"Hostage Rescue Is Happy Coincidence for McCain in Colombia"...

UPDATE
The Colombian hostage rescue video
... says Elizabeth Bumiller of the NYT. The title of that article implies that McCain's visit had been planned to coincide with the hostage rescue.

Like any other conspiracy theory, that one is easily rebuked. Commenter Pat Patterson, at my Pajamas Media article, deftly and with a good measure of sarcasm points out the obvious:

That's right the Colombian government spent months arranging the infiltration of its agents, getting the intel on the location of the fifteen hostages and then sat around twiddling their thumbs until Sen. McCain showed up for a photo op. But since there are no pictures of Ingrid Bettancourt or the Americans holding flowers and shaking hands with the senator from Arizona then the whole plot seems like a terrible waste of energy. Maybe it was a conspiracy by FTD and not the CIA?

Moe Lane expands,

If you're wondering why a big counter-terrorism strike just happened to take place during Senator John McCain's visit to the region*, stop wondering: it was a no doubt deliberate decision on Colombia's part. Note that while they briefed the American delegation prior to the event, the actual operation took place while McCain was en route to Mexico. President Uribe wants good relations between Colombia and the USA, but he also wants to establish a certain separation. Bringing off a major counter-terrorism operation during, but independently of, a working visit by three US Senators should fit the bill.

Aside from the silly title, Bumiller's article makes a good point:

The timing of the rescue, which occurred while Mr. McCain was in Colombia, was in many ways a fortuitous turn of events for a presidential candidate who is using a three-day trip to South America and Mexico to try to show that he is a more agile foreign policy hand than his Democratic competitor, Senator Barack Obama. Although the timing of the rescue was a coincidence and Mr. McCain’s trip to Colombia had nothing to do with it, the event nonetheless put him in the middle of classified talks about covert operations with the head of another government.

What is no coincidence is that McCain's foreign policy experience outshines that of his rival. McCain's statement on the rescue highlights the importance of the operation while still reminding us of the hundreds of remaining hostages:

McCain, who was in Colombia Tuesday and Wednesday, said that President Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian defense minister had told him of the rescue plans.

"I'm pleased with the success of this very high-risk operation," McCain said in a release. "Sometimes in the past, the FARC has killed the hostages rather than let them be rescued. So I congratulate President Uribe, the military and the nation of Colombia. It is great news. Now we must renew our efforts to free all of the other innocent people held hostage. With regard to the three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt — they had been held many years, as many as six years."

Additionally, McCain supports the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat congress has been blocking.

The clear winners in this operation are Alvaro Uribe, all the hostages released, and the people of Colombia. The very big loser? Hugo Chavez. This hostage rescue has infinite repercussions in international politics.

Der Spiegel:

Indeed, it is Chavez who has been the big loser as a result of the positive developments in his neighboring country. With the fall of FARC, he has lost an important ally. His dream of a cross-border Bolivian revolution has failed, and at home he is fighting for his political survival.

There's a second loser in this drama: Nicolas Sarkozy. The French appeared to have been just as surprised as Chavez to hear about Betancourt's release on Wednesday. Paris had only just managed to establish fresh contact with the new FARC leader Alfonso Cano. Sarkozy had hoped that the French could score a coup by negotiating Betancourt's release and flying her directly to Paris. Colombian government officials had spoken reproachingly about what they often deemed to be politically motivated attempts at intervention on the part of the French.

Erik Svane notices that the French didn't take it gracefully: Frenchwoman: What Freed Ingrid Bétancourt Was Not President Uribe, But… "International Pressure" on President Uribe!, with "international pressure" meaning the French government, of course. They'd like to take credit for the release of one of their citizens, having failed at procuring the release itself.

The rescue itself was extraordinary: Counterterrorism blog calls it an Operation Right Out of Spy Thriller

This is a classic demonstration of how a country can use a mixture of law enforcement, intelligence, military, diplomatic and other mechanisms together, with a great deal of patience and tenacity, to achieve profound results against terrorism. It's an operation that needs to be studied, understood, to see what its lessons are for handling other hostage situations and other terrorist groups.

The political map has changed for South America. Let's hope the Dems in Congress get around to realizing that. For sure, the Dems claim that Pres. Bush has been ignoring Latin America flies in the face of this fact:

The US ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield, said there had been "close co-operation" from the Americans, including the sharing of intelligence, equipment and training advice.

This Ain't Hell has Betancourt's first press conference


Venezuela News and Views reacts to the press conference

Betancourt has now been reunited with her family. Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes are back home, too.

Others blogging on the rescue:
Gateway Pundit

Prairie Pundit

The New Editor

Poliblog

In Spanish ElTiempo's report

Much more at Memeorandum

Special thanks to Larwyn and Siggy.



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Sarko pushes for French naval base in Abu Dhabi, sells nuclear power

Sarko's been trying hard to re-establish France as a power in the Middle East, and has plans for a French naval base in Abu Dhabi.

First, there are the nuclear deals with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco:
Sarkozy Pushes Nuclear Energy in Mideast

Currently the world's most aggressive salesman for nuclear power, Sarkozy has visited multiple Muslim states in the last six weeks -- including the globe's biggest oil producers -- to peddle French nuclear technology or make multibillion-dollar deals.

"Why should Arab countries be deprived of the energy of the future?"

