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Saturday, October 11, 2003
posted by gbarto at 12:10 AM:
Rush: I'm AddictedRadio host says he'll start rehab to fight dependence on painkillers
As the TurkeyBlog already noted, when it comes to these substances, either they're addictive and we need to help those hooked or they're not which leaves one to wonder why the government needs to jump into the act. Simplified, the TurkeyBlog's view is that this is not a matter for government except perhaps as protector of those who become victims of drugs. Rush noted in his statement that he isn't a hero; that other people in worse situations deal with more. We also do not consider him a hero for seeking treatment. But we think it's a pretty smart thing to do for his own sake. And we wish him - and all others in his circumstances, regardless of income - the best of wishes for a sure and speedy recovery.
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posted by gbarto at 12:00 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Bush: In Iraq, the American strategy is clear.
Le Figaro: From Grade School to High School: Autopsy of a Breakdown. The goal of French education has been to move more and more people further and further in the system. Then the system broke. But what can be done to fix it?
Also, in the AFP bulletins: 8 months suspended sentence for Juppé, former PM, for his role creating false jobs in Paris to fund Chirac's old political party.
Libération: Blues Return to Slick Playing Field - against the Fijians - in the rugby championships.
Ouest-France: 8 months suspended sentence for Juppé.
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Friday, October 10, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:15 PM:
From an e-mail forwarded by the TurkeySister:For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from The two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers.Not sure XOM would appreciate the plan, but there is some merit to the idea of making gasoline companies compete. We should be encouraging them to do the same with countries, by the way. Perhaps, a move to avoid doing business with those doing business with Saudi Arabia?
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posted by gbarto at 4:40 AM:
Horrors! Fellow Demos call Wesley Clark the R-word:Clark Slammed in Dem Debate
Candidates call retired general an indecisive longtime Republican
Given his inability to decide what he stands for, he certainly resembles certain GOP candidates in recent memory.
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posted by gbarto at 4:37 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Arafat and Quorei try to find compromise. Problems putting together the new government.
Le Figaro: Australian Kickoff - of the world championship for rugby.
Libération: Shirin Ebadi - an Iranian Nobel Peace Prize. She's a lawyer and a human rights and democracy advocate.
Ouest-France: A Day to abolish the death penalty. It was international no capital punishment day. China kills more than everyone else combined, they note.
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Thursday, October 09, 2003
posted by gbarto at 5:55 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Government Thinks To Relaunch Nuclear Power. An industrial minister thinks it's time to start building third generation reactors. A government commission studying the matter says, "No, wait." We're used to hearing about Europe's ubiquity of nuclear power, the idea that it's broadly accepted over there but the U.S. is uniquely narrow-minded. Actually, Europe's enviro-left has been doing its work and attitudes over there are pretty narrow-minded too.
Le Figaro: Iraq: Violence Strikes in All Directions. Car bomb kills nine, injures 38; Spanish diplomat gunned down (word choice: abbatu, like abbatoir - slaughterhouse); U.S. soldier killed by attack with anti-tank weapon.
Libération: In Bagdad: A Bombing and an Assassination. The terms - attentat and assassinat - are weak rhymes in French, making the headline sing-songy or like a children's nursery rhyme. Not sure if the effect was intentional. btw, here's Libé's front from the a.m. for as long as they keep it up:
Ouest-France: France prepares to relaunch nuclear power.
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Wednesday, October 08, 2003
posted by gbarto at 5:29 AM:
Here's Fox News:Hollywood Ending
Calif. ousts Gray Davis, puts state in Schwarzenegger's handsRecall succeeds: 54-46
Schwarzenegger: 48
Bustamente: 32
McClintock: 13
The TurkeyBlog wishes Schwarzenegger the best. Residing in California, he hopes the new governor will turn the state into an economic dynamo. However, he faces a hostile legislature and that's without even mentioning State Sen. McClintock from his own party. Excelling Gray Davis shouldn't be too awful a challenge, but doing well by California will take more than that.
