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Quote by Catherine Ashton

“Later unable to sleep I thought about the journey that had led me here. Twice I’ve been asked to take on roles I’ve not look for or expected despite strong reservations, twice I’ve said yes. Why? Partly because of prime minister had asked me to and I believed in public service as simple as that. That remained just as true when the government changed. And partly because in each case by the time I realised what was happening my appointment was effectively a done deal that would be difficult to get out of. But also because I wanted to do it. Throughout my career there have not been many appointments for women in public life. And in both these cases I would be the first woman to hold the post. Yet personally I felt no exhilaration at a prospect of taking up this new job, I was more aware than anyone that I came with few obvious credentials and lukewarm support if that from many quarters even in my own country.”

Quote by Catherine Ashton

Work

And Then What?: Inside Stories of 21st-Century Diplomacy

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Author

Catherine Ashton
Catherine Ashton

Catherine Ashton is a prominent British politician who served as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission. She has extensive experience in international diplomacy and played a significant role in promoting European integration. more

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“To this day, huge numbers of people are convinced that Yeltsin excoriated the party bosses, published critical reports, and suffered for his beliefs. None of that happened. Those bosses, in the course of their internal intrigues, first appointed him head of the Moscow regional committee of the CPSU, that is, mayor of Moscow, and then, when they began to fall out with him, transferred him to the position of head of the State Construction Committee, that is, minister of construction. Some fall from grace! He did not even have to settle for a lower class of limousine, and remained firmly in the milieu of treacherous officialdom. His family remained the same, too, with exactly the same values, or rather, the same complete absence of values and only a craving for personal luxury and wealth. That was to prove crucial when the family was transformed into "the Family." Yeltsin was devoid of genuine ideological motivation and driven only by a lust for power. He was an extremely talented individual, a truly intuitive politician who sensed the popular mood and knew how to exploit it. He was prepared to act decisively and boldly on occasion, but always in the interests of himself and his own power rather than of the people or the nation. I am writing this vehement denunciation of Yeltisn, partially because I regret having been a blind admirer of his and of that part of Russian society which, only too ready to support everything he did, paved the way for the lawlessness we live with today.”

“আচ্ছা বলুন তো, কেন স্রষ্টার অস্তিত্বের ব্যাপার আসলেই আমরা বিশেষ বিশেষ মাত্রাতিরিক্ত মানদণ্ড প্রয়োগ করতে শুরু করি? স্রষ্টার ব্যাপারে জটিল যুক্তির কোনই প্রয়োজন নেই আমাদের। সাধারণ ফাংশনাল রিজনিংই আমাদের জন্য যথেষ্ট, এতেই সমাধান এবং আমি চাই আজ আমরা তাই প্রয়োগ করি। কারণ আমি কিছু বাস্তব বিষয় আলোচনা করতে চাই। চলুন আমরা এই বাস্তবতাগুলোকে প্রশ্ন করি এবং আমাদের ফাংশনাল রিজনিং ক্ষমতা ব্যবহার করে দেখি কোনটি এই বাস্তবতাগুলোর সর্বোত্তম ব্যাখ্যা দেয় – স্রষ্টার অস্তিত্ব না বস্তুবাদ বা নাস্তিকতা?”