Sunday news dump
From accross the pond :
An interesting, though not unsurprising, analysis of the Ü.S press reaction to the French employment laws and the ensuing grief My_take_on_all_this_stuff_is_here :
US media reacts to French protests with hatred and fear
The US media, not known for following the internal political developments of other countries too closely unless it has a direct impact upon the US, has provided an inordinate amount of ill-tempered commentary on the wave of protests and strikes in France against the introduction of a law that enables employers to fire young workers without cause.
The reaction of the media has been universally hostile, varying from denunciations by the right-wing press of “mob rule” to the more low-key perplexity expressed by the liberal media, which suggests that French are suffering from some type of collective dementia because they believe they have the right to such things as job security.
The headlines of several newspaper commentaries give a flavor of this contempt, from the Wall Street Journal’s, “The Decline of France” (March 21) and “Casseurs” (or “Smashers,” March 29); to the Washington Post’s “French take to the Streets to Preserve their Economic Fantasy” (March 22) and “The French In Denial” (March 28); to the New York Times’ “France’s Misguided Protesters” (March 27).
In one way or another all of the commentaries suggest the protests are illegitimate. They declare that France’s labor laws and social protections are outmoded and must be “reformed” if corporations are to thrive and create jobs. They suggest that “everyone” agrees with this, everyone, that is, except the millions of workers and young people marching on the streets of France. Echoing the infamous comments of British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the time of the invasion of Iraq, the US media suggests that the strength of a democracy is measured by the ability of political leaders to defy the will of the people and do “what’s right.”... (more)
Axisoflogic
Will he / won't he go ? :
Anatomy of a Revolt
What made a chorus of ex-generals call for the SecDef's head? The war over the war—and how Rumsfeld is reacting
April 24, 2006 issue - Gen. Eric Shinseki, former chief of staff of the Army, says he is "at peace." But reached last week, he didn't sound all that peaceful. In the winter of 2003, alone among the top brass, Shinseki had warned Congress that occupying Iraq would require "several hundred thousand troops." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, had rewarded Shinseki for his honesty by publicly castigating and shunning him.
-snip-
Some critics have argued that Shinseki should have banged on the table, pushed harder to stop Rumsfeld from going into Iraq with too few troops. How does Shinseki respond? "Probably that's fair. Not my style," said the old soldier, who nearly lost a foot in combat in Vietnam.
There was, he added cryptically, "a lot of turmoil" at the Pentagon in the lead-up to the war.
Was that Rumsfeld's fault? "Partly," said Shinseki. Did Rumsfeld bully General Franks, the overall invasion commander? "You'll have to ask Franks," said Shinseki, who indicated that he had talked long enough. "I walked away from all this two and a half years ago," he said.
-snip-
It's a question of enormous consequence for a democracy with the world's most powerful military. The balance between the civilian and military is precarious. The model may be Lincoln, firing his commanders until he found one (Ulysses S. Grant) who would fight. But the modern reality is messier.
It is generally forgotten that Franklin Roosevelt rejected the recommendation of his sainted Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall to invade Europe in 1942—which would have been a fiasco.
Harry Truman was widely vilified for—wisely—recalling the great Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to widen the Korean War by attacking China.
On the other hand, Lyndon Johnson overreached when he stayed up at night picking bombing targets during the Vietnam War.
In 1997, Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assigned the top brass to read "Dereliction of Duty," a classic study accusing Vietnam-era generals of failing to stand up to their civilian bosses
Much_more_here
From the 'Asia Times' - who's who in Iranian politics :
The ultimate martyr
TEHRAN and QOM, Iran - Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has been very quiet lately - at least for his standards. But may no outside observers doubt his popular appeal.
After last Friday's prayers at the University of Tehran, he chose not to use the VIP exit and decided to mingle with the crowd, surrounded by only a few bodyguards.
There was nothing to disguise him from the sartorial shabbiness of his audience, except that his face was beaming like a saint's.
There was bread for the famished, and an old gentleman on a soapbox was spraying perfumed water over the masses.