Why indeed, when they have the mullahs breathing down their necks? Especially if companies that develop and build the nuclear power plants are owned primarily by the French government?

Sarko's nuclear proliferation plans don't stop with a vision of a Mediterranean cooperation council (whatever that may mean),

Argentina, Chile, Vietnam and Indonesia also are reportedly discussing the possibility of buying French-designed reactors.

May I indulge in a little speculation? Let's say that Hugo persuades the FARC to release French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt. Woudln't Venezuela be included in this group?

But I digress.

As part of Sarko's Middle East vision, he's signed a deal with Abu Dhabi for a permanent French naval base:

This projects France into the complex politics of the Gulf, identifying it even more closely with Gulf Arab countries which have expressed concern about the future policies of Iran.

President Sarkozy appears willing to accept that this exposes France to the risks involved in such a sensitive area, highlighted by the confrontation between Iranian speedboats and US naval ships recently. There is also a dispute between Abu Dhabi and Iran over three small islands in the Strait of Hormuz. The president said the base was agreed at the request of the Emirates.

That's in addition to the two nuclear power reactors that the French will build in Abu Dhabi.

Nuclear proliferation, and military expansion, a la francaise.

Never mind a mild whiff of realpolitik

The French base agreement coincides with a major visit to the region by President Bush, during which he has criticised Iran.

France might be seen as aligning itself more openly with the US, which maintains its own large base in Bahrain for the Fifth Fleet and which has also been selling arms to Gulf countries.

Speculation welcome in the comments section.


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Did Sarko marry Carla?

A (French) friend sent me this: L'Est Republicain newspaper says Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni se seraient mariés jeudi à l'Elysée Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni married in secred Thursday at the Elysee (the president's residence)

This is his third marriage and her first.

The story in English at AFP will save you the translation: French newspaper says Sarkozy may have married Bruni

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is believed to have married former Italian supermodel Carla Bruni at a small private ceremony held at the Elysee palace last week, a French newspaper reported Monday.

In a report posted on its website, L'Est Republicain newspaper quoted an unnamed "source close to a witness who attended the ceremony" as saying that it was a "small, very private" affair held at the presidential palace on Thursday.

Presidential spokesman David Martinon declined to comment on the report.

Sarkozy, 52, told a news conference last week that his relationship with 40-year-old Bruni was "serious" and suggested he planned to marry the former supermodel and pop singer.

"There is a strong chance that you will learn about it once it's already been done," the president said.

The Journal du Dimanche reported earlier that the couple would marry around February 9.

Rumours about an imminent marriage have been flying since last week and a Paris city hall office in the chic 16th district was besieged by journalists on Thursday who had received a tip-off that the couple were getting married there.

L'Est Republicain journalist Laid Sammari, who wrote the article, told AFP the newspaper had "good reason" to decide to run the story, but added that he was being cautious "because I did not personally attend the ceremony."

Sarkozy on Monday visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar as part of a tour of Gulf countries and was to head to Dubai on Tuesday.

An AFP journalist traveling with the president said he was not wearing a wedding ring on Monday.

In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to Cecilia Ciganer-Albaniz, with whom he has a 10-year-old son, Louis.

He also has two sons, Pierre, 22, and Jean, 21, from a previous marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli.

Born into a wealthy Turin tyre-manufacturing family, Bruni has a six-year-old son with the philosopher Raphael Enthoven, but she has never married.

Bruni's previous affairs with such rock stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton have made tabloid headlines and she was quoted in a French magazine last year as saying "Monogamy bores me terribly".

After visiting Egypt and Jordan with Sarkozy last month, she may accompany Sarkozy on a state visit to India later this month.

The latest rumours about the marriage drew criticism from opposition Socialists that Sarkozy was putting too much of his private life on public display.

Sarkozy's rival in the presidential election, Segolene Royal, charged that the president "has decided to turn events in his private life into public events, like Louis XIV."

"It's a bit like the monarchy, where an event in the king's private life become a political event," Royal told French radio.

Sarkozy's second wife Cecilia lost a bid in court last week to block the release of a book in which she is quoted as described the president as a womaniser and uncaring father.

The book "Cecilia" by journalist Anna Bitton has become a best-seller in French bookstores.

With Sarko's two prior divorces and his reputation as a ladie's man, and her prior history of being "the other woman" who came between Jerri and Mick, and Donald and Marla, this is going to be tabloid heaven a la francaise.


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Sarko in Kabul, and let's drink to that!

On his first trip to Kabul for a pre-Christmas visit to French troops in Afghanistan, Sarkozy warns of Taleban threat

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned the international community must not let Afghanistan fall into the hands of extremists like the Taleban.
He was speaking on a one-day visit to Kabul where he met his counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and was due to see some of the 1,300 French troops based there.

Mr Sarkozy recently pledged France's support for the US in Afghanistan.

Sarkozy says France could boost troops in Afghanistan

He said the French troops, currently 1,900, would help the Afghan army, police, administration and judiciary. Sarkozy said a decision on troop numbers was due in the next few weeks.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar on Tuesday called on foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan. Diplomats and the local military have called for a new strategy to fight the rebels.

"What is certain is that we have not wanted to give the signal of departure, that would have been a despicable signal at a time when one sees the ravages inflicted by terrorism in the world," Sarkozy said.

