This is a quote from Bernard Kouchner, the french foreign minister. Finally, a politician says, plainly, what we’ve seen and known all along. Human life, at least some of it, is to be sacrificed for money and economic relations between two political powers. Here it’s France and China. Sadly, this is only one example.

Here’s a link to the Associated Press story :

Kouchner Backtracks on Olympics Boycott

Why people put any faith in political leaders solving our problems is beyond me. How many people can be sacrificed, murdered, tortured, imprisoned, because politicians have their bank accounts as priority number one?

What’s really shocking to us here is that Bernard Kouchner founded the Doctor’s Without Borders organization. How could a man with his passion for humanity sink so low? Shame on you, Bernard. Another example of power corrupting.

As long as we have leaders like this guiding nations there will never be freedom or peace for all. Politicians like Bernard Kouchner help keep people, like those in Tibet, at the mercy of political powers like China.

And in the ‘tell us something we didn’t already know’ department, we found this tidbit, again from AP, on 23 January. Here are some quotes.

“The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”

and…” Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq’s links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell’s 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.”

Here’s a link to the full story.

Study: False Statements Preceded War

George, shame, shame, shame.

Here’s an AP article that might be of some interest.

Waterboarding : a new American sport

I do find it amazing that politics and justice in America have sunk to this low level under the weight of GWB and his cohorts the last eight years. It’s a strange America. It’s an America I never thought I’d see. One can only hope things change for the better once Bush has left office.

Michael Mukasey, shame, shame, shame.

Thankfully, this will be the last year ‘we’ have to suffer George W. Bush. One can only hope that the Modern American Dark Age is coming to a close.

Politicians like Nick Sarkozy talk peace but you look and see them selling war. This happened a short time ago. The french government signed a deal to sell arms to Libya. I guess the french government likes profit more than they do saving lives or keeping peace.

“We are going to buy rocket-propelled grenades of the Milan type worth around 100 million euros in France,” Gadhafi’s son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was quoted as saying in an interview published in Thursday’s French daily Le Monde. “There’s also a project for a weapons factory.”

France isn’t alone in selling weapons and arms manufacturing capability to known terrorist regimes. China sells arms, so does the USA. Lots of countries sell arms for fun and profit. I guess it just rubs the wrong way when the political leaders are always talking peace and democracy and how they value human life compared to ‘other’ countries with their ‘prehistoric’ religious beliefs but sell arms they know will be used one day to kill people.

“The deal is part of a defense memorandum of understanding for a nuclear energy agreed to by Sarkozy when he visited Tripoli last week, after helping to free foreign medics imprisoned in Libya.

The French government has denied a direct link between the two countries’ military cooperation and the release of the Bulgarian medics. When asked what France offered in exchange for the six medics’ release Sarkozy answered, “Nothing.”

You can read the whole article here.

So, in time, when Libya starts killing people with french made weapons or with weapons made with french based technology we can point to this transaction and ask why. We’ll wonder how it happened. Fingers will be pointed. The right will blame the left. The left will accuse the right. Humans will say it shouldn’t have happened. The roller coaster of human behavior and human contradiction keeps rolling along. Hmmm, I wonder how much France made on this deal. I wonder how much individual politicians made on this deal.

Life goes on. Pass the croissants.

Here are a few images of the front of a school, a place one goes to vote in France, and the posters up at each voting station.

22 April 2007 was a frenetic day here in France. People went out and voted in mass to narrow down the field to two candidates. Segolene Royal vs. Nicholas Sarkozy. The Beauty and the Beast.

I’ll admit it right here. I hope Sarkozy goes down and goes down hard. Not likely, but I’ve got all my fingers crossed. Lots of people will suffer at his hand if he’s elected. All he’s interested in is power and money. Get rich. Make the rich richer. Screw the rest. All his attempts to sweet talk the middle and lower classes, please, I’m hoping for the french it’s falling on deaf ears.
Now I’m not saying things will be rosy with Segolene at the helm. I just think and feel the spectrum that makes up France, rich to poor, will have a better chance. I think the things which make France special will have a better chance of surviving a bit longer. I’m thinking mostly of the health and social services. France has a great health care system. It puts a great amount of stress on France’s budget but they support it. I think it’ll take a big hit if Sarkozy is elected.

The rift between those considered to be ‘french’ and those not will also widen. Sarkozy has come close to the vitriol of the extreme right party here in France, Le Pen’s FN (Front National). He says he wants an immigration minister. He says talking about it shouldn’t mean he’s a racist. He’s really walked a thin line and done so with grace. Sarkozy is a man to be feared. HIs raw use of language in 2005 helped spark the riots by referring to youth in the troubled areas as ’scum’.

Royal is an unknown. I think she’s gonna be learning on the job. There’s nothing wrong with that. Her discourse is more compassionate than Sarkozy’s. She’s a politician that is pushing for and doing ‘transparency’ in her acts. That’s pretty unusual. I applaud the sentiment. I am skeptical of all politicians. But she doesn’t talk down to people. She doesn’t make you feel like if you aren’t with us you’re against us. I think she wants to be the equivalent of the french mommy. I like that. Read the rest of this entry »

Two major differences between the vote in America and France. 1.) In France you vote on Sunday. That’s right. You can vote on the weekend. 2.) You vote twice. The first vote is on 22 April. That vote will eliminate all but two candidates. Two weeks later there is another vote that settles it all.

Well, actually there’s a third major difference as well. No religion mentioned in the campaign. It isn’t an issue. How refreshing. How mature. America would do well to look and listen. America looks more like the countries bogged down by Islamic fundamentalists and their religious shackles like Iran than not. Since King George and his claim to have Jesus as a mentor America has taken a major nose dive. Catholic fundamentalists have singlehandedly erased whatever was left of democracy. Welcome to the American oligarchy.

One aspect of the vote in France that you’ll never see in America? Communists! Oooooooh! Bunch of frady cat ‘ricans. This year there are 12 candidates for the first round of voting. A few communists. There’s the green party, several left parties, the socialist party, the UDF and the UMP, and a few more ultra right wing racist bastards like Le Pen.

It’s complicated. I won’t get into the details. Like most of this crap there’s lots to be desired. Politicians don’t have a very realistic view of the world. Well, viewing the world from their narrow take on life cuts out tons of people. The party system doesn’t work.

Anyway. The racist, super nationalist Le Pen is running again. Man, he’s 78 years old. What an old racist fart. Royal from the socialist party and Sarkozy from the right (i think this could be compared to the republican party in america) seem to be the two front runners from the two major parties. Neither seems a good choice right now. Sarkozy seems like a little nazi. He won’t do France any good. Already, the few things he’s tried to do to curb crime have been a disaster. He started the riots in 2005. He’s not very good with words and finesse. He’s just a brute. Royal, I don’t know. She just doesn’t seem to have a handle on it all. Maybe she’ll learn on the job. I’d rather see her elected than Sarkozy that’s for sure. Read the rest of this entry »