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posted by gbarto at 5:17 AM:
French news headlines: The majors have their eyes on California. They aren't necessarily impressed but they take it as a big story at the least. Most negative is Libération; Le Figaro and Le Monde both have the picture circulating everywhere of Arnold and Maria amid the confetti. And yes, the usage of "Schwarzy" is theirs, not mine. Ouest-France, by the way, has other things on its mind.Le Monde: Schwarzenegger Celebrates His Victory In California.
Le Figaro: California Chooses Schwarzy.
Libération: Schwarzy at the Controls in California.
Is anyone not talking about California? Yes:
Ouest-France: Sales of French Wines Between Two Waters. That's the literal; I don't recognize the idiom but at issue is that if older customers are loyal, the young aren't. And the overseas markets have bumped up against some real problems.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2003
posted by gbarto at 2:40 AM:
Libération: Explosion at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad. No deaths, no details.FNC doesn't know any more about actual explosion but has good background. Was this the work of Saddam's men? Or angry former intelligence officers who used to work in the building and are frustrated about losing their jobs?
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posted by gbarto at 2:36 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Eurogroup ready to compromise on deficits. France said it's in a "recessionary context" and thus began negotiations over how and how soon it would have to address public debt issues.
Le Figaro: Schwarznegger at the head of the world's sixth largest economy? According to the most up to the minute surveys, yes.
Libération: Must one cut the RTT's neck? I.e., does the 35 hour work week have to go as the destroyer of the French economy or is there scapegoating of the Jospin program.
Ouest-France: Raffarin wants to undermine 35 hour [work week].
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Monday, October 06, 2003
posted by gbarto at 3:19 AM:
Syria Calls on U.N. to Condemn Israeli AirstrikeU.S. says it won't support resolution that also does not condemn attacks against ally Israel; Israeli army checking Hamas claims of mortar attacks on settlements in Gaza
But will the UN condemn Syria for helping foster terrorism against Israel? Hell no. Happily, a certain world leader has already set a precedent for treating the UN like the joke it is, going there when it suits him and ignoring it otherwise. Israel should follow suit, refusing to acknowledge moral claims of an organization whose members include multiple nations that have sought the extinction of the Jewish people and who now pretend to the status of civilization even as they do all they can to forget Israel's unique historical reasons for mistrusting them.
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posted by gbarto at 3:12 AM:
French news headlines:Le Monde: Threatened, Yasser Arafat Declares State of Emergency. In other words, he heard Israel's warning that his position depended on how he comported himself in the 48 hours after the bombing in Haifa and he chose to again assert the Arabist cause instead of making a point of following his condemnation of the bombing with action to prevent future bombings. When will Arafat say, "Hey, we hate it when the Israelis shoot at us; should we be surprised that they get angry when one of ours kill them? I'm calling on everyone who truly loves Palestine to stand down so we can create a peace, however uneasy, in which Israel is no longer justified in attacking us incessantly." Never happen. Not enough Palestinians alive to do all the dying Arafat's prepared to see the Palestinians do so he can fancy himself leader of Islam's greatest little troop of martyrs, just so long as none of that dying involves a man named Yasser Arafat.
Le Figaro: Israel Hits the Palestinians In Syria. Specifically, they hit a training camp for Islamic Jihad after that group took credit for the Haifa bombing. Wonder how the Arab world responds when an informal military installation is Israel's target. Can they really go on the warpath about messing up the training of killers? Hell, who are we kidding? These are people who dress up their kids as suicide bombers. Having neither shame nor values beyond hate, we should expect them to start complaining about the unfairness of killing Islamists and denying them the opportunity to massacre Jews within 48 hours.
Libération: Israel Powerless in Face of Carnage. UN Sec. Council Meeting at behest of Syria; Arafat's fate at center of questions.
Ouest-France: Straying from the Middle-East storyline, Ouest-France has Cars Versus Game: Towards Compensation. There's a move afoot to make sure drivers aren't left in the lurch after car-animal crashes.
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