Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra,Valery Gergiev) - YouTube - Salle Pleyel Concert Hall,Paris

Anastasia Kobekina - Chant du Menestrel by Alexander Glazunov - Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan - Alexander Sladkovsky - Nantes,France

Anastasia Kobekina et Luka Okros - Serguei Rachmaninov:Andante,Sonate pour violincello et piano en sol mineur op.19 - Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise 2021

Watch: President Biden greets French President Macron - 1 December 2022 - Military honors,welcome address and response

Excerpts from Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann,a Russian emigre who was educated at the St.Serge Institute in Paris and a theologian of the Orthodox Church in America

Excerpts from Great Lent

Orthodoxy in France:New Russian Orthodox Cathedral Draws Large Crowds

At least 12,000 people visited the new  Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral and Cultural Centre on Branly Quai in Paris over the weekend.Recommended by leading publications Le Monde and Figaro,legions of Parisians and tourists stood in line for hours for a guided tour by the clergy and staff of the complex,which was built from 2014-16 and opened on 9 October 2016.The Cultural Centre features exhibit space,parish facilities,a Russian/French day school for 150 pupils and a seminary.*
The prevailing opinion of the visitors was positive,seeing the cathedral as being a welcome addition to the cultural resources of the area.The cathedral has an iconostas;but its white interior walls have yet to be written with iconography.The exterior is a tasteful blend of traditional and contemporary styles,topped by the customary golden onion domes.*
The weekend tours were part of the annual Days of National Heritage in Paris.A similar Russian Orthodox church/cultural centre complex has recently opened in Strasbourg,France.The Church of All Saints is the first Eastern Orthodox church in that city,and was topped by a three-bar cross on 2 July 2017.*
The Handbook of the Orthodox Church in France says there are 500,000 Orthodox Christians in France.Many Romanian and Russian emigres and workers have swelled the ranks in recent years.There are 278 parishes,21 monasteries and three seminaries overseen by 10 bishops,and served by 330 priests and deacons.The Romanian Orthodox Church has the most parishes in France (91).

Orthodox Christians Were Killed in Nice Terrorist Attack

Among those killed in the recent Islamist extremist terrorist attack in Nice,France were at least three Orthodox Christians:Reader Igor Selesko of St.Nicholas Cathedral in Nice;and Natalia Otto and Roman Katalyan of Holy Nativity Church in Antwerp,Belgium.All were parishoners of the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.May your memory be eternal,dear brothers and sister.Vechnaya pamyat.Aionia mnimi.*
Mr.Selesko was the father of four children.*
In the attack that killed 84 attendees of a Bastille Day celebration on the waterfront promenade of Nice on the night of 14 July,Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel,31,a Tunisian resident of Nice,drove a cargo lorry into a crowd and fired an automatic pistol at police,who then shot him dead.Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claimed him as a soldier of theirs,but no evidence of direct communication between them has been found yet,Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said at a 21 July press conference.Mr.Bouhlel did have five accomplices who aided him in planning and executing the attack over a period of months.They have been arrested and charged with murder;attempted murder;terrorist conspiracy;and possession and transport of weapons.*
In the aftermath of the Nice attack,the French Parliament has extended a state of emergency dating from the Paris area attacks of November 2015 that killed 130 by six months,until the end of January 2017.It allows the authorities to conduct police raids and place people under house arrest without a judge's authorisation,among other measures.

Not Reluctant,but Surprised:Canadians Must Lead a Battalion on NATO's Eastern Flank

