Sasha the puppy discovers Joe Sudbay's foot

Joe and his boyfriend Carlos had me over for dinner tonight with Sasha, my new puppy. Unlike Chez Aravosis, Sasha was given free reign of the Sudbay manor. She happily explored the entire house and then played for a good while with Joe's Cocker Spaniel Petey. Petey was quite understanding, considering how rough a pup can be. The quick video below is of Sasha and Petey playing (or, more aptly, Sasha kicking a bit of Cocker butt).



During dinner, Sasha, like all puppies, decided that a nap was in order, and promptly plopped herself down at Joe's feet, using his sneaker as a pillow (that's the first photo in this post).

Sasha has, admittedly, been giving me a bit of a nervous breakdown with her separation anxiety. It's strong - leading her to freak out if I put her in her crate and leave. Doesn't matter how small the crate is, she ends up having an "accident," and then howls for the hours she's in it. It's just awful. I'm now trying to get her used to not always being around me by putting her in the guest bathroom, with the crate open, and her favorite dog bed (and lots of puppy pads). This way she can be away from me, but still comfortable. That seemed to work for this afternoon, which was the first thing to work in a week. There's something quite distressing about a puppy screaming. I can only imagine that this is what parents' go through (seriously).

In a happier moment, Sasha discovered "reflections" the other day. I knew something was up when she suddenly hunched down and started barking at the oven. My sister's dog has a thing for door frames and fireplaces, so I feared that the oven was going to be Sasha's white whale. I quickly realized that she was in fact barking at my reflection in the glass on the front of the oven. It was quite adorable, so I did a quick video.



And here is Sasha sleeping, finally.



Okay, I just had to add one more. Just left the room for a minute, was looking for my slippers, couldn't find them, so I came back to my computer, and what did I find:

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Poor countries accusing rich countries of cutting aid if they don't accept climate goals

And? As long as the rich countries are complying, there's no reason why they shouldn't use their influence to push the others as well. On other issues (oil, whales, etc) I don't hear the same level of griping when the poor countries go along with issues in exchange for more aid or financial incentives. Japan, for example, doesn't get away with killing whales because rich nations help provide votes. The rich countries definitely need to provide serious assistance for addressing the issue besides normal aid but carrots and sticks are how it works.

Rich countries have threatened to cut vital aid to the developing nations if they do not back the deal agreed at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, it has emerged.

The pressure on poor countries to support the US, EU and UK-brokered Copenhagen accord came as 190 countries resumed UN climate talks in Bonn in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion.

"The pressure to back the west has been intense," said a senior African diplomat. "It was done at a very high level and nothing was written down. It was made very clear by the EU, UK, France and the US that if they did not back them then they would suffer."

According to other African climate diplomats, threats to cut aid were accompanied by promises of financial support for countries that complied.

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Malcom McClaren may have died from asbestos exposure

What a tough way to go and a reminder of how bad that stuff can be. My father died from lung problems that were triggered by chemotherapy, so I know how rough lung sickness can be. Here in Paris, there's still a lot of it around in buildings from almost everything built in the 1970s including the Montparnasse Tower.

The former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren may have been exposed to the asbestos which killed him while smashing up Sex, his infamous King's Road punk design shop, his partner, Young Kim, has told The Independent on Sunday.

McLaren, who died last week, aged 64, of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, is believed to have been exposed to the deadly material when he shattered the ceiling of Sex, the shop he shared with his then partner, designer Vivienne Westwood.

"When Malcolm created Sex he broke open the ceiling to make it look like a bomb had hit it", said Kim. "I always suspected that shop because it was the only place Malcolm ever really spent any serious length of time in, and there was a lot of construction and changing things. Then Ben Westwood said his mother had mentioned that she'd seen asbestos there. It was board asbestos and it was in the early Seventies so there was a lot of it left, and I don't think anyone really did anything about it."

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Pope billboards in Malta defaced with 'Hitler mustache' and 'pedobear' image

Not to worry though because it's only "petty gossip" as the Vatican keeps telling us. Heck, the church in Malta is assuring everyone that he's still quite popular. (Some initial media reports suggested "pedobear" - the symbol of pedophiles - was a panda.) Read the rest of this post...

It's the 'Sarah Palin Network'

Fortunately, this is just a creation of Saturday Night Live -- for now.
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Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

The nuclear summit, which is taking place in DC over the next few days, is the main topic of the day. Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Defense Gates are making the Obama administration's case on ABC, CBS and CNN. The traditional media being what it is, they'll no doubt be responding to the latest criticism from noted that Russian scholar/Nuclear expert Sarah Palin. Her snarky comments on nuclear policy are apparently the equivalent of real knowledge. George Stephanopoulos thought it mattered.

On CNN, Candy Crowley has an "exclusive interview" with is GOP Governor Haley Barbour, who leads the campaign organization for the GOP's Governors. Um, like that's a big "get" for Crowley. Barbour was just in New Orleans at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference -- and he is probably running for president in 2012.

FOX News is hosting Joe Lieberman and Michele Bachmann. Need we say more?

The full lineup is here. Read the rest of this post...

Malcom McLaren - Double Dutch

Sounds like he had been listening to music from South Africa when he did this one. What jumps out for me is how much fun the guy had, having fun with others. I wish we had more people around like him.

Gorgeous day here yesterday and I even managed to get a bit of color riding and sitting by the ponds out in Bois de Boulogne. It looked like every bike available was out there yesterday. It's another nice day so I'm heading out for a quick ride to Joinville and possible beyond to Noisy-le-grand. Then it's back to Paris to celebrate with Jojo's sister Jocelyne who is running the marathon. Her other sister, Marielle, ran the Boston Marathon a few years back. Sounds like a lot of running so more power to anyone who can do that. Read the rest of this post...

Thai protests continue, 15 dead

It seems like such a strange place for so much violence but as a foreigner, it's not always easy to get a feel for such internal conflict. Any backpacker who has ever been through Bangkok has been down Khao San Road at least once. Strange to think that area is even seeing this. The Guardian:

Thai troops fired rubber bullets and teargas at thousands of demonstrators, who fought back with guns, grenades and petrol bombs in riots that killed at least 15 people in Bangkok's worst political violence in 18 years. At least 521 people, including 64 soldiers and police, were wounded in the fighting near the Phan Fah bridge and Rajdumnoen Road in Bangkok's old quarter, a protest base near government buildings, and the regional UN headquarters.

After hours of violence, army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said troops would pull back in the old quarter as the riot spread into Khao San Road, an area popular with back-packing tourists. "If this continues, if the army responds to the red shirts, violence will expand," Sansern said. He urged the protesters to do the same as they pelted soldiers with petrol bombs and grenades. He said some protesters were armed with guns.

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