i tanti argomenti all’ordine del giorno, si è occupato anche della cooperazione militare fra l’Alleanza Atlantica e l’Ucraina; al proposito, l’ammiraglio Di Paola si è congratulato con il rappresentante ucraino, generale Serhiy Kyrychenko, affermando che “non c’è nessun partner della NATO che dia un contributo così forte a tutte le missioni ed operazioni dell’alleanza come l’Ucraina”. Questa sottolineatura giunge soltanto pochi giorni prima dello svolgimento del cruciale Consiglio Nord Atlantico a livello di Ministri degli Esteri che si terrà il 2 e 3 dicembre. In tale occasione, si riuniranno anche le commissioni bilaterali NATO-Georgia e NATO-Ucraina per decidere se offrire ai due Paesi ex sovietici l’ingresso nell’alleanza, attraverso la sottoscrizione di un apposito Membership Action Plan (MAP). Casca quindi a fagiolo l'arguto commento dell'ex Primo Ministro slovacco, Jan Carnogursky. Egli richiama il no irlandese al Trattato di Lisbona, che, in ambito di Unione Europea, avrebbe dato alla burocrazia comunitaria il potere di prendere decisioni chiave per il futuro dei popoli del Continente, abolendo il diritto di veto da parte dei singoli Paesi. L’affossamento del Trattato ad opera del referendum d’Irlanda ha quindi permesso che l’UE continui ad operare ancora oggi sulla base del principio di unanimità quando chiamata a deliberare su questioni decisive. Secondo Carnogursky, la situazione si sta ripetendo in modo identico riguardo l’espansione della NATO. Gli Stati Uniti stanno spingendo Georgia ed Ucraina ad entrare nell’alleanza e, come per il Trattato di Lisbona, dal sistema informativo globale è ritenuto politicamente corretto sostenere la piena adesione allo schieramento atlantico di questi due Paesi. Carnogursky ricorda però come l’espansione della NATO sia avvenuta contraddicendo platealmente le promesse che - prima Ronald Reagan, poi Bush senior - fecero all’epoca a Mikhail Gorbaciov. I capi sovietici furono così “ingenui e creduloni” da non pretendere che tali impegni venissero messi nero su bianco. Alcuni anni dopo effettivamente fu adottato un "Atto Fondamentale sulle relazioni comuni, la cooperazione e la mutua sicurezza tra la NATO e la Russia, ma in esso ci si limitava ad una generica raccomandazione secondo la quale le parti non avrebbero mai dovuto intraprendere azioni che potessero minacciare la sicurezza europea, senza prima consultarsi con l’altra per ottenerne l’approvazione. L'ulteriore espansione ad est della NATO è ormai storia. In vista dell’imminente incontro dei Ministri degli Esteri NATO, l’ex premier slovacco ritiene che molti Paesi europei siano convinti che né l’Ucraina né la Georgia (tantomeno dopo l'aggressione all'Ossezia del Sud della scorsa estate) soddisfino i criteri per l’adesione, ma che nessuno l’abbia detto alto e forte. Ad osare di bloccare l’ingresso degli aspiranti membri, a dare il proprio voto negativo in ambito NATO potrebbe essere la Slovacchia, con il consenso della maggioranza dei propri cittadini. Si eviterebbero così ulteriori problemi per l’Europa e, favorendo una ripresa della declinante fiducia russa verso le istituzioni europee, la Slovacchia potrebbe diventare “un autorevole mediatore tra l’Europa occidentale e quella sudorientale”. Ma ci vuole coraggio, conclude Carnogursky rivolgendosi ai connazionali.

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Così lo stesso Jan Carnogursky su RIA Novosti (21/11/2008)

A little more than a year ago, the European Union had to decide on the Lisbon Treaty, which proposed changes to its internal structure.

The treaty gave Brussels the power to make many key decisions and abolished consensus. The loss of the right to veto seriously limited the authority of states, particularly small countries. The EU's propaganda machine was in full swing, and support for the treaty was considered politically correct for politicians and journalists.

The former Eastern bloc countries became its most enthusiastic supporters, with only Poland putting up some resistance until eventually giving in to Western pressure. Lech Kaczynski's ruling Law and Justice Party, which had definitely opposed the treaty, eventually voted in favor of it in the Sejm.

Slovak politicians did not even try to object. Deputies from the Slovak National Party (SNS), who position themselves as defenders of Slovak interests, voted for the treaty. Only the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) opposed it in the National Assembly, but this was a losing battle.

