News Capsules
The dog days of summer are not providing me with many newsworthy events. Sometimes it is better not to post. But here are a few stories, in alternating colors, encapsulated into the fewest possible words.
Nicolas Sarkozy will go to Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. However he indicated that his presence could be conditioned by the progress, or lack thereof, in talks between Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama. Sarkozy met with Chinese leader Hu Xintao during the G-8 summit in Japan, and emphasized the "Olympian values of peace, friendship and fraternity."
However one member of Sarkozy's UMP party, Lionel Luca, is calling for a complete boycott of the games and has accused Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of spreading Chinese propaganda.
Nicolas Sarkozy will extradite to Italy Marina Petrella, the 54-year-old former member of the Red Brigade, convicted in absentia in Italy to a life sentence, arrested in France in 2007, and now a patient in the psychiatric ward of the Fleury-Mérogis prison where doctors say she is in serious condition, refusing to eat and saying she would rather die than be extradited. Sarkozy has requested that the Italian authorities attempt to persuade Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to pardon the woman accused of participating in many of the hundreds of murders committed by the Red Brigade in the 60's and 70's that included the murder of Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Sarkozy said it was a "humanitarian gesture" considering the years that have passed and her state of health.
But the French Human Rights League is accusing Sarkozy of "turning over to his friend Silvio Berlusconi a woman in danger of death." They insist that Nicolas Sarkozy is "morally and personally responsible" for whatever happens to Marina Petrella.
Today's edition (July 9) of Le Salon Beige announces with satisfaction that President Napolitano has put Sarkozy in his place reminding him that there are constitutional laws governing the granting of pardons.
Former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal (photo) is back in the news in two stories. First, she was severely criticized by the Left for saying that Nicolas Sarkozy had nothing to do with the release of Ingrid Betancourt, implying of course that Colombian president and Catholic conservative Alvaro Uribe really WAS the man responsible, implying further that American training helped also. Apparently such sentiments are not allowed on the Left, even if (especially if) they are true.
More recently she has accused the government of being behind the recent break-in of her apartment on June 21, which she says, coincided with criticisms she made of Sarkozy's tyrannical hold on France. She insists it has to be more than a coincidence since it is the second time such a break-in has occurred, the first being during the presidential campaign.
Madame Royal remarked that now it appeared the government had a stronghold on the media. (sic)
Her accusations have unleashed a flood of angry commentary from the UMP party, whose spokesman says "she will stop at nothing to stay alive."
An article from Yahoo informs us that 60% of the French people are unhappy with Nicolas Sarkozy. The poll involved 893 persons aged 18 and above. Prime Minister François Fillon received 43% of favorable votes and 44% unfavorable. The release of Ingrid Betancourt is said to have had only an ephemeral effect on Sarkozy's popularity.
Police in London arrested a 33-year-old unemployed man, Nigel Edward Farmer, for the murders of French students Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo on June 29. Farmer turned himself in on Monday and was treated for burns before being charged. Apparently he fits the description of the police portrait: a white-skinned man between 30 and 40 wearing a baseball cap. The IHT has the story.
Just now I see that there have been more arrests. Earlier in the week the police had released a suspect, also "white-skinned", for lack of evidence.
Earlier this week Nicolas Sarkozy aroused the approbation of his own party and the ire of the French labor unions when he declared "Nowadays, when there is a strike, nobody notices." Union leaders retorted with comments such as : "grandstanding"; "strikes are like polls, they go up and down, and right now, Nicolas Sarkozy is very low in the polls"; "Sarkozy has gone too far and should be more careful;" Nicolas Sarkozy has "an archaic vision of unionism."
Le Salon Beige has more finely-tuned criticism of Sarkozy's remark, in which he makes light of what people really have to endure during a strike:
"His statement is totally false. Just ask the commuters, the parents of school children, etc... Moreover this self-satisfaction reflects the lack of respect that the Chief Executive has for the demands, justified or not, made by those concerned over the motivations for these strikes." (...)
Labels: Crime, England, Italy, President Sarkozy 2008, Ségolène Royal, Terrorism
posted by tiberge @ 7:41 PM
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8 Comments:
If I may add a regional item, the idiots who run the ugly Tricastin nuclear plant that ruins the view of the Rhône Valley, have spilled contaminated water which effects areas of both the Vaucluse and the Drôme departments. Don't buy nuclear plants from Areva!
