France Archives

Sicko Indeed! You Just Can't Trust the New YorkTimes

Filed under: France

The New York Times becomes more disturbingly unhinged with every passing day. You would think that the recent change of power in the U.S. Congress, a wet dream for the Times for ages now, would at least help them pause and take a breath, but no such luck.

Take, for instance, A. O. Scott's recent review of Michael Moore's latest opus documentary, Sicko. The review begins like this:

It has become a journalistic cliche and therefore an inevitable part of the prerelease discussion of "Sicko" to refer to Michael Moore as a controversial, polarizing figure. While that description is not necessarily wrong, it strikes me as self-fulfilling (since the controversy usually originates in media reports on how controversial Mr. Moore is) and trivial. Any filmmaker, politically outspoken or not, whose work is worth discussing will be argued about. But in Mr. Moore's case the arguments are more often about him than about the subjects of his movies.

It appears not to have occurred to the moonbats at the Times that exactly this same thing could be said about U.S. President George Bush -- but the Times never says it.

The review then goes on to discuss the charming qualities of Moore's "valentine" to the nation of France "where the government will send someone to a new mother's house to do laundry and make carrot soup." Both the Times and Moore are enamoured of the French socialist healthcare system, but neither one of them cares to notice the country's recent presidential elections, well documented here on this blog. In those elections, the landslide winner prevailed by recognizing that French socialism was ruining the country, and that the French needed to modify it in the American direction.

Can you imagine what the Times would have said about a film called "Sicko" directed by Rush Limbaugh and saying about the French what Moore says about America? Apparently, the dichotomy is to be explained by the fact that, in the Times view, it is OK to tell ridiciulous lies (Scott -- what kind of person chooses to refer to himself as "A.O."? -- prefers the phrase "may be overstated") as long as you are doing it for the right reason, but a moral outrage to do it for the wrong reason. And they wonder why their revenues are down!

Meanwhile, it seems, the Times would like to redefine the term "democracy." As the Times would have it, the term will no longer mean giving the people what they want, but rather giving them what wise folks like the Times and Mr. Moore know they need. You know, the way Napoleon did for France.

It's quite true, of course, that if such loathesome drivel as the New York Times constitutes the nation's "paper of record," then we are indeed a "sick" society. And perhaps the solution for us does lie in copying France -- in that country, the New York Times does not exist and, come to think of it, Michael Moore isn't French either, now is he?

UPDATE: Back on May 21st, Publius Pundit reported on the upsurge in torture tactics by the crazed dictatorship in Iran, with numerous photos. Today, the Times finally ran the story with the same photograph, on page one of its website, as if they were telling the world a breaking story. Better late then never, we guess. So much for the "paper of record."It's easy to find examples like this, in every aspect of the Times' "coverage." For instance, on June 24th the Times ran a travel piece on Bali and mentioned its famous restaurant Naughty Nuri's without saying a word about its chief claim to fame, a special Martini that is well-documented in the blogosphere. Instead, the Times hyped a microbrew. It's almost as if the Times is willing the blogosphere out of existence. Its so-called guide to the Russia blogosphere is utterly pathetic, listing only one Russia blog, and it's been a dead link for many months now. The blog's live link hasn't been posted to for more than six months.

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Kim Zigfeld · June 23, 2007 9:00 AM · Comments (11) · TrackBacks (0)

Bien Joue! Formidable! Newly Elected Sarkozy Blasts Russia!

Filed under: France ~ Russia

Interviewed recently in the National Interest, French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy delivered a withering blast at Russia, clearly indicating there is a strong new anti-Russian axis forming between Germany and France, both decked out with great new leadership on the Russian question. He also referred to America's friendship with Europe as the "cornerstone" of world security. So much for the notion that Sarkozy is not a new kind of leader for France. Vive Sarkozy! Vive La France!

Here are the key extracts:

The National Interest: You have often mentioned your attachment to human rights. However, it might be said that good diplomats do not follow those dictums.