A referendum in Ireland took place later. Ireland is a small European country but its people have proved over the centuries that they are able to withstand the worst methods of British occupation to defend their independence. Irish self-respect is based on small but important victories over Britain as well as their incredible success in other countries, primarily in the United States, where many of them immigrated to. The Irish exercised their authority in the EU and said "no" to the treaty, thereby burying it, since the EU still operates on the basis of unanimity.

Surprisingly, Ireland was not subjected to any criticism or threats after the referendum. There was silence, although many heaved a sigh of relief after the Irish did everything for them.

For some time, Germany and French politicians discussed changes to the treaty and suggested a new voting on it, but it seems that this is not going to happen. After the recent parliamentary elections, the Austrians, for one, would not be happy about any attempts to limit their participation in the EU. The Irish have simply resolved this question for everyone.

The situation is now repeating itself with NATO's expansion. The Americans are pushing Georgia and Ukraine to join the body, and as with the Lisbon Treaty, it is now politically correct to support the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for these countries, the start of the process which would lead them into the alliance. This decision is more important than the Lisbon Treaty, and hence, there is even more need to find another Ireland and stop this process.

It is worth repeating that NATO's eastward expansion was a geopolitical mistake from the very start, as the late George Kennan and many other U.S. foreign policy authorities noted. It was also morally flawed.

By allowing NATO's eastward expansion, the United States broke the promise which was made to Mikhail Gorbachev first by President Ronald Reagan and later by President George H. W. Bush.

Pat Buchanan writes about this in detail, quoting different sources in his book A Republic Not an Empire (in the chapter "Courting a conflict with Russia").

At that time, the Soviet leaders were so naive and credulous with respect to the West that they did not even insist on putting this commitment in writing. It took The New York Times, one of the media sources that shape the Western mentality, a whole 15 years to admit that the West had broken its word. Now U.S. analysts are trying to justify their leaders' actions, saying that this was done at the request of Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa, or Vytautas Landsbergis. Let the Lord judge them...

In politics, loyalty to one's promise is a special case, particularly in the United States.

At the meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club last September, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were told that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Russian politicians before the events in the Caucasus that Georgia would not be able to join NATO if it attacked South Ossetia or Abkhazia. Now this no longer applies.

Georgia and Ukraine's NATO entry would be an adventure for other reasons, as well. If they join NATO, they will have the right to be protected by the entire alliance in the event of an attack against them. Is Georgia going to join NATO with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, or will it enter it without these now independent countries?

Russia will soon deploy its military contingents and bases in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Does anyone think that it will be scared by Georgia's NATO entry, and will withdraw its forces from these states? If the Georgian president, be it Mikheil Saakashvili or someone else, again decides to consolidate his state's territorial integrity with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and attacks their territory, will the entire alliance help him? Will the Slovak soldiers, who are likely to be soon kicked out of Afghanistan along with other NATO troops, move to Georgia?

U.S. military interference is making the world a more chaotic place. The situation in Iraq and Afghanistan is questionable for the time being, but Saakashvili's encouragement to military action against South Ossetia has already cost thousands of lives and deteriorated the situation, first and foremost in Georgia.

Peace has always been fragile in the Caucasus, and Washington's attempts to oust Russia from the region are undermining it even more. Since 1990, South Ossetia has spoken out against being part of Georgia by an impressive majority at four referendums. NATO should not attempt to break this will of the Ossetian people. Those who want to expand Soviet Georgia territorially should not involve others in this adventure. Armed force has already failed to achieve this.

The situation with Ukraine is the same. We have been hearing for more than a decade that NATO is a democracy-defending military alliance. All public opinion polls, including those paid for with American money, show that more than 60% of Ukrainians are against joining NATO. When a NATO squadron wanted to make a friendly visit to a Crimean port, the local people staged such protests that the sailors could not even disembark.

Ukraine has remained unstable up to this day. By the end of 2008, it will have had three early elections. Since the Orange Revolution the country has had no strong power. The Americans are again pushing Ukraine into NATO.

During his visit to Kiev this year, U.S. President George W. Bush promised those Ukrainians who wanted to listen to him that Ukraine would be admitted into NATO. Germany and France blocked this intention, however, at the Bucharest summit several days later.

At the Valdai Discussion Club's meeting last September I was asked by a German participant why Slovakia did not support Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, who opposed the granting of the MAP to Georgia and Ukraine. I felt ashamed that I failed to provide an answer. Russia is not indifferent to the attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO against the will of its own people. Many in eastern Ukraine and the Crimea favor federalization, to say the least. Who will prohibit their regional parliaments from announcing the secession of these territories from Ukraine? Slovakia, which has separated from the Czech Republic, could share its experience with them.

Attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO are a part of a cynical game, primarily against the Ukrainians. Ukraine will have to stay away from geopolitical games for another 50 years, if not more, in order to grow stronger. It will gain nothing from joining NATO, although some American circles see this as part of the world's new geopolitical context, but Ukraine is threatened with disintegration even now. What if it falls apart as a NATO member? Will all NATO soldiers rush to unite it?

This is not academic discourse. The December NATO summit will decide whether Ukraine and Georgia will join the MAP. Many European countries are convinced that neither of these countries meets the NATO membership criteria, but nobody has said this out loud. Statements to this effect are being made in the media. The majority of the Valdai Club's Western members also feel the same way, but officially, not a single NATO country has opposed the granting of MAP invitations to Georgia and Ukraine.

Europe will breathe a sigh of relief when one country says that Georgia and Ukraine are not ready to join NATO and should not be given the MAP for that reason. Initially this statement will probably surprise some people, but most will express congratulations on the sly. After a short span of time, these congratulations will be made out loud.

It is a fact that Georgia and Ukraine do not meet the NATO membership criteria. But who will dare say it out in the open? Slovakia has the best chances of doing so. The Lisbon unanimity agreement does not yet operate in NATO. One negative vote is enough to stop Georgia and Ukraine from entering NATO. This would be a democratic move because it would be approved by the majority of Slovak citizens. Our country is an EU member and the EU would not object to this opinion. Georgia and Ukraine's entry into NATO would create a host of problems for Europe, and we would be protecting it by making this step. There is no doubt that it would enhance Slovakia's prestige in the eyes of Russia and would help Russia overcome its mistrust of the EU, both very good results. Most importantly, Slovakia would become an authoritative mediator between western and southeastern Europe.

We must have the courage to make this move.

Passo e chiudo.
FRA

ZUZANA SMATANOVÁ: SVET MI STÚPIL NA NOHU.

Zuzana Smatanová è la mia cantante preferita. I motivi sono diversi: musica e testi (scritti interamente da lei ed eseguiti insieme ad un'ottima band), sonorità, voce e non da ultimo il modo di porsi dinanzi al crescente successo di pubblico e mediatico. Per chi come me segue le sue vicende canore dagli albori (in particolare dal 2003, quando appena diciannovenne pubblicò il suo primo album, quasi interamente in inglese, "Entirely Good"), quest'ultimo aspetto risulta particolarmente interessante: in un mondo, quello dello spettacolo in genere e della musica in particolare, dove da una parte vi è il cantante e dall'altra il fan (termine che, tra l'altro, deriva non a caso da "fanatico") e dove il rapporto tra i due si basa su di una sorta di "idolatria" del secondo verso il primo, Zuzana Smatanová rappresenta una bella eccezione. Tentando di non cadere nei soliti luoghi comuni, possiamo dire che il rapporto cantante-pubblico in questo caso è realmente un rapporto "alla pari", un rapporto "coltivato" anche e soprattutto attraverso una quantità impressionante di concerti dal 2003 ad oggi, la maggior parte dei quali nella natia Slovacchia. La grande attenzione verso i "fans" (numerose le iniziative del Fanclub ufficiale che hanno coinvolto la stessa Zuzana - il link a tale sito lo trovate sulla colonna di sinistra del mio blog) e la grande disponibilità a rispondere a qualsiasi domanda (che posso personalmente confermare), sono la prova di quanto detto.

La sua popolarità nella Repubblica Slovacca è fuori discussione: numerossimi i premi vinti nelle principali manifestazioni musicali del paese (Aurel, OTO, Slávik etc.). Il terzo album, uscito nel 2007, è stato tre volte disco di platino e l'ultima fatica, un live del quale esiste anche un DVD, si annuncia già un successo. La popolarità all'estero, seppur buona (specie in Repubblica Ceca e Polonia), stenta a decollare, forse penalizzata dalla scelta (a mio modo di vedere comunque apprezzabile) di scrivere prevalentemente in slovacco. Per quanto riguarda l'Italia, beh, è con un pò di orgoglio (ma anche un pò di dispiacere), che annuncio di essere l'unico "fan"! E' stata la stessa cantante di Súľov-Hradná a dirlo in un intervista! :) Ecco il link.
Lo scopo di questo post tuttavia, non è tanto parlare della carriera di Zuzana Smatanová, quanto presentare e introdurre questa grande artista (e più in generale l'interessantissima scena musicale slovacca): all'una ed all'altra dedicheremo in futuro altri post . Per iniziare ho pensato di presentare una canzone, Svet mi stúpil na nohu, titletrack nonché prima traccia del secondo album di Zuzana Smatanová. A seguire troverete dunque il testo originale della canzone, una traduzione in inglese (per la quale ringrazio un amico slovacco) ed infine un video live della stessa.

