Some think that yesterday should be renamed Shakespeare Day in honour of his birthday and renown. Fame is a wonderful thing, earned or not. Did you see Obama's speech on TV? No-one can deny he has great charm and charisma. If you've to make a speech, you could do worse than copy this man's style: slow, measured speech, with intermittent pauses for effect. Any friend of Churchill's is a friend of mine. And certainly he was able to show how wrong an Out vote would be in the June referendum, especially for future trade agreements with the US. Trouble is, globally, people are disappointed with him. When inaugurated, such high hopes for world peace. But, seemingly, he's been too weighed down with domestic policies to make the dream possible. And then I read that here in France Mme Le Pen is planning a trip to the UK to canvass for an Out vote. Don't be fooled: her only objective is for France to follow the UK's lead so that the EU will be broken up completely, she can rule her own country, and we can all start fighting each other again. Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more? Only the British can stop it on 23 June.
N.B. Want to know more about what happened in France in the war? Come to my free, online Facebook party this Friday. On the day click on this link and enjoy French singers/videos of the 1940s era and win fab. prizes
https://www.facebook.com/events/670363729772093/
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
29 November 2015
Ever since JFK uttered those immortal words Ich bin ein Berliner at the Brandenberg Gate, there's been an urgent need to emulate them. And lately people have tried, first with Je suis Charley then recently with Je suis Paris. This week French TV showed Hollande standing side by side with Putin, each apparently empathising with each other over their losses in Paris and in the Russian air disaster. However, are they really on the same page when it comes to the problems in Syria? With one side aiming to eliminate the terrorists, the other seems only bent on shoring up Bashir Al-Assad. Rule no. 1: you can only strike an accord if your goals are exactly the same! I have to say I'm disappointed with Obama. Ever since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he's scared of doing anything that might jeopardise it, so instead of emulating JFK, he refuses to do anything globally other than just utter beautifully orated words. At least the French during Friday's commemoration ceremony showed their true colours by parading on every balustrade their blue, white and red underwear. Him indoors: Bra-vo!
7 September 2014
World news is full of Obama's visit to Stonehenge, a structure transcending man's struggles since time immemorial. Nearer to home, several weeks ago French news was full of a battle between two neighbours in the village of Brugairolles in the Aude. Newsworthy because the combatants were not French, but English! The 10-year dispute revolved around privacy and access, one house's front door and window overlooking the driveway of the other. When you buy a house in France, the notaire is expected to explain all such things, which left me wondering. When we bought our first French house back in 2005, the notaire didn't speak a word of English. I, foolishly, thought my French was sufficient. It wasn't until we bought our current home, with a bi-lingual notaire, that I realised. At every stage, she helpfully explained in English the various nuances and potential problems - absolutely invaluable. Did the two Brugairolles use a bi-lingual Notaire? Suspect not. And there hangs the tale. Understanding leads to discussion. Discussion leads to peace. If only world leaders would discuss things that bind them together, rather than their differences. Let's hope that NATO has moved the world a little further from disaster. Unfortunately stonehenge literally means precipice.......
24th February 2013
We're back! What a roller-coaster. We've been to Maine, the most northerly of the New England states. Talk about masochistic - other than skiers, no-one holidays in Maine in the winter. And now we know why. Blizzards, snow 8 feet thick and lakes so frozen you can (and we did) drive on them. You may have read about blizzard Nemo while we were over there - certainly a backward Omen. 20F there, 20C in Gaillac. But it wasn't just the temperature difference we noticed. The whole culture is different. Although there are many American things we love, the US devotion to country and constitution is not just nationalistic, but obsessional. The constitution is sacrosanct, including the right to take up arms. No wonder Obama is having such trouble changing the gun law when every household is armed to the teeth. Him indoors noticed a bumper sticker: we reserve the right to arm bears......
Immense relief to be back in Europe. Ancient culture everywhere. A political climate I can actually discuss with others, wonderful gourmet restaurants with serving sizes small enough to taste the food quality instead of being engulfed by it, and a modest, non-aggressive stance on life. America: you have a lot of catching up to do to reach the sensibleness of Europe - with age comes wisdom.
Immense relief to be back in Europe. Ancient culture everywhere. A political climate I can actually discuss with others, wonderful gourmet restaurants with serving sizes small enough to taste the food quality instead of being engulfed by it, and a modest, non-aggressive stance on life. America: you have a lot of catching up to do to reach the sensibleness of Europe - with age comes wisdom.
17th November 2008
This morning, France's newspapers have banner headlines: Prepare yourself for a week of strikes which will disrupt public services. Where have I heard all this before? It was decades ago when a very different Conservative leader was elected into 10 Downing Street that the same problem reared its ugly head. The UK was then labelled the 'sick man of Europe'.
Now the disease has reached these shores. France is bracing for a week of transport and public sector strikes affecting rail transport, schools and postal services as unions launch a spate of campaigns against the proposed labour reforms of its new President. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled for a third day on Sunday as Air France pilots pursued a four-day strike, due to end later today. Tomorrow, French train drivers stage the first of two strikes over freight sector reforms and on Thursday, demonstrations by teachers over budget cuts threaten school closures. As though this weren't enough, next Saturday postal workers say they will strike for a day over partial privatisation plans.