Britain, which has about 7,800 troops operating in Afghanistan, part of a 40,000-strong NATO stabilisation force, is expected to increase that number over time as it draws down in Iraq, but no formal announcement has been made.

-----------------------------------------------------Via No Pasaran, who says, "Bové is going to blow a gasket",
Genetically modified wine. Unleash the war on terroir: An oenological wish-list for the drinking season
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Did you know Sarko's horse is named Universe?
Well, Here you have it:

France's UMP political party presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy speaks with accompanying journalists aboard a tractor as he rides "Universe" on a ranch in Saintes-Maries de la Mer, southeastern France, April 20, 2007.

For those of you asking, Napoleon didn't ride the Universe.



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Maybe Sarko has been getting my spam, and should the Pope get a makeover?

Sarkozy Takes His Love Life Public

For some reason love's been knocking at my spam door, and got through the filter:
Five of these: "Love Chat - someone that will take your breath away could be here"
Three of these: "Seeking Marriage Tired of dating? Read this."
A couple of these: "You have a secret admirer"
More: "You have an online crush". The crush doesn't seem to want to give up; after I deleted those as spam, some more came telling me that "Unread crush - 1 message waiting."
And then there's: "Ortho Evra Information Did you use the Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch?"

In other EU news, Zeffirelli offers Pope a makeover

Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian film, stage and opera director, has said Pope Benedict XVI needs a makeover of his "cold" image and "showy" clothes.

Zeffirelli told La Stampa newspaper that the Pope communicated in a cold way that was little suited to what was happening around him.

These are not times for high tailoring in papal vestments, he said.

He contrasted the relaxed attitude of the late Pope John Paul II to his official attire with that of Benedict.

Lacking his predecessor's charisma, Pope Benedict has taken to wearing some eye-stopping outfits in public, such as a red velvet cape trimmed with ermine, not worn in public since the death of John XXIII in 1963.

Even when he favors all-white, I for one like the ermine cape. It's so... Papal.

Pope Benedict shows a well-turned ankle


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Gaddafi's big-tent politics

I haven't had a chance until now to post about it but for the past two days I've been following the stories on Gaddafi's excellent Parisian adventure. Here's the short version:
He came, he pitched a tent, he conquered.
Here's the tent:

And now for the details:
Gaddafi (he of the multiple spellings - Gaddafi, Kadhafi, whatever) spent five days in Paris, accompanied by his bodyguard babes, and left with several deals, not the least of which is "a co-operation accord to develop the peaceful use of nuclear energy".

We all have heard about "peaceful use of nuclear energy" in other quarters.

Beeb has more on the deals, and it's worth noting that

France is the first Western country to welcome Col Gaddafi since he took the decision to end the country's diplomatic isolation four years ago.

Sarko's under a great deal of criticism for that, which he brushed off in his characteristic manner: Sarkozy attacks coffee-sipping elite over Gaddafi

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday dismissed those who criticise his human rights record as coffee-drinking intellectuals who stood idly by while he fought to change things.

At least he didn't call them "tea-drinking intellectuals". Sarko likes to get his shirt wet, or so it seems:

"It is all well and good to never get your shirt wet, to take no risks, to stay on the sidelines, to speak to no one, to be so sure of one's self and what one believes in while sipping one's cafe creme on the boulevard Saint-Germain," he said, referring to a traditionally intellectual, rich area of Paris.

More on the verbal sparring: Gadaffi trade talks spark Paris furore

Muammer Gadaffi, the Libyan leader, yesterday began a five-day visit to Paris to buy arms, nuclear power and civil airliners, triggering a storm of criticism from campaigners and an outburst from a government minister who said France should not accept his "kiss of death".

The Wall Street Journal had more on the business end of the trip: Gadhafi Signs $14.7 Billion in Deals For Arms and Nuclear Reactors

Moammar Gadhafi swept into town with all the trappings of his Bedouin heritage Monday and got straight to business, cutting $14.7 billion in deals for arms and nuclear reactors on his first official visit to the West since renouncing terrorism and atomic weapons.
...
President Nicolas Sarkozy defended the visit, saying it is France's duty to encourage states that move toward international respectability.

I still think the word "nuclear reactor" shouldn't be on the same sentence as the guy who's connected to "Lockerbie, Scotland", no matter how graceful the move toward international respectability.

Daniel thinks that Sarko "has shown to be someone ready to do anything for a fat check for French goods offer."

The Guardian however, thinks all governments are whores: Sarkozy may sacrifice human rights for commerce, and let's not kid ourselves that we're any different

What strikes me about Sarkozy's attitude is its total absence of embarrassment, the lack of any attempt to excuse or explain: business trumps human rights. Full stop. Contrast this with the behaviour of Gordon Brown and the British government when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia came on his state visit to London six weeks ago. Embarrassment oozed out of every British pore. We really don't want to do this and wish we didn't have to, was the clear message - never spoken out loud - but we'd better, because the Saudis help us catch terrorists and buy things from us. Human rights? Jolly important, but we won't mention it now, in case they get cross; but we assure you we're working on it behind the scenes.

The British and French governments were doing the same thing - entertaining a tainted head of state to make money. Sarkozy did it openly, almost proudly; Brown hypocritically. The prime minister did, it's true, demonstrate his human-rights credentials with his easy, unnecessary, pointless and possibly counter-productive boycott of the EU-Africa summit last week, because Robert Mugabe was there. But then, Zimbabwe isn't buying billions of pounds' worth of British goods.

