THIS WEEK'S MINIPOSTS
The PRESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE IN FRANCE is likely to change. This Sunday morning I woke up on the incredible news that the head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Khan was arrested for alleged sexual assault (NYTimes) - which by now I'm sure everyone has read:
The reason this is so huge of course is that DSK (as he is called in France) has been expected to seek the Socialist nomination for the presidential elections in France in 2012 and he was a favorite in the polls.
It is hard to imagine that he would be so stupid in his situation but then again, who would have thought Clinton would be so stupid too. Besides, this is not the first time DSK is involved in a sex scandal. So is this a cabal?
Impossible to tell but as Arthur Goldhammer puts it, "it is difficult to believe that the police would have arrested such an important figure without probable cause, and the uncertainty, not to mention the seriousness of the charge, will surely be enough to preclude a presidential run".
BIN LADEN AND TORTURE - even though John McCain has been a flip-flop on so many issues, including torture apparently, I must say that his Op-Ed against torture in the Washington Post this week was a welcoming relief in the face of vindication of torture by the GOP.
I know from personal experience that the abuse of prisoners sometimes produces good intelligence but often produces bad intelligence because under torture a person will say anything he thinks his captors want to hear -- true or false -- if he believes it will relieve his suffering. Often, information provided to stop the torture is deliberately misleading.
And yes, I agree with McCain, the "very idea of America' is at stake. That torture should even be so openly discussed in America today baffles me. By doing this, the Republicans undermine American values and show the world how weak Americans can be. They make bin Laden alive again. What a shame!
MITTERRAND came to power 30 years ago and it was commemoration time in France, and an opportunity to try to understand this complex but fascinating character. The day he was elected was cheerful and even as young boy, I remember the excitement. His greatest accomplishment in my view is the abolition of the death penalty and the expansion of cultural and social freedoms. On the other hand, his economic policy was a disaster (especially the costly nationalizations) which is why he had to turn a 180° and go for "changement" only 2 years after being elected. That being said, he was a remarkably shrewd politician and definitely the smartest president this country has ever had, and his cynicism matched his Machiavellian intelligence, which I can't help admiring. (Cultural perspective on Mitterrand's era in the New Yorker)
THE CONQUEST - Talking about fascinating stories, I'm looking forward to this new movie drama called La Conquête on how Nicolas Sarkozy came to power. No matter how good or bad the movie may be, this is great news - the first French film ever made about a sitting president. Hopefully, it will be distributed in the US as well (See NYTimes article and the French trailer here)
BIN LADEN AND PORN :by the way, did bin Laden really have secret porn stash?
POLITICAL STING OPERATION - I am reading this fascinating book on American presidential speech-writers called "WHITE HOUSE GHOSTS" by Robert Schlesinger and came across this fascinating yet unkown story :
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arranged a drug buy with a dealer four or five blocks from the White House. But they were asked to move it down closer to the White House and so they lured the drug dealer into Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue so that four days later, president G. H Bush could sell his war on drugs better and say/
"This is crack cocaine seized a few days ago by Drug Enforcement agents in a a park just across the street from the White House."
The result was a successful the if-you-can-buy-crack-across-the-street-from-the-White-House-then-you-can-buy-it-anywhere refrain.
For details read the book (p.372-3) or read this. (This story was actually revealed two weeks later by the Washington Post's Michael Isikoff)
The scariest story this week in my opinion is the FLOODS in the US and the DROUGHT in Europe. The most serious consequences should be expected.In France this is the driest spell in 50 years (Bloomberg) and the European Union wheat harvest, which accounts for a fifth of world production, will fall this year as drought cuts yields in France and Poland, (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, "the historic flooding in the South is poised to wreak havoc on the economy at multiple levels, likely putting local farmhands out of work while contributing to the nationwide rise in food prices." (Foxnews)It is hard to imagine this is not somewhat related to climate change. (here or here), and the idea that what has been set in motion cannot be reversed is really scary, I think.
But no one seems to really care and would rather talk about the Cannes Festival.
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