Wednesday, October 20, 2010

October 20, 2010

France has been experiencing massive strikes and protests as a result of President Sarkozy's plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62. He argues that the changes are necessary to relieve the financial burden on the pension system and to keep it from going bankrupt. The French National Assembly passed the pension-reform bill last Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to vote on it soon. The strikes have affected several sectors in France, including transportation, education, justice, hospitals, media, and banking. Ten of the country's twelve oil refineries participated in the strikes. As a result, fuel supplies have been running low. This has had a direct effect on the two main Paris airports and nearly one-third of France's gas stations have run dry. The strikes have also led to reductions in train services throughout France.

On Saturday, protesters took to the streets. A two-mile-long crowd of protesters marched at Bastille Square. The number of people marching on Saturday is in dispute -- the interior ministry says 825,000 and labor unions says 3.5 million. Wow, it's refreshing to see so many people standing up for what they believe in. Even the low-ball government estimate of 825,000 seems like a huge amount to me. It's hard to get 825,000 Americans to agree on something, let alone to be motivated to action. 

Unfortunately, some violence has broken out this past week. Protests turned violence in the city of Lyon and police fired tear gas or rubber bullets into the crowd. In the Paris suburb of Nanterre, hooded youths threw stones at anti-riot police and smashed windows. More than 60 police officers have been injured in the violence so far. Nearly 1,500 people have been detained for protest-related violence, and 123 of them are facing legal action.

President Sarkozy recently ordered riot police to break up the fuel depot blockades caused by protesters. Last night the riot police began clearing away striking workers that had been blocking fuel depots for days. The riot police forced open three fuel depots, allowing gasoline supplies to reach thousands of gas stations. The interior minister said the riot police were able to do this without incident. Video footage showed officers peacefully herding striking workers away from the depot, so that trucks could pass in and out. 

Despite the public backlash, Sarkozy said he will continue with his reforms and said he will not allow strikers to hold the French economy hostage. France is one of several European nations that is having to come up with policy decisions to keep budget deficits under control. For instance, today British Treasury Chief George Osborne introduced a five-year austerity plan that would cut benefits and public sector jobs. He also announced that the state pension age will reach 66 by the year 2020, which is four years earlier than planned. This austerity plan involves the largest public spending cuts since World War II. (Full Story) (Full Story)




The federal judge in California that overturned Don't Ask Don't Tell (more here) because it was unconstitutional has rejected the government's request that the ban on openly-gay soldiers be kept in place while they appeal her ruling. The government had requested a stay (i.e., a request that the judge holds back from implementing her order just yet) because they argued that the judge's order would be disruptive to the troops during a time of war. They say that the military needs time to prepare new regulations and to train and educate service members about the change. Judge Phillips said the government failed to prove that lifting the policy causes any harm to troops. She said that protecting constitutional rights outweighed the government's unproven concerns of the order's impact on unit cohesion and military readiness. 

As a result of her rejection of their stay request, the Pentagon announced Tuesday that the military is now accepting openly gay recruits for the first time in U.S. history (at least for now). A Pentagon spokeswoman said that recruiters have been advised from high-ranking officials to accept applicants who are gay (however AP interviewers found some recruiters following the order, while other recruiters said they had not heard of the announcement). In addition, at least three service members that had been discharged for being gay have begun the process to re-enlist, including Iraq war veteran Daniel Choi (who made national news when he came out and was then discharged). The military is further complying with the judge's order by freezing any discharge cases having to do with DADT. Recruiters have also been told to inform potential recruits that the moratorium on DADT could be reversed at any time if the ruling is appealed or if the court grants a stay. Gay rights groups have been advising service members to avoid revealing their sexuality, as that could have negative ramifications if DADT is reinstated. They recommend not coming out until the ban is lifted permanently. 
Before Judge Phillips made her decision, government lawyers told Judge Phillips they would appeal if she rejected their request. This case will likely go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.  I know this is procedure -- that the Justice Department has to defend acts of Congress -- and that this is an important step to ensure that one judge can't decide U.S. policy. But it just seems so backwards that the Obama administration Justice Department is fighting this so hard (when Obama supports a repeal of DADT). Why can't they just put their hands up and say to the judge, "We tried. You got us. We completely agree with you. But we tried!" Let's put this to rest already. It's so sad that for the first time in U.S. history, openly gay recruits can join the military and service members can be openly gay without being discharged...but there's not really cause for celebration yet, because there's the knowledge and fear that this decision could be overturned through appeal in the near future. (Full Story

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