Erik Svane, on the other hand, notices a difference:

Although Kadhafi's Paris visit has led to a number of criticisms by French lawmakers (notice reactions like the crybaby Christiane D's agreeing with the dictator as well as pouting how much the Iraq war had led to suffering for… Europe — Europe, for Christ's sake!), heaven forbid that there be any demonstrations like that in Paris when George W Bush came to commorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Heaven forbid as well that there would have been a glowing reception given to the American president like the Ritz event described by Ariane Chemin in Le Monde in which Kadhafi is told he has nothing but friends and is oohed and aahed over by Paris's intelligentsia.

The question remains, Did Sarkozy tackle human rights with Colonel Gaddafi? Sarko told France2 TV anchor David Pujadas, "No, absolutely not"; at the same time Sarko says he told Gaddafi that more needed to be done "to improve human rights in Libya.

A farce?

Possibly. But one involving 21 Airbus aircraft and 10 billion Euros.


Update, Thursday 13 December:
30 Virgin Bodyguards Escort Muammar Gaddafi Into Paris

Sarkozy's moral test

Mr Sarkozy argues that it is sterile to oppose an idealistic to a realistic brand of foreign policy. He believes you can pursue both. Even as he pushes arms contracts and entertains the likes of Mr Qaddafi, he is also sending over 1,000 French peacekeepers to the Darfur border. France is ready to talk to anybody who tries to improve their behaviour. As Mr Sarkozy asked, “what would we say to Iranian leaders if we did not offer a hand to a Libyan leader who has himself chosen to turn his back on nuclear arms and terrorism?”

The trouble arises when one pursues moral diplomacy and realpolitik with the same country. Were the arms contracts from Libya part of the deal to free the Bulgarian nurses? Mr Sarkozy says not, but the terms are being looked at by a parliamentary inquiry. Mr Sarkozy is pressing to free hostages in Colombia, among them Ingrid Betancourt, a Franco-Colombian. But he also persuaded the Colombians to free a top guerrilla from the FARC, considered a terrorist group by America and Europe.

In short, Mr Sarkozy's action-man diplomacy is about results, not means: if it works, it works. The release of Ms Betancourt, for instance, would be warmly welcomed in France. And Mr Sarkozy has no time for left-bank intellectuals “so sure of what they think while drinking coffee on the Boulevard Saint-Germain”. They may not have much time for him, either.

----------------------------------------------------
In other Sarko news, 'Danger of war' exists with Iran
Somebody tell the CIA!


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Third night of rioting in France, and a murder.

Rioting spreads to Tolouse as 20 cars were burned out and rioters set fire to two libraries.

A third night of youth rioting in France:

Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late yesterday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and - in an ominous turn - shot at officers.

A senior police union official warned "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

Bands of young people set more cars on fire in and around Villiers-le-Bel, the Paris suburb where the latest trouble first erupted, and 22 youths were detained, the regional government said. In the southern city of Toulouse, 20 cars were set ablaze. Fires set at two libraries were quickly brought under control.

Despite the renewed violence, France's prime minister said the situation was calmer than the two previous nights. About 1,000 officers were on patrol in trouble spots in and around Villiers-le-Bel, he said.

AP mentions the ethnicity:

The government was striving to keep violence from spreading in a stern test for new President Nicolas Sarkozy, which highlighted the anger that still smolders in France's poor neighborhoods, where many Arabs, blacks and other minorities live, largely isolated from the rest of society.

No Pasaran posts on a murder in the RER D line, probably unrelated to the rioting.


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Sarko's speech to Congress

Official translation:

From the very beginning, the American dream meant putting into practice the dreams of the Old World.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant proving to all mankind that freedom, justice, human rights and democracy were no utopia but were rather the most realistic policy there is and the most likely to improve the fate of each and every person.

America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who—with their hands, their intelligence and their heart—built the greatest nation in the world: "Come, and everything will be given to you." She said: "Come, and the only limits to what you’ll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.” America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every person a second chance.

Here, both the humblest and most illustrious citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be earned. That’s what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.

What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.
...
But my generation did not love America only because she had defended freedom. We also loved her because for us, she embodied what was most audacious about the human adventure; for us, she embodied the spirit of conquest. We loved America because for us, America was a new frontier that was continuously pushed back—a constantly renewed challenge to the inventiveness of the human spirit.

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind's oldest dream.

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature, her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

What makes America strong is the strength of this ideal that is shared by all Americans and by all those who love her because they love freedom.

America’s strength is not only a material strength, it is first and foremost a spiritual and moral strength. No one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one thing of America: that she be true to the ideal in whose name he—the grandson of a slave—felt so deeply American. His name was Martin Luther King. He made America a universal role model.

The world still remembers his words—words of love, dignity and justice. America heard those words and America changed. And the men and women who had doubted America because they no longer recognized her began loving her again.

Say Anything has the video of the whole speech.

BBC report:Sarkozy applauded by Congress

Later on, at Mount Vernon, US President George W Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have said they will work jointly to convince Iran to give up its nuclear programme.

