(XP'd at the Orange site and at Reddit)

The opposition asked thousands of extremely well informed and technically pointed questions. There was at times a hundred time more people watching the video stream than usual. They got tons of emails, which their staff would parse, print and bring to them during the discussions. They mentioned that several times. The majority never ever did, just sticking to their ridiculous talking points or, towards the end, not even bothering to reply.

Personally, I will fight you with all I can (...), until the justice of man destroys hitlerism which is at the heart of your country. Shame on Israel. I hope your God will launch against its leaders the vengeance they deserve. (...) May your God curse you until the end of times! I hope you will be punished.

Is it:

• Mahmoud Ahmedinajad
  
• The leader of Hamas
  
• Of Hezbollah

In 2001 (before 9/11), Belgian historian Anne Morelli (fr) published a book analyzing the basic principles of war propaganda. Unfortunately and as far as I can tell, it was never translated to English (only in German). She credits the work of Lord Ponsonby, an amazing and unfortunately somewhat forgotten character. He stood, largely alone, in the Commons opposing WWI before it started, predicting not just the massacre it was going to be, but more interestingly for our purpose, how it was going to be sold to the masses.

In spite of 88% of MEP voting in favor of amendment 138 which would preemptively bar the adoption of three strike laws in the EU, our right wing government is lobbying through back channel to try to kill it.

Note that it is customary for EU member state to refrain from legislating on an issue that's still being debated in the European Parliament. Yet naboléon felt that pleasing his buddies in the mass entertainment industries was more important than respecting our european partners.

Broadcast on 14/10/2007. John Fortune & John Bird on the South Bank show.

That is what Gordon Brown calls "the ingenuity of the market."

Diary rescue by Migeru

But there's a third reason, which is that Israel, rather than turning to its friend America and that friend saying, "Hey, guys, this is in your interest, it's in our interest, let's do this," America is normally saying, "If you want to carry on your crazy self-destructive policy of occupation, don't expect us to change it for you. In fact, we'll continue to back you." It's like a drunkard turning to his friend and the friend giving him another bottle of vodka and then giving him the car keys.

American politics has been hijacked by a tiny coterie of right-wing economic extremists, some of them ideological zealots, others merely greedy, a few of them possibly insane. The scope of their triumph is breathtaking. Over the course of the last three decades, they have moved from the right-wing fringe to the commanding heights of the national agenda. Notions that would have been laughed at a generation ago--that cutting taxes for the very rich is the best response to any and every economic circumstance or that it is perfectly appropriate to turn the most rapacious and self-interested elements of the business lobby into essentially an arm of the federal government--are now so pervasive, they barely attract any notice.

Well, not just American politics, sadly.

from the diaries. The whole article is well worth a read.-- Jérôme

Here's my letter to them. I don't expect a response, obviously.

French workers are indeed more productive than their American counterparts, but what about all those unemployed French?

My response to them: