Paris, Je T'aime

8 minutes long. A-dor-able, as we say in French. (The subtitles are hard to read, but they are JUST readable, if you try.) Part of a larger series of films made about the different arrondissements, or neighborhoods, in Paris. This one is about the 14th, where Chris and Joelle live, and where I lived when I studied here. It's not very long. Worth watching.

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Tracey Ullman as Rachel Maddow, Arianna, Barney Frank and Meagan McCain

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WikiLeaks' Assange: I think Pentagon is behind phony rape charges

Following our earlier coverage on Julian Assange's withdrawn Swedish rape charges, an update. You get this story two ways, depending on where you look. "Straight" coverage, like the Wall Street Journal online, plays it, well, straight (my emphasis throughout):

Swedish Chief Prosecutor Eva Finne will investigate the charges brought against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange this week, she said Monday.

The prosecution authority Friday said Assange was suspected of alleged rape and molestation, but dropped the rape investigations the following day. . . .

The rape charges were dropped Saturday because new information regarding the case became available, Finne told Dow Jones Newswires without providing further details.

She defended the decision Friday to bring forth the initial charge of allegated rape, saying it was taken in accordance with normal legal procedures.

But apparently Assange is accusing the Pentagon of waging info-war against him, something the WSJ doesn't tell you. Yahoo News:

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview published on Sunday that he believes the Pentagon could be behind a rape accusation against him that was later dropped by Swedish prosecutors. . . .

The Aftonbladet newspaper quoted Assange, 39, as saying he did not know who was "hiding behind" the claims, which came amid a stand-off with Washington over the website's publication of secret Afghan war documents.

The UK Daily Mail online, quoting the same interview:

He said he did not know how they had come about, but gave a clear indication of who he thought was behind them, adding: 'We have been warned that the Pentagon plans to use dirty tricks to destroy us. And I have been warned of sex traps.

Within hours of the warrant being issued, chief prosecutor Eva Finne said she was revoking it, and a spokesman yesterday blamed an 'on-call prosecutor' for the decision.

If I'm doing the Rockford Files thing, I start with that "on-call prosecutor" and whoever he/she talked to. (Notice that of the three, only the Daily Mail mentions him/her.)

This one really interests me, so I'm watching how it plays out. It's a classic case of asymmetrical warfare on the anywhere-battlefield, but this time against one of "us" — fair-skinned blond Westerners with political objections — instead of one of "them" (you know, incorrectly-religioned brown people with anti-colonial objections).

The asymmetrical war was bound to come home; this is its first arrival. In that sense, this is a tip-of-the-spear story.

And as usual, it's as much about us (i.e., how we handle the Pentagon dealing with "us" the way it deals with "them") as it is about any of the players. Stay tuned; I sure will.

Our original "stain on the pavement" coverage is here (and h/t mirth for the lead).

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GOP receives bailout from AIG

When you know the other team will go easier on you, handing over $900,000 in campaign contributions is a no-brainer. Why do the Republicans like bailing out corporate scoundrels like AIG? Remember that it was the Bush/Paulson team who initiated the massive corporate welfare scheme that rescued AIG (and Goldman) from financial ruin. Read More......

FDA chief understands the problem

One of the bright areas (for the most part) of the Obama administration has been the FDA. The most recent salmonella outbreak has confirmed what everyone outside of Washington (and the GOP) has known for years. Failure to regulate food safety will always, always, always lead to food safety problems. Somehow the GOP thinks it's fine to let consumers pay the price for self-regulation. Now this is change.

Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg said Monday her agency hasn't had enough authority to help prevent outbreaks like the more than 1,000 cases of salmonella poisoning linked to the eggs from two Iowa farms.

Giving a series of network interviews, Hamburg said the FDA is taking the issue "very, very seriously." At the same time, she said Congress should pass legislation stalled in the Senate that would increase the frequency of inspections and give the agency authority to order a recall. Companies now have to issue such recalls voluntarily.

"We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," Hamburg said.

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Washington Times may close this week

So goes the rumor:

DCRTV hears that the Washington Times is close to closing. A source tells us that Reverend Moon's son, Preston, was prepared to close the Times as recently as last Friday. A press release was reportedly ready for distribution when an apparent last minute and revised offer to buy the paper was submitted, we hear.

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How the summer of 2010 became the GOP's season of bigotry, blatant lies and hate

It's not just New York. Today, the Washington Post takes a look at the opposition to a mosque in Tennessee. The article examines the increased intensity of the bigotry aimed at Muslims across the country. It's really a sad reflection on this country. But, it feels like something we've read about in our history books aimed at people of different religions, races and ethnicities:

"It shouldn't be surprising that there's a negative reaction to this mosque," said Richard Lloyd, a sociology professor at Vanderbilt University. "Because you can connect it to this global media event in New York, it just reinforces this siege mentality local residents have."

Akbar Ahmed, chairman of Islamic studies at American University, said a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of Sept. 11 is emblematic of the country's new mood.

"Something more is happening," Ahmed said. "We are becoming aware that the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims is wider than it was after 9/11, and that's a frightening prospect."

You'd like to think our leaders were trying to tamp down this kind of hatred. But, as we've seen, from Newt to Palin, that's not the case. There are, of course, GOPers more than willing to do their part to stir the pot with lies. It never ends:

Last Friday, a Republican National Committee woman Kim Lehman, responding to an article about the polls in Politico, accused the publication of trying "to protect Obama" by denying his true religious heritage.

"BTW he personally told the muslims that he IS a muslim," wrote the Iowa RNC member. "Read his lips."

Lehman wrote this on twitter. Her exact words were:

@politico you're funny. They must pay you a lot to protect Obama. BTW he personally told the muslims that he IS a muslim. Read his lips.

Sam Stein talked to Lehman and she stands by her accusation -- even if there is nothing to back up her claim. She just lied.

This seems like it's part of a new GOP strategy. Kirsten Powers calls it "The GOP's long, hot racist summer." Unfortunately, there's a market for this message. Read More......

Krugman: 'Our political culture has become ... deeply corrupt'

Despite the headline, this is not about the state of the economy (we know what state that's in). It's about the state of the Krugman.

As you may know, I've been monitoring the state of the Krugman for a while (the most recent sounding is here, but there's a bunch of them). The key question: When does the Professor call out the full dimensions of the storm he says is coming. When does he accurately describe what's flying toward the fan?

He's sneaking up on it. When last we left our Krugman, he'd moved through two important preliminary stages:

Partial call-out: It's gonna be bad, and I just don't understand why conservative economists and ministers don't understand. 'Cause, you know, I've already explained it.

Semi-partial call-out: Hmm. Maybe something else is going on. What could that be?

As of last week, he seemed to be stuck at the end-with-a-question phase, Semi-partial call-out.

With that in mind, here's new Krugman, talking about the push by "Republicans and conservative Democrats" to extend tax cuts on the "richest 120,000 people in the country" (my emphasis):

So, for example, we’re told that [extending tax cuts for the very rich is] all about helping small business . . . [o]r we’re told that it’s about helping the economy recover. But it’s hard to think of a less cost-effective way to help the economy than giving money to people who already have plenty, and aren’t likely to spend a windfall.

No, this has nothing to do with sound economic policy. Instead, as I said, it’s about a dysfunctional and corrupt political culture, in which Congress won’t take action to revive the economy, pleads poverty when it comes to protecting the jobs of schoolteachers and firefighters, but declares cost no object when it comes to sparing the already wealthy even the slightest financial inconvenience.

So far, the Obama administration is standing firm against this outrage. Let’s hope that it prevails in its fight. Otherwise, it will be hard not to lose all faith in America’s future.

Not bad. Hemi-demi-semi-partial call-out: "The political culture is corrupt" (which it is).

Now if only he would move to Full Call-Out, like that guy, um, Paul Krugman, in his 2003 book, and talk about Movement Conservatives as a "revolutionary force" who are taking us over the way the mafia takes over a manufacturing business and strips it clean.

Or to be more pointed — Yes, the political culture is deeply corrupt. But that's almost passive voice. Talk about the politicians, the actual doers, what they are doing, and why. It's already in your book.

These are radical revolutionaries with radical plans; the Movement is big, organized and very well funded; and we're already in the 3rd quarter of a game that's not going well. Professor, please say so.

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The nighttime picnic in Paris

In summertime, especially August, Parisians love their picnics (called pique-niques [peek-neek)). Often we'll have them along the Seine river, cutting through the center of Paris. But you could also picnic at any city park (they're everywhere), or along the Canal St. Martin is also a popular spot. (Interestingly, a reader notes that "picnic" first appeared in the French, according to Wikipedia.)

In Paris, picnics are generally evening affairs. A French friend expressed shock when I made the common American mistake of saying that last Friday's picnic was at "17 heures" (I meant 7pm) instead of "19 heures." No one picnics at 5pm, he told me in disgust. And of course he was right. No respectable Parisian would ever picnic before 7pm, the traditional time at least for my Paris-dwelling friends.

Our usual haunt, near the end of Paris Plage by the Pont Marie, was a bust when we were summarily kicked out by the cops at 730pm. It seems that we picked the last day of Paris Plage (where they turn a mile of street along the Seine into one big public beach, sand and all, for a month) to do our picnic, and the city was closing the event abruptly at 730 (because it would be silly to close the event at the end of evening, or worse, at the close of the weekend).



Above would have been our view had the cops not kicked us out. Fortunately, Marcus and company came up with a much better plan. We'd go over to the Ile St. Louis and picnic at what has always been one of my favorite spots in Paris, since I lived here when I was 19. The spot is right here at a bend in the island and the river. Viewed from the other side, this is where we picnicked on Friday, just around the bend to the left, where you can't see any longer.



French picnics are a big communal smorgasbord of a mess. Usually advertised and organized on Facebook (or Fess-book, as they say in French (which is a pun, since "fesses" in French means "butt")), you never really know how many Friends will make it, but normally we get a good 15 to 20. The French like their food cocktail-y. So there's always some kind of salted nuts and cherry tomatoes, pâté and prosciutto, and of course a few perfectly crisp baguettes. The main course is usually chicken and maybe Chinese (that's my usual fallback), and dessert might be some kind of cake or tarte. Oh, and there's always lots of wine, and even sometimes some champagne (this time someone, God bless him, brought a bottle of Veuve).

Another interesting thing: Some guys working for the city came by and left us a big green plastic garbage bag. They go by all the picnic spots and leave people bags so they can clean up afterwards. Yes, there are garbage cans already there, as you can see in the picture below, but the bags usually already have garbage in them, and couldn't take all that we had to throw away (and all of the other picnics taking place just a few yards away). Brilliant move by the city - a very cool small-town move.



This late in the summer, the sun tends to set by 8:40 - mid-summer in Paris, in late June, it sets at 10pm (and twilight lasts until a good 1030) - I remember working here for a summer when I was 23, and going to bed before 10ish, and it was bright as daylight outside. Sunset, and the streetlight-accented darkness after, are the best part of picnicking, especially along the river.



The picnic ended around 11 or 1130pm, just in time for us to hit a few bars and then go dancing until 3am (something I hadn't done in possibly 15 years.) It was fun, and exhausting. Below is the view as we left the picnic, heading over to Marcus' favorite bar, Les Souffleurs. I'll save the video from the Souffleurs for another day.



You'll see our picnic spot, very small in the left hand side of the photo, along the bank, just below Notre Dame in the picture. This is the actual view on the way to the bar. My view in DC on the way to the bar takes me past lots of chicken bones, broken glass, and a few scary housing complexes where people get shot every few months. And people ask why I come to Paris every August. Read More......

Is 2010, 1994? (Election-wise, that is)

From Cillizza at the Post:

Although few savvy Democratic strategists debate the difficulty of the national political environment, they do note that there are two important differences between the 1994 election and this one.

The first is the relative weakness of the Republican brand. In 1994, Republicans had been out of power in the House for four decades, and most voters had a limited sense of what a GOP House would be like. In 2010, the American public has fired Republicans -- in the House, Senate and White House -- twice in the past four years. And, in a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, the GOP had its lowest favorability ratings ever. (We repeat: ever.)

Second, Democrats understand the building frustration and desire for change in a way that the party simply didn't get 16 years ago. "The one advantage Democrats have is early-warning radar that we are facing a tough environment, and many of our incumbents have geared up their campaigns much earlier than in 1994," said Fred Yang, a leading Democratic pollster. "The possible wave may be too big for any campaign, but we're going to be ready this time and run harder and more aggressive campaigns."

Yang's last point is the central question on which the comparison between 1994 and 2010 rests: Can well-run and well-funded campaigns by Democratic incumbents save them from being dragged out to sea politically? Democrats think so, Republicans hope not.

Charlie Cook, a political handicapper and editor of the Cook Political Report, acknowledged that every election has "its own set of unique characteristics and dynamics" but added that Democrats shouldn't take too much comfort in that. "Is 2010 the same as 1994? No, it isn't," he said. "But that doesn't mean that the outcome can't be roughly comparable."

Cook also noted that the state of the economy, which may have mitigated Democratic losses in 1994 with an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent, almost certainly will exacerbate them this year, as unemployment now stands at 9.5 percent.

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Sen. Franken: Our media system is at risk everywhere

Huffington Post (h/t hector in the comments):

Sen. Al Franken (D.-Minn.) warned a packed house Thursday night in Minneapolis that the corporate takeover of our media, and the government's failure to stop it, is one of the most important issues of our time.

Franken said our media system is at risk everywhere we turn -- from our free speech online to the growing power of companies who own a massive number of media outlets. . . .