Sperando che il tutto sia di vostro gradimento, vi saluto.

Svet mi stúpil na nohu
text/hudba : Zuzana Smatanová

Postávam otočená chrbtom k hodinám
a steny bledšie sú, bledšie ako bývali
a malé okno izby stále je bez rolety
spýtam sa útechy či vie, že sme ju čakali

Dnes som iba ja a viem, čo sa mi stalo
dnes som iba ja a to je málo, málo ...

Svet mi týmto stúpil na nohu
a mám liečivé doktorove dlane
žijem vo vreckách držím pevne ruku niekomu
a bránim telom tme nech už nikdy nenastane

Postávam otočená tvárou k hodinám
a steny krajšie sú, krajšie ako bývali
tak skúsim prvý krát spraviť niečo bez útechy
dokážem svetu, že sme stále milovaní

Mám tu svoje miesto
a strážim naše istoty
mám tu svoje miesto
a pár ľudí, čo nestratím

Svet mi týmto stúpil na nohu
a mám liečivé doktorove dlane
žijem vo vreckách držím pevne ruku niekomu
a bránim telom tme nech už nikdy nie je!

Svet mi týmto stúpil na nohu
a mám liečivé doktorove dlane
žijem vo vreckách držím pevne ruku niekomu
a bránim telom tme nech už nikdy nenastane





World tread me on foot
text/music : Zuzana Smatanová

I am loungeing turned back to clock

and walls are more white than usual

and a small window of room is still no blind

I will ask consolation, whether it knows that we waited it

Today I am only me and I know, what happend to me

Today I am only me and it is little, little ...

World tread me on foot by this

and I have medicinal doctor´s open hands

I live and I am holding somebody’s hands in pockets

I am blocking the dark with my body and already it never arrives

I am loungeing turned face to clock

and walls are nicer than usual

so I will try doing something without consolation

I prove to the world, that we are still beloved

I have my place here

and I take care of our confidences

I have my place here

and a few people, whose I won´t miss

World tread me on foot by this

and I have medicinal doctor´s open hands

I live and I am holding somebody’s hands in pockets

I am blocking the dark with my body and already it has never been!

World tread me on foot by this

and I have medicinal doctor´s open hands

I live and I am holding somebody’s hands in pockets

I am blocking the dark with my body and already it never arrives





Passo e chiudo.
FRA

LA RUSSIA DAVANTI AI RISCHI DEL BAILOUT. (Russia facing bailout's risks)

Impedire il trasferimento su conti offshore dei prestiti di Stato che le banche russe avevano recentemente ottenuto. La conversione di tali prestiti in Dollari è proprio quello che il Cremlino vuole evitare. Sostegno al rublo dunque, in una sorta di '98 reloaded. Quell'estate la faccenda del tasso di cambio non finì benissimo. Il contesto ora è diverso: la crisi non è asiatica o russa, è globale. Inoltre al timone non c'è Kiriyenko, ma Putin (e Medvedev). Vedremo.

RIA Novosti (20-11-08)


MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian banks that have received state loans during the current financial crisis but converted them into U.S. dollars will be barred from the government's rescue package, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Thursday.
"We have drafted a law. It could be submitted to the State Duma [the lower house] today. The Central Bank will have additional authority to check how money received as state support is spent," Shuvalov said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that some banks had transferred government bailout money to offshore accounts instead of giving it to the intended recipients.
President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday as the financial crisis deepened that the government could spend more than the previously planned $200 billion on stabilization measures.
Russia has been hard hit by the global financial crunch that began with the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States last summer and has quickly spread to the rest of the world.
The country's stock market has lost around 70% of its value since May, and the Central Bank has spent billions of dollars to prop up the ruble, which is sinking amid economic turmoil and falling oil prices.
Speaking at a news conference, Shuvalov said the government had come under pressure from members of the business community that opposed its efforts to shore up the ruble.
"We have come under serious pressure from business and financial experts over a drop in the ruble's exchange rate," Shuvalov said, adding however that there would be no drastic alteration in its exchange rates and that speculation to the contrary had no grounds.

He also said the government was set to review state projects and state-run organizations' investment programs in a bid to streamline spending amid the crisis, but added that transport and energy infrastructure projects would not be subject to revision.

Shuvalov said spending cuts would not concern preparations for a 2012 APEC summit in Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East, and for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort Sochi.
He also backed a proposal made by Putin at a ruling party congress earlier on Thursday to cut taxes. Shuvalov said the tax cuts would allow the Russian economy to save 556 billion rubles ($20.2billion). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poco prima, lo stesso Putin aveva annunciato alla Duma nuove misure per combattere la crisi.

RIA Novosti (20-11-08)

MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed a congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party on Thursday outlining a number of proposals to tackle the financial crisis in Russia.
Putin told the party he has headed since he stepped down as president last May that the Russian government would allocate over 50 billion rubles (about $2 billion) to support and protect the defense sector from bankruptcy.
Russia will also issue loans to China and India for purchases of Russian equipment, the prime minister added.
"A decision was made to allocate $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund to assist countries in a particularly difficult financial situation. We will also issue loans to China and India to buy Russian equipment, thereby creating jobs and securing profit for our companies," Putin said.
The Russian premier also proposed cuts in profit tax to help companies weather the financial turmoil.
"We must cut profit tax by 4% from January 1, 2009 at the expense of the federal budget. This issue will cost 400 billion rubles [$14.5 billion]. All this money will stay in the economy next year and will work in the economy," Putin said.
Russia's current profit tax stands at 24%, of which 6.5% is paid to the federal budget and 17.5% to regional budgets.
Putin also unveiled measures to help the unemployed and proposed raising the level of monthly unemployment benefit by 1,500 rubles ($55) from the current figure of 3,400 rubles ($124), Putin said.
He also assured Russian depositors that the government would guarantee 98.5% of all their savings held in Russian banks.
"The overwhelming majority of Russian deposits - 98.5%, are fully protected by the state," Putin said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed bank deposit insurance legislation earlier this fall, increasing the sum guaranteed to depositors to 700,000 rubles ($26,800) from 200,000 rubles.


Passo e chiudo.
FRA

IL PRETE ANTI-ALCOOL. (The anti-alcohol priest)

La commovente e particolare storia di un parroco che in Bielorussia ha fatto della lotta all'alcolismo la sua missione. Ce la racconta Branislava Stankevich dal sito di Radio Free Europe (03-10-08). La traduzione inglese è di Igor Maksymiuk.




MOSAR, Belarus -- Juozas Bulka began life anew in 1985.

That was the year Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced his campaign against alcohol consumption. Bulka was working in an electric-meter factory in Vilnius, the capital of the then-Soviet republic of Lithuania. Under Gorbachev's program, it was illegal to drink while working, or in spas, on picnics and tours, in parks, and on public transportation.

One day, Bulka discovered the secretary of the factory's Communist Party cell drinking with other administration officials. These were the very people responsible for enforcing the antialcohol ordinances.

Bulka complained to senior management. He was fired shortly after.

Only his faith in God and the strength of his beliefs, he says, helped him to survive this blow to his morality.

At the age of 60, Juozas Vintsentavich Bulka decided to become a priest and to fight alcoholism, wherever the Catholic Church sent him. A year after being ordained, he was assigned to the small northwestern Belarusian village of Mosar, where -- in defiance of aggressively atheistic communist policy -- stood the 200-year-old Church of St. Hanna.

Alcoholism is rampant in Belarus. In 2007, doctors registered 178,000 alcoholics in the country -- 4,000 more than the year before. In the past five years, the number of female alcoholics has risen from 7,000 to 46,000. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), life expectancy among males in Belarus fell dramatically in recent years and is currently around 63 years. The WHO says Belarus also suffers from the highest level of deaths in Europe due to alcohol poisoning and also has one of the highest suicide rates.

"I promised to fight against alcoholism when I was only 12," Bulka remembers. "Already at that age, I realized that the unrestricted use of alcohol only leads a person towards evil and tragedy. I swore this before God and have never lost faith that I chose the right path. The only thing I regret is that I didn't become a priest in my youth, because then I'd surely have achieved much more."

"I remember well when Father Juozas came here," says Sofia Yakimovich, the head of the village. "At first, everyone was embarrassed to talk to him since he was Lithuanian and didn't understand our language well. People would watch him from afar and then talk about him -- 'small, stocky, walks with a cane.'

"I was the first to talk with him when my husband died back in 1989. I came to him to ask that he hold a service for my husband, and he immediately asked, 'Will you have vodka there? If you will, I won't do anything! It's a sin to drink at a funeral!' Back then, it was customary for us to have no less vodka for a funeral than we would for a wedding -- 50 or 60 bottles. But what can you do? The new priest made a request, so I promised that there wouldn't be any vodka."

According to local custom, three toasts must be made to the peace of the immortal soul. But mourners never stopped there and often woke up the next day with an aching head or under the neighbor's fence. No one in the village would have found it strange if someone had drank so much they fell into the snow and froze to death, or got run over by a car.

At first, the 440 inhabitants of Mosar considered Bulka an eccentric.

Bulka's church and its well-tended grounds have become something of a tourist attraction. The church contains what may be the world's first antialcohol museum.

Once, Bulka was invited to a neighboring village to hold a funeral service. The relatives of the deceased had promised Bulka there'd be no alcohol at the funeral, but in the house he saw both wine and vodka. He kneeled down and said: "I won't read a prayer over the deceased when you lie and drink! For your sin, I'll take penance onto myself. I will walk home and pray for you the whole way!"

Bulka stepped out of the house into the winter cold and started walking the 10 kilometers home, leaning heavily on his cane.

Realizing that something improper was taking place, the villagers ran after him, begging him to return. They knew it wasn't proper to bid farewell to the dead without a prayer. But Bulka wouldn't forgive them, even when they poured all of the vodka onto the ground.

"Ask another priest," he told them. "I do not believe you anymore!"

He walked alone through the dark forest, refusing a ride home.

I ask for only one thing: May the Lord show me how to turn mortal life into a blooming garden of paradise!

One of Bulka's most memorable confrontations was with Mikhal, a shepherd from Mosar. Mikhal was well respected, a veteran of World War II, and an incorrigible atheist who wasn't frightened by the divine punishment he incurred with every glass of vodka.

Villagers remember how the debates between the two men would go on for hours, ending with varied results. It could be that Bulka would return to the church in anger and take his heart medicine, recalling Mikhal's words: "You won't change anything! We used to drink vodka and will continue drinking!" Or the evening could end with Mikhal crying guilty drunken tears in the priest's home, hearing how a soul returning to God first of all deserves forgiveness.

Three days before his death, the shepherd came to Bulka and asked to be baptized and allowed to attend confession. In the end, in the cemetery, Bulka mourned not an ideological enemy, but a new friend.

Bulka has proposed that vodka be outlawed from the shops in Mosar. Not everyone appreciates this initiative to establish the village as an alcohol-free zone.

"For a long time now, Bulka has been violating our personal rights," says Ivan Zabela, a retired dentist. "Can you imagine, he even managed to close down the club in our village. He complained before the village council that youngsters almost never visit the club's library, but instead regularly go to the disco, where they're allowed to drink. I agree -- fighting alcoholism is a worthwhile cause. But every person must have the right to choose. Go to the library, or not. Drink vodka, or not."

"He forces people to share his views," continues Zabela. "He's no democrat, since he can't forgive a person for his failings. And he's certainly no politician!"

"His own purpose in life [is] to be a gardener, a landscape designer, even an architect, but not a priest!" Viktor Karman, head of the village council, says about Bulka. "He has a real talent for that. He'll drag in a stone from the field, plant some chamomiles around it, and it looks beautiful! But what kind of a priest is he?

"A true priest has to know how to give a speech, so that people go to church to listen to him. But Bulka speaks with a Lithuanian accent, and even mixes in Russian or Polish words. And he only says one thing: 'Don't drink vodka! Don't drink vodka!' And if he sees a drunk, he yells at him, and then regrets it. In front of me, alcoholics cry bitter tears all by themselves. I tell them to come to the village council and reprove them until they start crying. But for some reason Bulka still gets more respect. Even a drunk will kiss his hand because he's a priest, and at me he'll only look askance."

Others swear by Bulka's positive influence.

"I suffered so with my husband and had no idea what to do. Every evening he would return home three sheets to the wind," says local resident Alla Starychonak, a dairy worker. "When he returns drunk, he starts to yell at me and at the kids. The next morning, he would ask me to forgive him and would make promises to stop drinking. Once, I was so fed up, I finally said, 'Don't make promises to me! Instead, swear to God that you'll kick drinking!' "

Starychonak says the couple went to St. Hanna's, and that Bulka placed his hand on her husband's head and "muttered something" to him. "After that," she says, "my husband really did stop drinking ... He said he would keep his promise and visited Father Juozas every Sunday. What they spoke about during those visits, I have no idea. But it's been about two years since I've seen my husband drunk."

"Maybe I really am too demanding of people, but I don't follow this path for the sake of awards or recognition," Bulka says.

Mosar resident Edvard Shyjonak says his wife threw him out of their house because of his excessive drinking, an event which he says led to some serious soul-searching.

"I was never a sincere believer," Shyjonak says, "but I heard about [Bulka] and decided to have a talk with him. I would never have thought that support from the outside could have such an effect. We talked not only about the dangers of alcohol but about life -- its flowers, my future plans. Gradually -- not immediately -- my craving for alcohol abated and disappeared. Thank God, it's 11 years and seven months now that I've been sober."

Many similar stories were recounted at St. Hanna's during the foundation laying for the church's Alley of Sobriety, another of the priest's ideas. "When a person needs moral support in fighting alcoholism," Bulka explained, "then he may plant a tree here, so that it grows and strengthens as strengthens the will of a man ready to fight against his addiction."

The village of Mosar has become something of a tourist attraction, thanks to Bulka, who's now 83. Some even call it the "Belarusian Versailles."

The renovated church is an architectural monument to classicism, its graves adorned with artistic sculptures, and nearby sits a large park with artificial ponds, ornamented bridges and countless flowers growing along the paths.

Visitors drink the curative spring water, smile at the inhabitants of the ostrich enclosure, and admire the first monument in Belarus to Pope John Paul II -- built at the initiative of Bulka, who once had an audience with the pontiff. To be honest, everything in Mosar is the result of Bulka's initiative, and he spends every day caring for his holdings -- tidying around the church or watering the plants.

"I talk with the plants as honestly as I do with God," Bulka says, folding his hands in prayer. One can clearly see they're the hands of a gardener -- broad, strong, wrinkled, stained by the soil. "I pray for saving every lost soul -- in Mosar, in Paryzh, and in the whole world," he says. "Maybe I really am too demanding of people, but I don't follow this path for the sake of awards or recognition. I ask for only one thing: May the Lord show me how to turn mortal life into a blooming garden of paradise!"

The only antialcohol museum in Belarus -- perhaps in the world -- is housed in the church's bell tower. There aren't many exhibits, but it's the idea that matters. Posters warn against alcohol abuse. People leave written requests asking God to help them and their relatives fight alcoholism on a table on which rests a samovar and cups.

The nearby village of Paryzh features its own version of the Eiffel Tower, a project initiated by Bulka.

Bulka's attentions are not only focused on Mosar. In the nearby village of Paryzh (Paris in Belarusian), which belongs to Bulka's parish, a 1:10 scale copy of the Eiffel Tower was erected at Bulka's initiative.

"There is no Paris without the Eiffel Tower!" Bulka laughs.

The construction of the 30-meter-tall "Eiffel Tower" was carried out by Hlybotskiya Elektrasetki. For some, the tower resembles little more than a power pylon with a cross on top.

"The work of Eiffel wasn't understood at first either," laughs Bulka. "They called it a 'defective street lamp' and a 'bell tower skeleton.' But now the world comes to see this wonder. When our tower finally gets electricity, it will shine with many lights and embellish the neighborhood!"

Every weekend, Bulka greets dozens of tour buses, whose passengers are accustomed to completely different sights in their Belarusian villages -- abandoned farm buildings, heaps of compost, and bumpy roads with everlasting puddles and dirty ducks bathing in them.

According to local residents, Mosar looked no better 18 years ago when Bulka first arrived. Horses grazed under the walls of the church. The church was surrounded by a swamp through which women dressed up for Mass had to trudge in their best shoes. The first thing Bulka did after coming here was to build a proper road to the church. He planted juniper and blue pines along the road.

That is the road the villagers use even now. Few of them know, however, that Bulka paved it with his own money. For that, he sold the apartment he inherited from his mother in Vilnius, where he had no intention to return.

Today, Bulka receives donations for the realization of his artistic ideas from those caught up by both his vision and his industriousness -- rich art patrons, national organizations, and common people.

Bulka sometimes gets the local drunks to work in the church's park. He hires them through the district cultural department as janitors and general purpose workers. Under his guidance, fans of the drink trim trees, plant flowers, and mow grass. And no one, as long as he works for Bulka, takes even a sip of vodka.

"A man capable of recognizing true beauty and ready to involve himself in creative work," Bulka says, "will never look for comfort in the bottle."

Passo e chiudo.
FRA

IL FUTURO DELLA POLITICA ESTERA AMERICANA. (The future of US foreign policy)

Un interessante editoriale di Mara Caputo sul sito "International Relations and Security Network" (ISN, ETH Zürich).

If history teaches us anything, it may be that grandiose promises are made to be broken. Perhaps nowhere has this lesson been taught more frequently than the classroom of US presidential politics, where abandoned campaign pledges have been strewn across the political landscape of twentieth century American elections.
In 1912, candidate Woodrow Wilson campaigned to keep the US out of World War I, while President Wilson committed troops in 1917. Franklin Roosevelt made the same promise in 1940 not to send American boys "into any foreign wars," only to enter World War II a year later. Lyndon Johnson also quickly reversed himself by sending American ground troops to Vietnam in 1965, and Richard Nixon's 1968 allusions to a nonexistent “secret plan” to get American troops out of the war further eroded the public's trust.In 1992, candidate Bill Clinton promised to take a strong position on Bosnian atrocities and against China's "butchers of Beijing," only to be criticized for foot-dragging on these human rights issues. And the current President George W Bush's 2000 pledge to project a “humble” foreign policy and withhold US troops from “nation-building” missions provide the most recent examples of broken election promises.Even the current presidential candidates have acknowledged the oft hollow ring of the campaign pledge. When launching his presidential bid in February 2007, Senator Barack Obama said as much.
"All of us running for president will travel around the country offering 10-point plans and making grand speeches; all of us will trumpet those qualities we believe make us uniquely qualified to lead the country. But too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own."
This US election, voters have been presented with two candidates standing on foreign policy platforms that promise to renew America's sagging reputation and troubled role on the world stage in the wake of a two-term Bush presidency. The reform-minded political identities constructed by each campaign - particularly the “change” mantra of Senator Obama - have created impossibly high expectations for the next president.
And the overwhelming international popularity of Senator Obama only magnifies those expectations; his compelling personal biography that bridges cultures and countries coupled with his eloquent pronouncements for a rejuvenated American diplomacy and multilateralist foreign policy have elevated his appeal to a near messianic-like cult-of-personality among admirers.
But as presidential history has demonstrated, the gap between campaign promises and performance in office has often remained wide. And sometimes the bigger the promise, the wider the gulf between vision and reality.
But why the chasm? Naturally, unforeseen challenges requiring difficult decisions often necessitate policy reversals. Wilson's pacifist promises gave way to a war declaration only following German submarine attacks against US shipping. Roosevelt reneged on his promise not to enter World War II immediately after the surprise Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Similarly, Bush changed his mind about nation-building following 9/11 - with some prodding from a highly influential Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Also, the campaign trail is free of the institutional complexities that dog an elected president. Candidates are liberated to make any pronouncements they wish, but once elected, they are bound by bureaucratic realities. Fulfilling campaign promises, for example, would be impossible for a president who faced overwhelming resistance from the Congress. And the deeply ingrained institutional conservatism of the foreign policy establishment presents another challenge, further winnowing the potential to implement policy promises.
Despite such institutional constraints and the long list of memorable campaign reversals, studies show - perhaps to the surprise of cynics - that the majority of candidate pledges are ultimately implemented. Rutgers University Professor Emeritus Gerald Pomper concluded that between 1944 and 1976, presidents converted about 70 percent of their party's platform into policy. American University Professor Emeritus Jeff Fishel echoed these findings in his book Presidents and Promises, demonstrating that Presidents John F Kennedy through Ronald Reagan fulfilled their campaign promises about 66 percent of the time.
In the end, then, it appears campaign pledges do offer some valuable guidance about the priorities and intended path of a future president, even if they do not account for the unpredictable, yet inevitable, detour of circumstance.
Election observers would be wise to be neither overly cynical nor euphoric about the next president's prospects for implementing his campaign promises. Instead, the pundits should turn an eye to history to construct a more nuanced and realistic outlook for the next four years.
As famed historian Gordon S Wood noted: “By showing that the best-laid plans of people usually go awry, the study of history tends to dampen youthful enthusiasm and to restrain the can-do, conquer-the-future spirit that many people have. Historical knowledge takes people off a roller coaster of illusions and disillusions; it levels off emotions and gives people a perspective on what is possible and, more often, what is not possible."

Passo e chiudo.
Fra