Canadian soldiers find themselves among the leaders of the defence of NATO's Eastern Flank in the Baltic States and Poland,the Canadian Broadcasting Corportion revealed.Instead of playing a supportive role perhaps more in line with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's aspirations,Canada will now be dispatching at least 450 troops to Latvia next year to head one of NATO's four Framework Battalions agreed at the Alliance's recent Warsaw Summit.In addition to providing its own troops,Canada must also ensure there are enough personnel from other member countries to fill out the rest of the billets.When France bowed out of the leadership role because of heavy commitments of its forces to the domestic Operation Sentinelle against Islamist extremists,the US and UK urged Canada to take the lead in protecting Latvia.The US,UK and Germany are the other three nations that will provide Framework Battalions in the region:the US in Poland;the UK in Estonia;and Germany in Lithuania.The four battalions will amount to about 4,000 soldiers-or one brigade.After 6-9 months of service,other NATO members will assume the battalion leadership roles.*
France said it would provide 4300 troops for NATO service this year,but wanted out of the leadership role because of the strain domestic terrorism and other commitments were having on its military.Italy,Slovakia,Croatia,Poland and a Spanish-Portuguese unit are being mentioned as possibilities for Canada to draw upon to fill out its battalion.The four battalions express a doctrine known as Forward Enhanced Presence devised by NATO military planners upon request.It's new;it's groundbreaking,said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.It's a defensive,proportionate response to Russia illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine.The battalions will last as long as necessary.Russia has invested heavily and modernised its forces;it has even used its forces to interfere with the sovereignty of another country,Ukraine.The battalions are only one element of the FEP strategy;there is also the ability to reinforce NATO forces that is being developed through new headquarters,infrastructure,storage of equipment and supplies,Mr.Stoltenberg pointed out.Our military planners have also been asked to devise plans to increase our Black Sea region presence near Romania and Bulgaria in the air and at sea to complement the new Romainan-Bulgarian brigade that is being formed on land.*
Another key element of the new FEP strategy is the US quadrupling its expenditure in Europe by providing a second armoured brigade combat team of about 5,000 continuously rotated troops in addition to the brigade it already maintains.What is more,it is providing a set of equipment for a third armoured brigade which NATO forces can draw upon in a crisis.*
Canada's members of Parliament are asking who is joining their battalion;what equipment they will bring;and what the plan is in the event of a crisis,the CBC reported.

UEFA Euro 2016:Iceland's Unforgettable Day

The tiny Nordic outpost of Iceland will not be erased from the annals of football anytime soon,having sent the much larger and more experienced Austria packing Wednesday evening with their 2-1 victory at Saint-Denis,France.In injury time,substitute Arnor Ingvi Traustason sealed the deal for Iceland after Austria's Alessandro Schopf,a substitute himself,had equalised with Iceland's Jon Dadi Bodvarsson.Now Iceland travels on to face England in Nice on Monday in the knockout Round of 16 as Austria retreats to their scenic homeland.*
An estimated 8% of the Icelandic population of 333,000 was present to view the game at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.Seemingly much of the rest of the country rejoiced at a Reykjavik outdoor viewing party.*
In other progress,Hungary goes on to face Croatia in the Round of 16,having drawn even with Portugal 3-3 simultaneously with Iceland's conquest of Austria.Portugal,aided by an awakening of their famous Ronaldo,also goes through.*
Sponsors of the Iceland-Austria match included Coca-Cola;McDonald's;Turkish Airlines;Energy of Azerbaijan;Continental Tyres;Kia Motors;Hisense TV;and Adidas.

War On ISIL Update,Part 2 - From Raqqa To Mosul

Last week Colonel Steve Warren,US Army,spokesman for Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve,gave reporters a briefing on the progress of the anti-ISIL effort.We have not seen ISIL move forces out of Raqqa,Syria,he said.I'm not going to get into the leadership.This isn't the right place for that.*
Sinjar,Iraq is liberated.The PKK Kurds are now clearing IEDs and booby-traps ISIL left behind.The severing of strategic Highway 47 that runs from Raqqa to Mosul by the Kurdish forces will force ISIL to go through rat lines and smuggling routes through the desert.Whereas before it took them hours,now it will take them days.They are less able to mutually reinforce their own positions.
ISIL is under pressure in Iraq and Syria,from the north to the south,primarily from ground forces.They are forced to make very difficult decisions and not help other places of its organisation.When they move,they pop up and become very easy targets for our air power.
As targets are destroyed,others will emerge.If repaired,we will re-attack.The French targets in Raqqa were part of the process.Every nation receives these targets from the coalition.*
The northern access to Ramadi,capital of Anbar Province,Iraq,has met with some pretty stiff resistance.It's slow and incremental work.We believe all the pieces are in place.We believe the Iraqis have a plan that's workable.We believe it's time to execute it.The enemy has put in some fairly complex obstacles.We provided some very substantial airpower,some complex equipment and training to help,Colonel Warren pointed out.

