Chicago Tribune (November 8)
“The Berlin Wall fell in a dramatic wave of hope, openness and U.S. support 30 years ago. Now everything is different.” Back then, “Europe had a United States willing and able to help guide its future, which it did in building a Europe whole, free and at peace. Now, Europe will have to decide its own future.” Will Europe “recommit to unity” or “allow divisions and disagreements to deepen.”
Tags: Berlin Wall, Disagreements, Divisions, Dramatic wave, Europe, Free, Future, Hope, Openness, Peace, Support, U.S., Unity
The Economist (October 19)
“Constitutionally, the emperor is ‘the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people’. But the imperial cocoon in which he is kept risks making him more of a relic. Much like his father, Emperor Naruhito is relatively informal when touring the country, petting dogs and chatting with schoolchildren.” However, “the royal family has scant leeway to make itself more relevant” as it remains bound by “stifling bureaucracy and ritual.”
Tags: Bureaucracy, Constitution, Emperor, Imperial cocoon, Informal, Naruhito, Relic, Risks, Royal family, Stifling, Symbol, Unity
Washington Post (February 5)
“President Trump seemed as though he might never yield the podium once he got his chance Tuesday night” to deliver his State of the Union address. “In a speech that reflected endurance if not eloquence, Mr. Trump offered a thin sheen of “unity” over large helpings of the same old polarizing demagoguery,” but at even greater length!
Tags: Demagoguery, Eloquence, Endurance, Length, Polarizing, State of the Union, Trump, Unity
New York Times (October 31)
Angela Merkel “is doing the right thing in stepping down…. The best leaders are those who know when it’s time to exit.” But Europe will lose a “remarkable” leader who was “compassionate when hearts grew cold, committed to unity when others abandoned it.”
Tags: Compassionate, Europe, Exit, Germany, Heart, Leader, Merkel, Remarkable, Unity
Philly.Com (July 27)
After the Democratic National Convention got off to a rough start, the party is reuniting, though tension remains. “Amid enduring dissent, some of the convention’s most successful moments so far have appealed to unity among people—including the kinds of people, like undocumented immigrants and the disabled, who have been targeted by Trump’s divisive rhetoric.”
Tags: Convention, Democrats, Disabled, Dissent, Immigrants, Successful, Tension, Trump, Unity
New York Times (July 8)
The euro has “stopped being a force for unity. In many ways, it…” has become… “a weapon that each side seized upon to advance its cause.”
New York Times (April 7)
“Greece cannot count on Russia to ride to its financial rescue. The sharp drop in oil prices and, to a lesser extent, Western sanctions have damaged the Russian economy and limited Mr. Putin’s ability to dole out aid to other countries.” The Greeks can, however, be sure that Putin will try to exploit any chinks in the EU’s armor. “Mr. Tsipras should be careful not to let himself be used to undermine European unity.”
Tags: Economy, EU, Financial rescue, Greece, Oil prices, Putin, Russia, Tsipras, Unity, Western sanctions
Washington Post (June 4)
“Can anyone doubt that the euro’s creation in 1999 was a huge blunder? It aimed to promote European prosperity and unity, but it’s doing just the opposite.” Rather than uniting Europe, “the euro now sows rancor” and “actually hinders economic revival.”
Tags: 1999, Blunder, Economic revival, euro, Prosperity, Unity