Say Anything:

What’s particularly interesting is that, years ago when the Bush presidency was new and Iraq was a fresh issue, the left told us constantly that George Bush was making America less popular in the world. Yet during the President’s term in office three of our traditional allies (Canada, Germany and now France) elected leaders that displaced virulently anti-Bush and anti-American leaders with people more of Sarkozy’s temperament (Stephen Harper in Canada and Angela Merkel in Germany).

We'll see what the media reports on the rest of the trip.

More blogging later, when I'll be posting about Venezuela.

Sarko walks out on 60 minutes, 70,000 walk out on NHS

Sarkozy walks out of TV interview: Sarko wasn't going to talk about his divorce, and he didn't:

"If I had something to say about Cecilia, I would not do so here," he said before cutting off further questions.

I like that.

No Pasaran has the link to 60 Minutes

Update, Friday November 2:
Kyle-Anne Shiver:

So, to all our American men, who have been cowed by the unisex armies of overbearing loud-mouthed gossips, I say it's high time you throw off the shackles of politically-correct indulgence and join the Sarkozy revolution. You too can be real men again, and all the real women will love you for it. Catty gossip has no place in the public discourse, and simply standing your ground and saying so, in no way makes you a "Male Chauvinist Pig," or even a borderline "sexist." It simply makes you a self-respecting gentleman of the highest order.

Amen to that!
--------------------------------------------------------
The latest trend in outsourcing:
Record numbers go abroad for health treatment with 70,000 escaping NHS

Record numbers of Britons are travelling abroad for medical treatment to escape the NHS - with 70,000 patients expected to fly out this year.

And by the end of the decade 200,000 "health tourists" will fly as far as Malaysa and South Africa for major surgery to avoid long waiting lists and the rising threat of superbugs, according to a new report.

The first survey of Britons opting for treatment overseas shows that fears of hospital infections and frustration of often waiting months for operations are fuelling the increasing trend.

Meanwhile at the Times of London, Quack Michael Moore has mad view of the NHS.

I expect Michael Moore will be rewarded with an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Update:
Welcome, Blog Report visitors.
Please read this week's Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, and please visit often.


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"France is bankrupt", but not when it comes to Iran

French PM Fillon tells farmers 'France is broke'

France is bankrupt and can no longer afford to pay its workers generous salaries and subsidies, its prime minister has declared.

Francois Fillon made the undiplomatic outburst during a trip to the French island of Corsica, where farmers were demanding more government money.

"I am at the head of a state that is in a position of bankruptcy," he said.

The head of the European Central Bank agrees, and

has attacked France for being Europe's "number one spender".
Mr Trichet warned that in comparison to its GDP, the country was well on the way to spending much more than its European neighbours during 2007.

Sarko is pushing for deficit reform, which puts him at odds with the EU guidelines,

The French leader wants to cut taxes, a move that means France will breach a rule set by the EU on public deficits.

Mr Sarkozy argues France needs to cut taxes by 11bn euros (£7.5bn) to tackle its spiralling unemployment problem.

But Baron Bodissey notices a pattern here:

French politics seem to be much like American politics: as soon as anyone points out the damage done by excessive government spending, the Left is quick to cite the most recent tax cut as the source of the problem.

It’s the first commandment of Socialism: Thou shalt never, ever cut taxes.

In this case, it was a "centrist" who decried the tax cuts, but that only proves how much of the European "center" has been occupied by the Left.

In not unrelated news, Sarko is in New York this week, but before leaving Paris he an interview to the NYT/IHT, making himself absolutely clear:

For Mr. Sarkozy, the most burning issue is Iran's nuclear program. France’s position, he said, is clear: "No nuclear weapon for Iran, an arsenal of sanctions to convince them, negotiations, discussions, firmness. And I don't want to hear anything else that would not contribute usefully to the discussion today."

And he's not playing the Iranians' game:

He equally refused to choose between a nuclear-armed Iran and the use of force, saying, "It is exactly what the Iranian leaders want. I am not obliged to fall into this trap."

From the looks of this, Sarko's not going to issue empty threats. He's just going to do.

On a postscript,

The brusque demeanor and nonstop movement during the interview vanished during a brief photo session afterward in his office. At one point, he posed for a photograph with the two women who interviewed him, gripping his arms around their shoulders. "I have a good job," he said.

I wonder if he allows interviews by women bloggers...
----------------------------------------------------
In the no-news news, Schroeder, Chirac and Putin are in bed together.

Captain Ed is getting Iranian spam.



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Sarko's keynote foreign policy speech

Nicolas Sarkozy announced to the world that "An Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable," (link in French), raising the possibility of bombing Iran if needed.

I just did a brief translation for Pajams Media. Go read it.

Curiously, the France2 newscast didn't spend much time on that part, choosing instead to talk about Turkey.

Sarko meets Gaddafi

The Tour de France was the big news yesterday in France, for good reason: ETA detonated two small explosive devices (the article didn't specify what kind of devices), and Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen of Denmark was removed from the race and fired from his team after winning the 16th stage yesterday. Since the Tour ends on Sunday, this was way more than the usual excitement, particularly since this morning the Tour resumed with no-one wearing the yellow jersey.

But for the news addict like myself, there was another item of interest. Sarko's on a tour of Africa and dropped by Muammar Gaddafi's.