War On ISIL Update:Operation Tidal Wave II;French Airstrikes

The US-led Operation Inherent Resolve coalition has undertaken a systematic bombing campaign to deprive the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant of its revenue from Syrian oil fields.The effort is called Operation Tidal Wave II,named for the World War II operation in which US aircraft bombed nine Romanian oil refineries.As part of the campaign,OIR aircraft attacked a number of tanker trucks recently that were waiting to fill up outside an oil facility,destroying 116 of the tankers.The truck drivers themselves are probably not members of ISIL,said US Army Colonel Steve Warren of Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve in a press briefing,so we developed leaflets to drop to them and made low passes to shoo people away.We decided it is in our interest to go strike these trucks.Oil funds more than 50% of ISIL operations.It was a long process of analysis and discussion,and finally we reached the decision.It was a US CENTCOM commander decision.
The trucks we hit were queued up in the vicinity of one of these oil facilities we had been striking.There was a backlog and they were just sitting there.It was a pretty straightforward attack.The aircraft expended 24 500 lb. bombs and all their ammuntion.Some civilians ran from the trucks into a tent.They were legitimate military targets,but-just to show what we're about-the pilots decided they didn't need to strike them.
The trucks are just one link in the chain.What we've done in Operation Tidal Wave II is break every link in this chain.This was not a piecemeal execution.It was a sudden strike that swept across these oil fields.Their problem now is trying to find out how to fix their broken oil wells.*
ISIL's decision to start expanding their operations outside their borders is something that should concern everyone.That's why we're here;it's why the 65-nation coalition has come together to try to defeat it.I don't know if our campaign has caused that.*
Manjib Pocket is ISIL's last border crossing from Syria into Turkey.There are no US troops on the Turkish side conducting operations.We are working with the Turks to help them ultimately seal that border.*
We supplied the anti-ISIL Syrian Arab Coalition with ammunition about two months ago.We've made a decision not to announce further support,other than to say we reinforce success.*
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is steaming on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean now.We don't have a specific arrival date.We're encouraged by the fact that the Charles de Gaulle is en route to that theatre.The Charles de Gaulle is supporting the US-led coalition.We do expect the French contribution to OIR to grow.
I don't have a casualty count for the French airstrikes on Raqqa,Syria.They were vetted targets in the slate to get hit eventually.We rarely ever get back battle damage assessments from these preplanned strikes,Colonel Warren noted.

TV Shopping:Big and Getting Bigger

QVC,founded in 1986,is a televised shopping network and part of Liberty Interactive Corporation that reaches 300 million homes worldwide.It is also available on mobile,being the third largest mobile ecommerce retailer,behind Amazon and Alibaba.Liberty Interactive Corporation,consisting of televised shopping networks,as well as lifestyle and travel services websites,is in turn a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Global and reaches consumers in the US and China,with France to follow this summer.*
We don't need to be as big as Alibaba,said CEO Greg Maffei.We're in 86 million TV homes in China.It's a new industry there.We have a great app on WeChat.Definitely the live broadcast is at the center of it.*
I think it's going to be a good holiday season.The gas price dividend has given a bit of a tailwind to our business,Mr.Maffei noted.The company trades as a separate stock from Liberty Global's.*
Liberty Interactive Corp(QVCA),Liberty Global plc class A(LBTYA)

The Geneva Syria Talks:Change and Danger

Secretary of State John Kerry is headed for Geneva,Switzerland for two days of talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.Each side will bring technical experts to assess the proposed turnover of Syria's chemical weapons to international supervision and evaluate the way forward,according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.At the same time,there are discussions at the UN to frame a Security Council resolution on the matter.We are working with Great Britain and France on the resolution.
The process needs to be credible and verifiable.After 20 years,Syria suddenly acknowledges it has chemical weapons and says it will sign the convention against their use.This is significant.
The president never considered canceling his Tuesday night speech.It is still very important for the president to speak to the American people.We will continue to have this discussion in the days ahead.This is far too complex an issue to reduce to a single phrase or words.
Russia has made this proposal and is engaging with other members of the UN Security Council.Russia's prestige is on the line.
There's no question very significant changes have taken place from the recent past.We go into this with eyes wide open.The goal of the Geneva meeting is to test the seriousness of the Russian proposal,Mr.Carney indicated.
Congressman Peter King,R-New York,said I have multiple concerns about Russia.We have now made Russia a major player in the Middle East.They will have influence over the region,and we will be almost indebted to them.Iran is actually more of a threat than Syria.
We've pretty much given immmunity to Assad.We should be extremely sceptical,extremely wary and not make any more concessions.We have to take a tough line with Russia.Russian President Vladimir Putin strengthens Syria and Iran's position in the Middle East.Don't give the benefit of the doubt to Putin.He wants to reestablish Russia and assert himself in a powerful way,Congressman King warned.
Mr.Putin is being seen as a man who does business with Syria and Iran,obsessively cultivating a Cold War mentality of being the counterweight to the influence of the United States.The Russians are part of the problem in Syria;they are not credibly part of the solution,said Senator John Cornyn,R-Texas.

