Tuesday
While my mind is obsessed with War, the Ukraine - Russia War and the Israel - Gaza War, other things are actually still happening here and there.
For example, some folks in Louisiana believe God chose the new Speaker of the U S House of Representatives (no, really, HJJC, an XNRT election denier and who is too stupid to know that if Russia is allowed to overrun Ukraine it's just the beginning of a future that has really bad news in store for us).
Someone who writes books to sell has created a stir by concluding that people do not have free will (and you should scan the online discussions and genius discourses). It really doesn't matter that we are evolved, wired and conditioned so that some options do not exist for us and others are closed to us. For the most part governed by commonsense and doing what's best for us in life as it finds us, we have all the free will we need and are going to have.
Pakistan is busing undocumented Afghan immigrants to the Pakistan - Afghanistan border, creating a humanitarian issue there. The Taliban are promising to build shelter centers for them.
Montenegro, a little country you cannot find on a map, has chosen a pro-West prime minister and government. They are already members of NATO and are working to join EU. This interests me because someone I care about lives there.
Montenegro is said, for its size, to be the most beautiful place on earth.
Reuters, I appreciate Reuters and The Guardian. Al Jazeera for a balance. Haaretz. Jerusalem Post. Times of Israel.
Pills: a FuroEighty day as I wait for my order of loose socks to be delivered later this week. Apparently, these tight socks increase risk of blood clots for one of this age and CHF moving along to swell foot ankle leg. But I have to wear socks, else my feet get cold.
Do you have cold feet? When my feet are cold it pretty well drains my brain of thoughts about anything else.
T88&c
EUROPE
October 31, 2023 6:39 AM UTC
Montenegro votes in new government with Milojko Spajic prime minister
After weeks of negotiations, Montenegro's parliament on Tuesday appointed a new government, a coalition of pro-European and pro-Serb parties expected to lead the small Balkan country in its bid to join the European Union.
The new government, led by economist Milojko Spajic of the Europe Now Movement, will have 18 ministries and five deputy-prime ministers. It will include the centre-right pro-European Democrats, the pro-Serbian Socialist People's Party and five parties of the Albanian minority.
"Our four main foreign policy priorities are full membership ... in the EU, active, credible membership in NATO, improvement of good relations with neighbours and strengthening of the country's role in multilateral organisations," Spajic told deputies.
He said economic policies would aim to improve the living standards of Montenegro's population of only 620,000, and include reforms enabling more fiscal revenues, investment, a better business climate and judiciary.
Following an overnight debate, 46 deputies in the 81-seat parliament backed the government.
The pro-Serb and pro-Russia alliance For A Better Montenegro, led by Andrija Mandic, agreed to vote for the Spajic's cabinet in exchange for the position of the parliament speaker and four ministerial posts after a government's reshuffle tentatively scheduled for the next year.
According to the World Bank, the economy of Montenegro which unilaterally adopted euro in 2002 as its de facto currency, and mainly relies on revenues from its Adriatic tourism, is expected to grow by 4.8% in 2023.
Montenegro joined NATO in 2017, a year after a botched coup attempt that the then government blamed on Russian agents and Serbian nationalists.
Russia dismissed the accusation as "absurd", and the government of neighbouring Serbia denied involvement.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Montenegro, unlike Serbia, joined EU sanctions against Moscow, sent aid to Ukraine and expelled a number of Russian diplomats. The Kremlin has placed Montenegro on its list of unfriendly states.
Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Robert Birsel
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