Always the fashion plate, Gaddafi wore a white suit with the emblem of African unity prominently pinned over his heart, black shirt and a wide (silk chiffon, maybe?) sash. Sarko looked appropriately French in traditional business garb. The day before yesterday Sarko was in Liberia, were he was warmly welcomed. Today Sarko's in Senegal, where he probably will have to work a little harder.

As it turns out, the Libya meeting took place a day after Libya released the six Bulgarian medics who had been convicted of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV. The medics had confessed under torture and had been sentenced to death. According to the BBC,

The medics' release was made possible by a deal struck in Tripoli on improving Libya-EU ties, following years of negotiations.

Not one to let a good opportunity go to waste, Sarko - whose trip was strategically timed - showed up, and the Guardian has the headline:
Sarkozy flies to Libya to reap rewards of medics' release

Mr Sarkozy ignored criticism that he and his wife Cecilia had been grandstanding by intervening at the end of the eight-year crisis when the hard work had been done by the European commission and other EU governments. Mrs Sarkozy joined in negotiations and then flew to Sofia with the freed medics.

Sarko and Gaddafi/Gadafy also agreed to work on a nuclear energy project that will turn sea water into clean drinking water.

Shall we drink to that?

Update, Friday 27 July
Nidra Poller examines the reaction in France.
Update, Sunday 29 July
Pinky and the Brain!

Presidential style

For $12, a guy can get his hair cut at the Great Clips at the Princeton Shopping Center. OK, make that $15 including tip.

For $15, they wash and cut your hair, comb it, and you come out looking like the good Calvin.

For $1250, "I try to make the man handsome, strong, more mature and these are the things, as an expert, that's what we do."

Woody, writing at GM Roper's blog, has more on the populist Adonis
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Continuing on a theme of politics as a beauty contest,

Another Reason Why Hillary Won't Run Well (via Larwyn, who's hot)
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You know that the left is feeling threatened, when they have already started trying to tear down Fred Thompson. And he isn't even in the race yet....

Analysis: Potential US presidential candidate Fred Thompson's strength is his style

They describe Thompson as having a laid-back, guy-next-door nature that puts people at ease and makes anyone feel comfortable around him. At the same time, they say he has a commanding presence with his imposing 6-foot-5 (1.95-meter) frame, his unmistakable deep voice and his straight-talking way.

That's the kind of style I like. (On the hair department, I'm sure Fred's not spending $1250 to coif whatever little hair he's got.)

The AP's out on left field (all puns intended) when they say Fred lacks substance. more on that some other time. But it's not surprising that AP would say that.

After all, they're still saying it about Ronald Reagan.

Update, Saturday 7/7/7
Does Susan Saulny qualify as a trophy reporter?
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Another Republican candidate with great style is Duncan Hunter. Solid, manly looks with impeccable suits that don't look too overstyled.
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Across the world, Wretchard, who also has great style, posts about Sarko's sport
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Update
To those who emailed asking,




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France: Parliamentary elections second-round today - Sarko gets his mandate

UPDATED
SARKO GETS HIS MANDATE
35 million French go to the polls

All but one of Sunday's 467 races are two-way challenges between left and right. The other is a "triangular" between candidates from the UMP, PS and Modem.

I'll post on the results later today.

Update 3:15 PM EDT
Sarkozy party wins in French poll

President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party has swept the French parliamentary elections.

Preliminary projections give 319 to 329 seats to the right, 202 to 210 for the left.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right allies won a solid majority in Sunday's
parliamentary election, but failed to secure a widely-expected
landslide, television poll forecasts showed.

More at No Pasaran

Update, Monday 18 June
The Beeb says Sarkozy wins 'mandate for reform' while the WaPo claims Sarkozy, Allies Hold Majority, Lose Seats
Gains by Socialists Defy Predictions For French Runoff. No matter what, Sarko has now an absolute majority with 346 of the 577 parliamentary seats.



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Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia and France

Chavez Seeks Federal Territories, Constitution Change (emphasis added):

"The governors don't have the power or resources to solve the problems of some areas," Chavez said in a televised speech today from southern Apure state. "I'd like to have three, four, five vice presidents, like in Iran and Cuba."

The creation of federal territories would concentrate more power in the hands of Chavez, who won a six-year term in December and has been in office since 1999. Chavez reiterated his call to change the constitution to allow him to be re- elected indefinitely.

"I don't know if in five years I will have the fire to run again," said Chavez, 52. "But I think the option should be open for the people to decide to elect someone to serve 10, 20, or 30 years.'"

Not enough fire to run, but plenty of fire to stay on; the Organization of Anti-American States probably won't complain.

Chavez's buddy Daniel Ortega's been networking lately: He took Muammar Gaddafi's jet to visit Iran. Once there, it was all miel sobre hojuelas schmoozing: 'Iran-Nicaragua to create justice-oriented order', which, by the way, doesn't prevent him from seeking more aid from the United States. Too bad he didn't wear a baseball cap to visit the mullahs.

Of course the mullahs loved him and the official news agency peppered their reporting with this rather obnoxious headline, Supreme Leader: Unfair trend of int'l ties heading towards destruction

The unfair trend of international ties is heading towards destruction and a completely different future, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday.

I wonder if the supreme leader's ever heard of Joe Lieberman, or of Ron Klein and Connie Mack, who said, The rulers of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Iran are part of a new trio of tyrants.