Syria:Bigger By the Day

A number of Obama administration officials continued their lobbying efforts for military action against Syria on Wednesday,fielding wide-ranging questions from sometimes irate Members of Congress.The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations did vote to approve the mission 10-7 after a classified briefing.
Polls show the American public largely opposed to the mission.The story is huge and growing,taking up the lion's share of cable news broadcasts.Some are calling for the President to address the American people on Syria from the Oval Office in prime time.
*We know that Assad will read our silence as a sign he can use his weapons with impunity.Iran and North Korea are listening for our silence.This is a vote for accountablity,Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.Degrading his chemical weapons will have an impact on the battlefield.There will be downstream impacts.
These weapons pose a grave threat to our allies Israel,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and Iraq.North Korea maintains a massive chemical weapons stockpile that threatens 20,000 US troops on the border.
There have been 60-100 officer and enlisted defections from the Assad regime in the last day or so.There are serious questions in the elite of Syria that are asking if Assad has gone too far.
Currently in the region,a number of countries have offered to be part of the military action-more countries than our military thinks we need.France and others in the region are prepared to be part of the operation with us.
Arab countries have offered to bear the cost and assist us.They've been quite significant offers-up to the whole cost,if the US does what it's done in the past.
*This will not be a pinprick;it will be a strike that degrades his capability,added Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.We have spent days and days going over every option and contingency,such as embassy security and collateral damage.
Allies will provide basing and overflight rights,noted General Martin Dempsey,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.The focus and purpose will give us the best chance of limiting it.I can never discount the possibility of escalation,but we've kept it as low as possible.
Congressman Eliot Engel,D-New York,an expert on Syria,is concerned about the message we send to Iran as they pursue a dangerous nuclear capability.His colleague Dutch Ruppersberger,D-Maryland,pointed out that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iran and the Kurds in the 1980s.Unchallenged,he went on to invade Kuwait in 1990.
*The whole Senate seems likely to approve the mission at this point,but the House of Representatives is an open question.It could be that the President will have to cast the deciding vote himself,as it were.

Syria:Voices and Visions

US and French forces seem almost certain to attack Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons within a short period of time.The UK is waffling after expressing initial support,delaying a decision until the UN inspectors have issued a report on chemical weapons use in Syria and a Parliamentary debate next week.NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed support for military action.The US is prepared to go it alone if necessary.*There would be cruise missiles launched from four or five US destroyers in the region,and perhaps from submarines;and possibly long range bombers would be utilised as well,along with fighter aircraft to suppress anti-aircraft systems and strike other targets with precision munitions.Air bases in Turkey and Italy could be used.The target sets would likely be Syrian command and control centres,as well as their naval and air forces in order to hinder a Syrian response.The operation would perhaps take a day or two.*CNBC's Jim Cramer said I'm at a loss.How do I game Syria?Collectively,the market doesn't know what it's doing.We're all searching for analogies;we don't really have analogs.We told Assad what the schedule is.I don't think anyone really knows much.*Art Cashin,Director of NYSE Floor Operations for UBS,said you're gonna see this as pretty broad-based;watch both gold and oil.We're playing a game of headline roulette.The difficulty is,once events begin to take place,they can accelerate.If they take it to the UN,there could be a sigh of relief rally.*General Anthony Zinni,US Marine Corps retired,former CENTCOM commander,said there has to be a long term strategy.Where do we go in the long term if he continues these unacceptable acts? This is not simply a matter of regime removal.We thought that in Iraq.This is a mess.There is a religious war underneath.If we attack now,we have to be prepared to follow up.A military commander,if he's prudent,plans against all possibilities.*This is a regional conflict.We have a lot of work to build international support.It's not there now,and that concerns me greatly,General Zinni confided.*President Barack Obama said the Assad regime will have received a pretty strong signal it better not do it again.You are not only breaking international norms and standards of decency,you are also having an affect on US national interests,and it needs to stop.

Prologis Industrial REIT Sees Good Signs

Prologis is the world's largest industrial real estate investment trust.CEO Hamid Moghadam cites FedEx,UPS,Amazon and Wal-Mart as being among the warehouse firm's largest customers.We think economic growth and the lack of construction is gonna give us pricing power,Mr.Moghadam said.Ecommerce is probably the biggest renter and housing the least,and those in the middle are also growing.
Housing affects our smaller buildings.Under 100,000 square feet,we have about 10% vacancy.That's finally happening this year.
Overseas,we're seeing really good demand on domestic consumption.Japan is doing well because it's changing from an export to a domestic import economy.Spain,Italy and the UK are going strong.France is the weakest.President Hollande's policies have frightened people,and there's a lot of flight capital.
If occupancies drop to the 90s or below as in 2009,I get worried.We're a conservative bunch and we'd like to see it higher,Mr.Moghadam admitted.
UBS is to increase its Asia corporate advisory head count by 10% on the region's growth forecast.
Germany's industrial output was up in February on economic recovery.
Alcoa's earnings topped estimates on growing demand for aircraft.
Prologis(PLD),UBS AG(UBS),Alcoa Inc(AA)