He spoke about recent efforts by Verizon and Google to push a "policy framework" on Washington that transfers control over Internet content from the people who go online into the hands of a few powerful corporations. . . .

He also warned of the looming merger between cable giant Comcast and NBC-Universal, urging Copps and Clyburn to oppose the merger and enforce Net Neutrality rules that would protect free speech online.

Click the link to watch the whole speech. It's a nice one.

(By the way, if this were a novel, that shot through the window of his condo was fired from corporate headquarters.)

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Armey to GOPers: Support teabagger legislation or you'll lose

Apparently, Michael Steele, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are not the leaders of the GOP. Dick Armey is.

Yesterday, on Meet the Press, Armey, who started FreedomWorks and is an instigator of the teabaggers, issued a warning to House and Senate GOPers: Get on board with the teabagger's agenda, which is enshrined in legislation sponsored by Rep. Paul "Flim-Flam man" Ryan.

Armey talks like he's got the power to defeat Republicans who don't get on board:

"The fact that he has only 13 cosponsors is a big reason why our folks are agitated against the Republicans as well as the Democrats," said Armey, who called Ryan "probably the most creative-thinking and most courageaous guy in Washington."

"The difference between being a cosponsor of Ryan and not is a thing called courage," Armey said. "And we have watched American public policy dominated by Democrats that don't care and Republicans that don't dare for a long time."

That, Armey said, could result in significant losses for Republicans as well as Democrats during the midterm elections.

"We're saying to the Republican Party, get some courage to stand up for the things that are right for this country. Don't stand there and hide from the issue because you're afraid of the politics," Armey said. "The issue of public policy that governs the future of my children is more important than your politics, and if you can't see that we'll replace you."

I love a good intra-GOP battle.

Ryan's legislation is extreme. On August 5th, Krugman deconstructed it noting, "The Ryan plan is a fraud that makes no useful contribution to the debate over America’s fiscal future." But, when the teabaggers say "jump," most Republicans will say "How high?" Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President will be vacationing in Martha's Vineyard all week. Absent a crisis, we won't be hearing much from him. The Vice President is covering a lot of territory this week. This morning, he's speaking at Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Indianapolis. Then, he's heading to Toledo to talk about the work the administration has done to strengthen (and save) the U.S. auto industry.

Over the weekend, the Pentagon sent out its latest survey about the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. This one went to "military spouses." Servicemembers United blasted this survey as "insulting and derogatory." SU's statement and the full survey are posted here. We expect to hear more from SU on this issue today. SLDN is sending letters to the Pentagon Working Group from spouses and families that have been impacted by DADT. The first letter, from Lynne Kennedy, the partner of Capt. Joan Darrah, U.S. Navy (Ret.), is posted here.

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California apologizes for WWII 'enemy alien' declaration against Italian residents

Everyone knows about how poorly the Japanese in the US were treated but not nearly as many people knew about this. The California state senator who proposed this legislation has made a good point about applying the lesson to today. LA Times:

Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) sponsored a bill based on Campanella's idea.

"I was wholly unaware of the circumstances he described," Simitian said. "Somehow this story had passed me by."

Simitian, an attorney and former Palo Alto mayor, said he saw "contemporary importance" in the effort: "We're at war on the other side of the world, and I think it's important to remember that there are millions of Americans who are ethnic Arabs or Muslim by faith, and that they're good Americans."

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UN exonerates Shell for oil pollution in Nigeria

It's easy to see why the UN is not trusted when they come to such conclusions. Did they review the region on Shell courtesy flights and hotels? Crime is certainly an issue in the area but the numbers sound suspicious. The Guardian:

A three-year investigation by the United Nations will almost entirely exonerate Royal Dutch Shell for 40 years of oil pollution in the Niger delta, causing outrage among communities who have long campaigned to force the multinational to clean up its spills and pay compensation.

The $10m (£6.5m) investigation by the UN environment programme (UNEP), paid for by Shell, will say that only 10% of oil pollution in Ogoniland has been caused by equipment failures and company negligence, and concludes that the rest has come from local people illegally stealing oil and sabotaging company pipelines.

The shock disclosure was made by Mike Cowing, the head of a UN team of 100 people who have been studying environmental damage in the region.

Cowing said that the 300 known oil spills in the Ogoniland region of the delta caused massive damage, but added that 90% of the spills had been caused by "bunkering" gangs trying to steal oil.

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Sweet Home Chicago

Consider this a love song. Sweet Home Chicago. (That's Jim Belushi: "I see my brother Jake comin' through that door.")



And the writer's version, the incomparable Robert Johnson. Great 30s street scenes.



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