Not related to any of the above, Colombia and France continue to discuss the possibility of a swap with the FARC for Ingrid Betancourt, who was taken prisoner five years ago:

Mr Sarkozy's office said that he hoped that Mr Granda's release could help free the hostages. Ms Betancourt is a minor figure in Colombia but an iconic one in France, where she studied. She has dual citizenship and two French children. A vast portrait of her hangs from the façade of Paris's town hall. When foreign minister in 2003, Dominique de Villepin, her former professor, sent a crack team to rescue her; their mission was embarrassingly aborted in Brazil.

Since his election, Mr Sarkozy has taken up her case with vigour, twice inviting her children to the Elysée Palace.

I was wondering what Sarko's approach was going to be on the Betancourt case, but here's the explanation:

Liberating Ms Betancourt would be a spectacular political coup for a president whose action-man style marks a break with the era of Jacques Chirac and who faces two-round legislative elections on June 10th and 17th.

More blogging later, but before I do, Dynamobuzz is blogging again.



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France: Parliamentary sweep for Sarkozy

Parliamentary sweep for Sarkozy

President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing party has won a sweeping victory in the first round of parliamentary voting. According to TNS-SOFRES estimates, the right wing won between 405 and 445 seats, compared with 120-160 seats for the left.

Like in last May's presidential elections, participation was extraordinarily high: France2 (link in French) reports that

Participation in legislative elections tends to be lower than in presidential elections, which means that the low record of abstentions (35.58% in 2002) might be beaten.

Sarkozy party 'set for landslide'

Projections after the first round of France's parliamentary elections suggest President Nicolas Sarkozy's party is heading for a landslide.

Run-off elections continue next Sunday.

More updates later.

3:40 update
TF1 official results:

UMP & Presidential majority (Right) : 405-455 seats
Mouvement pour la Démocratie (Centrist) : 1-4 seats
Socialist Party and other Left : 120-160

More at No Pasaran

Map of today's final results by department (run-off lections continue next Sunday).

4PM:
Hour-by-hour at Le Monde (link in French)


7:20PM Welcome, Austin Bay, Instapundit and Ace of Spades readers.

Via Austin Bay, at MSNBC:

Such an outcome would be a remarkable personal endorsement for Mr Sarkozy, marking the first time in almost 30 years that an outgoing government has been returned to office. The previous UMP government was deeply unpopular and widely blamed for failing to tackle France's unemployment crisis. But under the new president's leadership the UMP is thought to have won the largest share of the vote for any party for 40 years.

The Guardian: "There is a sense of optimism in the air - a sense that we are on top of things".

9:30PM: My friend Nidra Poller has an excellent op-ed at Pajamas Media.

Extreme Left, Extreme Right, and Socialists all lamented to the same basic tune: democracy requires a healthy balance between the party in power and the opposition. And not a single one of them acknowledged that the way to ensure that healthy balance is to appeal to voters and obtain their confidence. In the same way that they confuse equal chances with equal results, they confuse political freedom with guaranteed victory. We’re the opposition, so voters have to elect us…whether they like it or not.

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A Beeb and blog round-up

Students go on rampage in China

Hundreds of students have rioted against the police in central China.

Witnesses said the unrest, in the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, was sparked on Wednesday after a student was beaten by police.

She had been selling items on the street, apparently without a license. There was an argument and reports say officials broke her front teeth.

At this point other students began to gather round and witnesses say hundreds clashed with police and burned cars.

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While the G8 guys fret about Global Warming, Cold snap prompts Peru emergency and April freeze hurts Kentucky farmers

Meanwhile the North Koreans are firing missiles and the Lebanese are bombing Palestinians and no one at the G8's complaining. Imagine if Israel was doing that...

Speaking of the G8, this would be a good picture for a caption contest:

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The Anchoress has an excellent discussion over immigration, and another one on Pres.Bush that are must-reads.
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Gerard has the Memo from Israel to Palestine (h/t Larwyn)
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PBS: EXCLUSION AND POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION
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Via Maria, Who is Nicolas Sarkozy? What to expect from France's new president, scion of one of the oldest Jewish families of Salonika, Greece
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In a lighter mode:
Separated at birth?

• Arrogance has to be earned. Tell me what you've done to earn yours - Dr House
• Believe fervently in miracles, so that you too can be plucked from the Sea of Stupidity - Siggy

On the other hand, has anyone seen Hugh Laurie and Siggy in the same place at the same time?

Hitchens on Kurchner

When Hitchens is bad, he's awful, but when he's good, he's really good. And he's really good writing about The French Correction
The principled new foreign minister shows how much France has changed of late (h/t The Anchoress):

The single best symbol of the change in France is the appointment of Bernard Kouchner to the post of foreign minister. Had the Socialist Party won the election, it is highly unlikely that such a distinguished socialist would ever have been allowed through the doors of the Quai d'Orsay. (Yes, comrades, history actually is dialectical and paradoxical.) In the present climate of the United States, a man like Kouchner would be regarded as a neoconservative. He was a prominent figure in the leftist rebellion of 1968, before breaking with some of his earlier illusions and opposing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan—the true and original source of many of our woes in the Islamic world. The group he co-founded—Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières—was a pioneer in the highly necessary proclamation that left politics should always be anti-totalitarian. (His former counterpart, Joschka Fischer of Germany, also took a version of this view before Schröder's smirking Realpolitik became too much, and too popular in Germany, for him to withstand.)