Voices and Trends in European Business

Northern Europe is gonna do just fine because the US will have strong growth,and they will do well off that,according to Joseph McAlinden,Chief Investment Officer at Catalpa Capital.People are gonna feel wealthier and spend,which is good for the world economy.The US economy,the stock market is the buy on the gold seam right now.
French consumer confidence fell in March on the stalled economy.
US durable goods orders were up more than forecast.US home values are at their highest level since 2007.
An EU report says the employment outlook is very bleak across Europe.
UK banks must raise 38 billion dollars to make up for a capital shortfall,the Bank of England says.
London remains the world's top financial centre,says the Global Financial Centres Index.
VTB has the most exposure to Cyprus of the Russian banks,according to Standard and Poor's.The EU says the Cypriot bank tax is not a template for future bailouts.
Credit Suisse is to buy Morgan Stanley's Europe wealth management business.Erricson is in talks to buy Microsoft's IPTV business.
The euro has traded below 1.28 for the first time since November.
German plant and machine orders were unchanged in February on weak Euro-zone demand.
Credit Suisse(CS),Microsoft(MSFT),Morgan Stanley(MS),Erricson(ERIC)

Cosmetics and the Luxury Retail Market

Spain,Italy and Greece are not in any healthy condition,according to William Lauder,Executive Chairman of cosmetics titan the Estee Lauder Companies.Central Europe is OK,not bad.Eastern Europe is better still.Germany,France and the Benelux are pretty solid.
Asia's our fastest growing market;China is the fastest in Asia.Chinese consumers are shopping both at home and abroad.There's still an awful lot of growth going on there.We're building for the long term.
The female consumer's behaviour is influenced by her employment;her spouse's employment;and the housing market.
Most of our competitors are European or Asian-based,such as LVMH and L'Oreal.According to the comparables,we are the world's leading prestige market for beauty.A customer will spend 35-50 dollars for our products,versus 500 for a handbag or 50,000 for a necklace.
In California,there is strong Australian buying within a 20 mile radius of LAX airport.It is the major gateway of the Australians to the US;20-30% of area retailers' business is from Australians,given the strong Australian dollar.
Estee Lauder(EL)

Europe and Asia:Voices and Trends

China is waiting for the new leadership in March,according to Ronald Wan,Managing Director at China Merchant Securities.For the real policies,it has to wait until Q2 or Q3.They need to prolong growth by increasing consumption and breaking up the state-owned entertprises.It makes it difficult for private enterprise to even lend money.
The key thing is the policy on urbanisation and consumption.The RMB will grow 2-3% this year.It's still relatively attractive.
The Hong Kong property market will grow 5-10% this year,said Henderson Land.
In Europe,there's been a big improvement in the periphery,said Mark Matthews,Head of Research-Asia at Bank Julius Baer.The massive pain they've been going through is starting to yield results.There are good things to look at even in beaten-up markets like France.
We went from an underperform to a neutral in Europe,adds Liz Ann Sonders,Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab.We're certainly sticking with that market perform.
Tech has been our longest term outperform rating.For now,we think you don't want to make a lot of sector bets in the market.
Jack Ablin,Executive Vice President at BMO Private Bank,said it's remarkable.I see more problems,more and more volatility.We probably want to play an equity exposure away from the US,or at least away from the consumer.

Executive Chairman:The Unreflected Risks

Three to four weeks ago,it just seemed to me the macro environment seemed to be stabilising,but now it seems a series of old and big question marks have returned,said Roger Altman,co-founder and Executive Chairman of Evercore Partners.These are 1.Europe;2.a weak U.S. recovery;and 3.the fiscal cliff in the U.S.Perception in so many cases is reality.Today the perception is,the Euro crisis is again front and center,with the political tumult in France and the Netherlands,and the PMI out this morning.The crisis is boiling up again.At the same time,the U.S. GDP continues to be profoundly weak.There are two exogenous factors that could be destabilising:1.Iran;and 2.an outright implosion in Europe.Neither one is playing through the markets right now,but they are big risks,Mr.Altman believes. Mr.Altman was an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1977-81 and Deputy Secretary from 1993-95.He has an MBA from the University of Chicago,and serves as a trustee of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the American Museum of Natural History. Evercore Partners is a global independent investment banking advisory and wealth management firm. Evercore Partners(EVR)