In these biblical circumstances the president was so enthusiastic that he almost boarded one of the lime-green buses available free of charge for the faithful, until someone in the security detail reminded him that he, after all, was the president...
A_must_read_story
Back to the Observer and the deboires of our favorite Fils_de_p***_d'enc***_de_ba**** lying toad of a prime minister :
No 10 admits link between school donors and peerages
Blair wanted greater political support in House of Lords for his controversial education policy.
Two donors to Tony Blair's flagship education policy project were nominated for peerages because of their support for academy schools, Downing Street admitted yesterday for the first time.
In what will be seen as a clear link between peerages and donations, Number 10's 'citations' explaining the case for putting Sir David Garrard and Barry Townsley in the House of Lords 'prominently' featured their role in helping these inner city schools
Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister wanted their political support in the Lords for the controversial policy...
Read_it_and_snarl
The Indy's top story ... and she goes running to her mothers' little helper...:
Drugs crisis: Prozac nation
Britain is in the grip of a damaging dependence on anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac, prompting calls from mental health experts for a radical rethink in the treatment of the 3.5 million people affected.
The prescription of so-called "happy pills" has risen by more than 120 percent in the past decade amid soaring levels of depression and anxiety, an Independent on Sunday investigation reveals today.
Faced with growing concern from doctors who say they are forced to prescribe drugs as a "second best" treatment, the Government is to promote alternative methods of dealing with the nation's dependency on drugs.
Prozac_time
Has mechanically rendered meat had it's day ? :
Fast food titan McDonald's finds latest attack on its reputation hard to swallow
Just when the executives of the world's biggest fast food company were beginning to get over the damage done by the hit film Super Size Me, a new film and book about McDonald's are about to dump a fresh bucket of ordure over the Golden Arches.
With Hollywood backing and a stellar cast, a film of Eric Schlosser's best-selling book, Fast Food Nation is looming as a potent threat to the burger chain's fragile reputation...
The_Indy
An interesting, though not unsurprising, analysis of the Ü.S press reaction to the French employment laws and the ensuing grief My_take_on_all_this_stuff_is_here :
US media reacts to French protests with hatred and fear
The US media, not known for following the internal political developments of other countries too closely unless it has a direct impact upon the US, has provided an inordinate amount of ill-tempered commentary on the wave of protests and strikes in France against the introduction of a law that enables employers to fire young workers without cause.
The reaction of the media has been universally hostile, varying from denunciations by the right-wing press of “mob rule” to the more low-key perplexity expressed by the liberal media, which suggests that French are suffering from some type of collective dementia because they believe they have the right to such things as job security.
The headlines of several newspaper commentaries give a flavor of this contempt, from the Wall Street Journal’s, “The Decline of France” (March 21) and “Casseurs” (or “Smashers,” March 29); to the Washington Post’s “French take to the Streets to Preserve their Economic Fantasy” (March 22) and “The French In Denial” (March 28); to the New York Times’ “France’s Misguided Protesters” (March 27).
In one way or another all of the commentaries suggest the protests are illegitimate. They declare that France’s labor laws and social protections are outmoded and must be “reformed” if corporations are to thrive and create jobs. They suggest that “everyone” agrees with this, everyone, that is, except the millions of workers and young people marching on the streets of France. Echoing the infamous comments of British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the time of the invasion of Iraq, the US media suggests that the strength of a democracy is measured by the ability of political leaders to defy the will of the people and do “what’s right.”... (more)
Axisoflogic
Will he / won't he go ? :
Anatomy of a Revolt
What made a chorus of ex-generals call for the SecDef's head? The war over the war—and how Rumsfeld is reacting
April 24, 2006 issue - Gen. Eric Shinseki, former chief of staff of the Army, says he is "at peace." But reached last week, he didn't sound all that peaceful. In the winter of 2003, alone among the top brass, Shinseki had warned Congress that occupying Iraq would require "several hundred thousand troops." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, had rewarded Shinseki for his honesty by publicly castigating and shunning him.