Give me a break! When will people ever learn? It's the old political divide all over again. A new leader is elected on a ticket of reform, only to subsequently suffer the consequences by petty, selfish, groups out to maintain their own insular aims at the expense of the whole nation's more global wishes.
All this worries me of course. There's another new leader the other side of the Atlantic. Let's hope, after the honeymoon is over, that he doesn't suffer the same as President Sarkozy (and Margaret Thatcher before him) as his new idealistic policies start to bite.
Until we learn from history, we are set to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
Now the disease has reached these shores. France is bracing for a week of transport and public sector strikes affecting rail transport, schools and postal services as unions launch a spate of campaigns against the proposed labour reforms of its new President. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled for a third day on Sunday as Air France pilots pursued a four-day strike, due to end later today. Tomorrow, French train drivers stage the first of two strikes over freight sector reforms and on Thursday, demonstrations by teachers over budget cuts threaten school closures. As though this weren't enough, next Saturday postal workers say they will strike for a day over partial privatisation plans.
Give me a break! When will people ever learn? It's the old political divide all over again. A new leader is elected on a ticket of reform, only to subsequently suffer the consequences by petty, selfish, groups out to maintain their own insular aims at the expense of the whole nation's more global wishes.
All this worries me of course. There's another new leader the other side of the Atlantic. Let's hope, after the honeymoon is over, that he doesn't suffer the same as President Sarkozy (and Margaret Thatcher before him) as his new idealistic policies start to bite.
Until we learn from history, we are set to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
5th November 2008
There's an historic phrase in England: 'Remember, remember the 5th of November'. It was always supposed to commemorate (if that's the right word) the day when a certain Robert Catesby and Guido Fawkes plotted to change their nation's government. Fireworks and burning effigies have always been grotesquely used to remember that day. All the more amazing then that from today, the 5th November will be remembered for something else. Yes, people have campaigned to change their government; yes, enormous effort has been maintained to overthrow what many saw as an iniquitous system, and yes, a new way forward was seized upon for the country's people. The change envisaged was certainly explosive, but back then in England it failed.
The difference today? The change is in another nation, across the Atlantic; the people have changed their government, but from Republican to Democrat; the people have elected the man they see as the new JFK, one to lead them forward through all the current world difficulties. And, amazingly, the new President is the first ever black President of the USA. Martin Luther King and all the former African slaves would be jumping for joy.
And the rest of the world? In Europe, there is muted applause for the result. M. Sarkozy has publicly congratulated Obama. But as I look out this morning onto the rain-washed streets and muddy fields all around me? People will still live their lives exactly the same as yesterday. And for the future? We can only hope for a better world.
The difference today? The change is in another nation, across the Atlantic; the people have changed their government, but from Republican to Democrat; the people have elected the man they see as the new JFK, one to lead them forward through all the current world difficulties. And, amazingly, the new President is the first ever black President of the USA. Martin Luther King and all the former African slaves would be jumping for joy.
And the rest of the world? In Europe, there is muted applause for the result. M. Sarkozy has publicly congratulated Obama. But as I look out this morning onto the rain-washed streets and muddy fields all around me? People will still live their lives exactly the same as yesterday. And for the future? We can only hope for a better world.
4th November 2008
On this historic day when millions of American citizens are voting for a new President to change their lives, the rest of the world holds its collective breath. There is so much desire for change to the old, traditional values. As Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand in the UK have discovered to their cost, people will no longer put up with stupid, crass behaviour in public.
In France, as people look for a lead via the public media, there is no such thing as a cheap tabloid press written with bias, with unsavoury photos of D-list celebrities, as in the UK. While many French people prefer to read regional rather than national papers, the content is very different from what the average British reader would expect. For many readers, any paper which is Paris-based, e.g. Le Monde, is too far from their own centre of interest. Another reason for the huge difference in France's media is because the French have a very different approach to decency and taste. In 2000 a new law banned the depiction of victims of crime or violence to be used by the media if it would 'jeopardise the dignity of the person portrayed'. Thankfully there is still a feeling in France whereby family values are sacrosanct and it is required by law for children to take care of their elderly relatives.
It was heartening to see that Obama left his busy election campaign to visit his sick grandmother, who sadly died before the results are known. Maybe if Obama - with his African, traditional roots - wins today, there might be a subliminal shift towards those traditional family values that everyone around the world seeks. Let's hope so because there's no doubt: what America does today, the rest of the world follows.
In France, as people look for a lead via the public media, there is no such thing as a cheap tabloid press written with bias, with unsavoury photos of D-list celebrities, as in the UK. While many French people prefer to read regional rather than national papers, the content is very different from what the average British reader would expect. For many readers, any paper which is Paris-based, e.g. Le Monde, is too far from their own centre of interest. Another reason for the huge difference in France's media is because the French have a very different approach to decency and taste. In 2000 a new law banned the depiction of victims of crime or violence to be used by the media if it would 'jeopardise the dignity of the person portrayed'. Thankfully there is still a feeling in France whereby family values are sacrosanct and it is required by law for children to take care of their elderly relatives.
It was heartening to see that Obama left his busy election campaign to visit his sick grandmother, who sadly died before the results are known. Maybe if Obama - with his African, traditional roots - wins today, there might be a subliminal shift towards those traditional family values that everyone around the world seeks. Let's hope so because there's no doubt: what America does today, the rest of the world follows.
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