Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Takeover at the Sorbonne and Ukraine teeters on the edge

Publish Post







Tonight, just blocks for our home, students took over some classrooms at the Sorbonne to protest against rising tuition costs and some new restrictions on professors. I asked one student how much tuition was per year and they told me 700 Euros or about $875. If this sum is accurate they don't have a clue what a deal they are getting. I just read that GW University (room, board and tuition) is running about $50,000 a year! Not sure what the French professors might be in for - maybe some rules about working.

In Ukraine, protests begin to grow in Kiev about the state of the economy or lack thereof. According to the "(a) sign held by .... an unemployed plumber camped out with other antigovernment demonstrators here in the past week, summed up the pervasive frustration: 'Get rid of them all,' it said. (He) did not hesitate to take that further. "There will be a revolt," he said. "And people will come because they are just fed up." A picture of a run on a local bank and the desecration of the grave marker of Rabbi Schneerson (who before he died lead the ultro-Orthodox Lubuvacher movement and who was considered the Messiah by his followers) is a grim reminder that anti-Semitism always rises in hard financial times in Europe. Keep up the prayer for France and Ukraine. Shalom. David Schneier
[The bank photo and quote is by Joseph Sywenkji for the New York Times (3/2/09) and the grave marker photo is from CFCA, 2/26/09].

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