-snip-
Some critics have argued that Shinseki should have banged on the table, pushed harder to stop Rumsfeld from going into Iraq with too few troops. How does Shinseki respond? "Probably that's fair. Not my style," said the old soldier, who nearly lost a foot in combat in Vietnam.
There was, he added cryptically, "a lot of turmoil" at the Pentagon in the lead-up to the war.
Was that Rumsfeld's fault? "Partly," said Shinseki. Did Rumsfeld bully General Franks, the overall invasion commander? "You'll have to ask Franks," said Shinseki, who indicated that he had talked long enough. "I walked away from all this two and a half years ago," he said.
-snip-
It's a question of enormous consequence for a democracy with the world's most powerful military. The balance between the civilian and military is precarious. The model may be Lincoln, firing his commanders until he found one (Ulysses S. Grant) who would fight. But the modern reality is messier.
It is generally forgotten that Franklin Roosevelt rejected the recommendation of his sainted Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall to invade Europe in 1942—which would have been a fiasco.
Harry Truman was widely vilified for—wisely—recalling the great Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to widen the Korean War by attacking China.
On the other hand, Lyndon Johnson overreached when he stayed up at night picking bombing targets during the Vietnam War.
In 1997, Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assigned the top brass to read "Dereliction of Duty," a classic study accusing Vietnam-era generals of failing to stand up to their civilian bosses
Much_more_here
From the 'Asia Times' - who's who in Iranian politics :
The ultimate martyr
TEHRAN and QOM, Iran - Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has been very quiet lately - at least for his standards. But may no outside observers doubt his popular appeal.
After last Friday's prayers at the University of Tehran, he chose not to use the VIP exit and decided to mingle with the crowd, surrounded by only a few bodyguards.
There was nothing to disguise him from the sartorial shabbiness of his audience, except that his face was beaming like a saint's.
There was bread for the famished, and an old gentleman on a soapbox was spraying perfumed water over the masses.
In these biblical circumstances the president was so enthusiastic that he almost boarded one of the lime-green buses available free of charge for the faithful, until someone in the security detail reminded him that he, after all, was the president...
A_must_read_story
Back to the Observer and the deboires of our favorite Fils_de_p***_d'enc***_de_ba**** lying toad of a prime minister :
No 10 admits link between school donors and peerages
Blair wanted greater political support in House of Lords for his controversial education policy.
Two donors to Tony Blair's flagship education policy project were nominated for peerages because of their support for academy schools, Downing Street admitted yesterday for the first time.
In what will be seen as a clear link between peerages and donations, Number 10's 'citations' explaining the case for putting Sir David Garrard and Barry Townsley in the House of Lords 'prominently' featured their role in helping these inner city schools
Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister wanted their political support in the Lords for the controversial policy...
Read_it_and_snarl
The Indy's top story ... and she goes running to her mothers' little helper...:
Drugs crisis: Prozac nation
Britain is in the grip of a damaging dependence on anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac, prompting calls from mental health experts for a radical rethink in the treatment of the 3.5 million people affected.
The prescription of so-called "happy pills" has risen by more than 120 percent in the past decade amid soaring levels of depression and anxiety, an Independent on Sunday investigation reveals today.
Faced with growing concern from doctors who say they are forced to prescribe drugs as a "second best" treatment, the Government is to promote alternative methods of dealing with the nation's dependency on drugs.
Prozac_time
Has mechanically rendered meat had it's day ? :
Fast food titan McDonald's finds latest attack on its reputation hard to swallow
Just when the executives of the world's biggest fast food company were beginning to get over the damage done by the hit film Super Size Me, a new film and book about McDonald's are about to dump a fresh bucket of ordure over the Golden Arches.
With Hollywood backing and a stellar cast, a film of Eric Schlosser's best-selling book, Fast Food Nation is looming as a potent threat to the burger chain's fragile reputation...
The_Indy
posted by Damiel | 11:35 AM
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