His principles led Kouchner to defend two oppressed Muslim peoples—those of Yugoslavia and Iraqi Kurdistan—who were faced with extermination at the hands of two parties daring to call themselves socialist. The Serbian Socialist Party of Slobodan Milosevic and the Arab Baath Socialist Party of Saddam Hussein are at last receding into history, leaving behind them a legacy of utter stagnation, hysterical aggression, and mass graves. I personally find it satisfying that a French socialist was identified with both these victories. Kouchner was instrumental in altering French policy in Bosnia-Herzegovina and later in filling the position—between 1999 and 2001—of U.N. representative in liberated Kosovo. Prior even to that, he had been extremely active in calling attention to the genocidal policy of Saddam in Kurdistan and in helping to introduce Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the then-president of France, to the exemplary role that she played in opposing it. A few years ago, he wrote the introduction to the French edition of The Black Book of Saddam Hussein, a vitally important volume that educates readers in the pornographic nature of that regime: a nightmare government that is now widely considered by liberals to have been framed up by the Bush administration.

Erik Svane and I discussed Kurchner in last week's podcast. Erik stated,

"The world did really well in getting Sarkozy as President and Kouchner as Foreign Minister."

Speaking of Erik, he's back from Cannes and he's blogging, but not before getting General Leonardo in the right hands.

In a lighter mode,
Here's the picture of Erik again, for all of you who wrote saying you like it,

Compare and contrast:

Sarko: No amnesty, and France will pay immigrants to return home

A friend just IM'd this link from LGF:
France to Pay Immigrants to Return Home

Immigration is one of the key problems of our times. Sarko's under pressure to carry through his campaign promises because of the upcoming legislative elections of June 10 and June 17, so this is one key issue where he has to take immediate action, and he has.

The article reads,

New French President Nicolas Sarkozy made immigration a central issue of his campaign. Now, his new minister for immigration and national identity says its time to start paying immigrants to leave the country.
...
New immigration minister, Brice Hortefeux, confirmed on Wednesday that the government is planning to offer incentives to more immigrants to return home voluntarily. "We must increase this measure to help voluntary return. I am very clearly committed to doing that," Hortefeux said in an interview with RFI radio.

Under the scheme, Paris will provide each family with a nest egg of €6,000 ($8,000) for when they go back to their country of origin. A similar scheme, which was introduced in 2005 and 2006, was taken up by around 3,000 families.
...
The new minister voiced concern that the majority of legal immigration into France was that of existing immigrants bringing in relatives, while only a small proportion were granted visas due to their professional skills.

As I interpret this, it would mean that families who are legallyin France would be given an incentive to return to their countries of origin to be reunited with their families instead of trying to bring more unskilled relatives to France, many of which end on welfare.

Additionally, the article states that plan provides individuals with money, instead of wasting it on foreign aid which so frequently ends in the pockets of corrupt politicians.

This is a creative and interesting solution.

While last year he had suggested that illegal aliens who were long-term residents may be allowed to vote in local elections, Sarko's position was that there would be no amnesty, and his new minister insists,

Hortefeux is also talking tough when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration, insisting that there are no plans for a mass legalization of the estimated 200,000 to 400,000 illegals in France.

They're also considering a new language skills test.

A couple of days ago I was saying

The Republican candidate that manages to do a campaign running against the Bush administration, strong against illegal immigration and strong on winning in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be the winner in all of this. It can be done, and I suggest that the candidate considering this course of action call Sarkozy's campaign manager. He did it.

Francois Fillon's going to be busy in his new job as Prime Minister but maybe he'll take calls in his spare time.

Meanwhile, over at the EU...

More from Erik in Cannes

Erik Svane, No Pasaran blogger and man-about-town in Cannes, and his co-blogger U*2, are following Michael Moore's Sicko at the Festival, so don't miss their posts.

Erik has two books in French that are soon to be translated into English: La Banniere Etalee (sorry about the punctuation marks - they don't show well on my server), and General Leonardo, which you can purchase at the above links.

Erik's publisher, Editions Underbahn, also publishes September 11 Wall Street Sonnets by Eugene Schlanger.

In yesterday's podcast Erik and I discussed Nicolas Sarkozy's new cabinet. (It was approximately 14 minutes into the podcast. We had phone connection problems prior to that). My question was, in appointing socialists like Bernard Kouchner to his cabinet, would Sarko be setting himself up into a situation similar to Chirac's when Jospin was Prime Minister, where Chirac and Jospin spent all their time bickering?
Erik stated that appointing Kouchner as Foreign Minister, is part of Sarkozy's stratey to win the legislative elections. Sarko has to be open in order to win, and is doing a great job. Kouchner's the Socialist Party's most popular member.

Kouchner was not the front-runner because he appeared too pro-American. As Erik puts it,

"The world did really well in getting Sarkozy as President and Kouchner as Foreign Minister."
...
"Bernard Kouchner has been to Biafra, to Bangladesh, to Saddam's Iraq; he wrote the foreword to The Big Black Book of Saddam Hussein, a 600-page opus on Saddam Hussein's crimes."

Doing this podcast was a lot of fun, as Erik was talking from his cell phone en route to downtown Cannes. I could only wish we could have enjoyed the scenery, too.

You can listen to the podcast here.