NS: I think this is unconstructive criticism. The friendship between Europe and the United States is a cornerstone of world stability, period. It is deep, sincere and unshakeable. But friendship means being with your friends when they need you and also being able to tell them the truth when they are wrong. Friendship means respect, understanding and affection . . . but not submission. Friendship is only real when it is honest and independent. I want an independent France and an independent Europe, and I call for our American friends to let us be free; free to be their friends.

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Kim Zigfeld · May 8, 2007 11:26 AM · Comments (10) · TrackBacks (0)

Big Victory For Sarkozy In France!

Filed under: France

Rightwing Nicolas Sarkozy, is sailing toward a landslide presidential victory in France. The polls have closed in Paris and foreign exit polls signal that Sarko is taking a 10 point margin of victory over his socialist opponent, Segolene Royal. It's the first victory of a genuine rightwinger in memory. Oh Sarko has roots in the nationalistic command-economy style of the Gaullists, but France has never seen anyone with such radical views about national identity, competitiveness, law and order, and a sustainable economy as Sarkozy. His victory represents a real move toward change.

Not only that, he believes in democratic revolution! Look! From his victory speech, we can see it for ourselves:

Tolerance and tyranny

I want to issue a call to everyone in the world who believes in the values of tolerance, freedom, democracy, humanism, to all those who are persecuted by tyranny, by dictatorships. I want to tell all of the children throughout the world, all of the ill-treated women throughout the world - I want to tell them that it will be France's pride and its duty to be at their side.

France will be at the side of the Libyan nurses [Bulgarian nurses imprisoned in Libya], imprisoned for eight years. France will not abandon Ingrid Betancourt [held by Farc rebels in Colombia]. France will not abandon the women condemned to wear the burqa. France will not abandon the women who do not have freedom. France will be on the side of the oppressed of the world. This is France's message, it is France's identity, it is France's history.

I want to blow kisses at him, especially because he blasts the filthy FARC.

Whodathunk?

After all, isn't France the country that four years ago was branded 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' for its opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq? Wasn't France solidly socialist to the bone? Weren't there a lot of analyses out saying that the French abhorred change, couldn't lift itself from its cafes, hated globalization and definitely didn't want a wild man like Sarkozy as president out wrecking the country? It's just amazing how mistaken so many observers were. There's a whole different country out there that none of them, neither enemy nor familiar, really seemed to know.

There's no doubt Sarko wants change. But he wants it for different reasons than leftists often do. Leftists want to create a New Man. Sarko wants to save France so that it can be France, not turn it into another cookie-cutter Berkeley or Ann Arbor, as has been happening. Sarko's a flag-waver. He's extremely passionate and energetic, and he will make a difference. His proposed economic programs to keep France powerful and competitive, will do just that, as French voters read it, because that's a big issue that resonated.

Sarko's victory is fascinating because even though he is rightwing and Sego is leftwing, that's not as important as the fact that he ran as the revolutionary, while Sego ran as the conservator. In Latin America, the dynamic might have been the other way around with the rightwinger being the conservator and the leftwinger seeking revolution.

But not so France, which has been socialist for decades, at least since the end of World War II. The election of a flaming rightwinger who doesn't even apologize for being 'a man of the right' is rather dramatic news that will knock the left's complacency about its special role in bringing revolutionary change off its axis. In fact, they were the Marie-Antoinettes without even realizing it.

Not only has France been socialist, it has been stagnant. That it's true is one thing, but that's less important than whether the French believed this. They did. The French are not clueless. They saw unchecked crime, unassimilated immigration, unjobbed youth and the unlovely social results of it all as a problem in itself and decided to fix it instead of crawl under a rock and pretend things would be ok. So, Sarko won.

How do I know this? Well, Sarko kept getting explosive pops in the polls in the last days of the election, and for signficant reasons related to this.

1. The first blow was when French thugs rioted in Gare Du Nord station and said they were smashing shop windows and burning tires because they didn't like Sarkozy (and didn't like paying subway fares either). Like Evo Morales of Bolivia, these thugs hoped to intimidate French voters into voting for someone else by promising violence. Sarko blasted them, said he'd come get them good if he were president. When he was criticized for his tough stance, he refused to back down and won a huge and definitive lead in the polls.