@ dauphin
I'll try to check the story. Is the contamination radioactivity? Or some other toxic substance? Can water become radioactive? And if so, how would it be treated? I hope the people have some source of drinking water.
Regarding Royal I also heard her criticising Sarkozy for failing to heed the human rights violations of the Chinese. However I seem to remember the very same Royal on a visit to China praising the Chinese legal system and stating that France could learn much from it. Does this woman have a brain?
From: http://www.reflight.blogspot.com/
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs_909/pays_12191/etats-unis_12311/index.html
French government site warns against U.S. no-go areas
A French government Web site is bluntly honest about parts of U.S. cities that its country's tourists ought to stay away from.
In its "Advice to Travelers," the Ministère des Affaires Étrangères offers guidelines for Places to Miss, complete with maps. (Click the tab labeled "Sécurité"— French for "safety" as well as "security.")
The heading says, "The increased risk of terrorism should not make you forget that the principal risk remains criminality." Scroll down to see the city maps. I've translated some of the descriptions:
Boston: "Avoid foot traffic at night in the districts of Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury." It also warns of the "revival of juvenile delinquency."
New York: Be vigilant in tourist areas like Times Square and the Statue of Liberty, "as well as in airports, railroad stations, the subway, restaurants, museums, and certain hotels on the West Side. Do not go alone in Harlem, the Bronx, and Central Park at night."
Washington: "Avoid the northeast and southwest quadrants, as well as the bus stops and Union Station at night. In the tourist areas of Georgetown and Dupont Circle it is a good idea to be vigilant at night. The Anacostia area is not recommended either by day or night."
Pittsburgh: Les lieux dangereux
(circled in red), according to the French government.
"Baltimore is considered a dangerous city except for downtown."
"Detroit: The center is not recommended after offices close."
New Orleans: The warning is long and boils down to, avoid most of the city and be on your guard everywhere. "Do not hesitate to take a taxi, even for a short distance."
Los Angeles: "Large areas are to be avoided, notably the east, south and southeast districts, such as Watts, Inglewood, and Florence" and caution should be exercised in tourist areas. In the West Side (much of which is considered posh) watch out for aggression, carjacking, burglary in hotels and on private property.
Good on the French authorities for warning tourists about some of the less savory realities that the tourist industry glosses over. And it's not anti-American prejudice. The French government is equally forthcoming about the "sensitive urban areas" at home.
@ anonymous
The irony is that he does and says things that she herself has done and said. But, of course, when he's doing them it's wrong, when she's doing them it's right. This is what happens when the two so-called adversarial parties are basically the same - you end up criticizing yourself.
@ teacher.paris
I'm glad you discovered Rick Darby's website. He's very good. I hadn't seen those statistics, though I can't say I'm surprised.
Most major American cities have sizeable no-go zones. It's depressing, though again not surprising, that crime in NY is slowly rising again. After all that effort to stop it...
It is totally within reason to envisage the USA a coast-to-coast wasteland at some point in the future, where the inhabitants who are against crime are considered relics of an unenlightened past and everyone else is morally superior (even though they make sure they don't go out at night alone.)
Sky News published a picture of Nigel Farmer and unless my eyes deceive me he does not look like a white man.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Two-More-Arrests-Over-Murder-Of-French-Students-Gabriel-Ferez-And-Laurent-Bonomo/Article/200807215029832?lpos=UK%2BNews_4&lid=ARTICLE_15029832_Two%2BMore%2BArrests%2BOver%2BMurder%2BOf%2BFrench%2BStudents%2BGabriel%25
This terrible slaughter resembles the torture and murder of Ilan Halimi who was found critically wounded, naked and hand-cuffed along a railway track in the suburb of Saint Genevieve des Bois, 30 kilometres south of Paris on Monday, three weeks after he was kidnapped by a gang in Paris.
The victim, who was burnt and cut on 80 percent of his body, died of his wounds as he was taken to hospital.
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/france/5914
Europe is turning into Rwanda.
@ deborah
Thank you for the photo. It's a bit hard to say for sure, but I think that it is a brown-skinned man. I guess they have to keep him well-covered. We certainly don't want any racist remarks, do we?
When I first posted the story of the crime, I too thought of Ilan Halimi. It's possible Bonomo was Jewish - he received 200 stab wounds, then the gasoline poured over them. They had done that to Ilan.
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