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Eurovision 2015 Contestants: F.Y.R. Macedonia

Daniel Kajmakoski, the Macedonian singer who will represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest this year, was actually named after Daniel Popovic, the expand=1] charmer who ran for Yugoslavia in the 1983 edition of the contest.

Daniel, who always kisses the picture of his mother he keeps in his pocket before going on stage, will sing his track “Autumn Leaves,” which was originally in Macedonian before it was, sadly, changed into English. In the singer’s own words, “Autumn Leaves” talks about his first love, brings him back to his first feelings of love, reminds him of his childhood, the place he was born — all that with “pure and naive but warm-hearted emotions.”

Macedonia, whose Eurovision name is “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, reached its best score in 2006, when it came 12th. Because of the country’s poor results, the country’s broadcaster MRT even held a survey last June to ask the Macedonians what they thought their singers weren’t doing right and what they should do; their response was something like “Get out of there!” MRT, however, decided to give it another go this year — you never know.

Unfortunately, we don’t think it’ll work, but then again, Eurovision works in mysterious ways.

Our vote:

Does it make you want to visit that country? 0.25/10

Was there enough glitter? 1.5/10

Ok to quit your day job? 1.25/10

OVERALL AVERAGE: 1/10

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Economy

Lithium Mines In Europe? A New World Of Supply-Chain Sovereignty

The European Union has a new plan that challenges the long-established dogmas of globalization, with its just-in-time supply chains and outsourcing the "dirty" work to the developing world.

Photo of an open cast mine in Kalgoorlie, Australia.

Open cast mine in Kalgoorlie, Australia.

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — It is one of the great paradoxes of our time: in order to overcome some of our dependencies and vulnerabilities — revealed in crises like COVID and the war in Ukraine — we risk falling into other dependencies that are no less toxic. The ecological transition, the digitalization of our economy, or increased defense needs, all pose risks to our supply of strategic minerals.

The European Commission published a plan this week to escape this fate by setting realistic objectives within a relatively short time frame, by the end of this decade.

This plan goes against the dogmas of globalization of the past 30 or 40 years, which relied on just-in-time supply chains from one end of the planet to the other — and, if we're being honest, outsourced the least "clean" tasks, such as mining or refining minerals, to countries in the developing world.

But the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction, if possible under better environmental and social conditions. Will Europe be able to achieve these objectives while remaining within the bounds of both the ecological and digital transitions? That is the challenge.

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