2. Sarko made a dazzling speech at a final campaign rally in France last Sunday, blaming the spirit of 1968 for France's current malaise. In other words he told the French 'Hippies Stink.' His words resonated with the French who must have sensed something gone off the rails over the yeras. Also his words were intriguingly intellectual because he seemed to want to trace the root cause of France's problems straight to its origins. He cited a bunch of philosphers, too, only in France can a politician get away with that, but it impressed the hell out of me. In that speech, Sarko articulated the unspoken thoughts of millions of Frenchmen who'd been smothered with a culture of political correctness for decades and who were told they were racists if they thought anything differently. Net result, another boost for Sarko in the polls.

3. The debate on May 2, really clinched it. Sarko calmly laid out his economic and political plans while his opponent, Segolene Royal, flew off the handle and postured and puffed about starving babies, trying to get an emotional vote. Sarko quietly told her to calm down and act presidential, showing that wonderful Gallic value for logic and sang-froid, one of those reasons the rest of us just love the French. Sarko's lead extended.

4. Finally, there was the Bin Laden Effect. Banlieue thugs (who are neither Muslim nor Islamofascist nor leftist, just pure thugs who deal drugs and act like South Central Los Angeles lowlife) vowed to riot and burn cars if Frnech voters dared elect Sarkozy. It was an echo of Osama Bin Laden's threat to destroy U.S. Red States if their voters dared vote for Bush. In both cases, it backfired. The more they showed their faces, the more French voters wanted the firm hand of Sarko to make things right.

Now, it looks like his lead is approaching ten points above that of Segolene.

What does this say? It says the French want revolution again - against thugs, against political correctness and against stagnant social policy. They want the Louie the Sixteenths out again. Upstart Sarko is a little short guy like Napoleon and vows to restore order. He's so French.

Vive La France!

Nidra Poller at Pajamas Mediais liveblogging from Paris and has fantastic coverage of what's going on over there - she tells us what she's seeing, the things she smells in the streets, the weird stickers on walls, the illegal posters, the stuff she hears on the radio - cripes, you feel you are there. Her work is a must-read here.

Pajamas Media also has a wonderful straight roundup that's easy to scroll through and read here.

Fausta at Fausta's Blog has some awesome minute-by-minute coverage of all the happenings, and lots of video clips, it's a must-see here.

Daniel at Venezuela News & Views, who is French, has a kickass bunch of posts and a longer analysis of what's going on and why it matters, I really liked it, just click and scroll here.

Political Scientist Matthew Shugart at Fruits and Votes has some observations about distorted media coverage and explains how a government forms in France, with some dates to watch for. He cheers for Sego. Read it here.

Jim at GatewayPundit's got a hilarious photo-filled roundup, naturally, with a strong focus on the babe component, as you might imagine. See it here!

Meanwhile, the FuckFrance site (sorry about the name!) has all the racaille car-burning updates, as you might imagine, here.

Watch the elections results, live, come in Department by Department (that's like counties for us) in this terrific AFP map here. Looks like the departments around Alsace, Languedoc, Corsica, Tahiti, French Guiana, and Normandy are going Sarko. The Caribbean departments, the Rhone river valley, Gascony and Brittany seem to be more solidly Sego.

Bloomberg reports Sarko is victorious and Sego has conceded defeat in a new update.

Yahoo! France says the score is Sarkozy 53.3%, Segolene 46.7% thus far, not sure if it is the final one.

BBC has a video of Sarko's victory speech and written excerpts to the side, here.

The Sarko babes celebrate in the streets - unfortunately, I can't hotlink them on this Le Figaro gallerie, so click here.

Bush has congratulated Sarko, and Sarko has extended his friendship to the U.S. - His first message? Global Warming, he tells us to get on with it. Ralf. I guess that's what we can expect. I hope it wasn't all he had to say to us. Item here.

Buy French champagne! French winemakers, from the already-competitive powerhouse provinces of Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy, were bigtime supporters of Sarko and his freemarket message. No doubt they are celebrating themselves. Buy French wine!

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A.M. Mora y Leon · May 6, 2007 2:46 PM · Comments (38) · TrackBacks (0)