Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

I left the flotilla protest distressed and shaken

by nicta Mon May 31st, 2010 at 03:17:40 PM EST

I went to the pro-flotilla demonstration in Paris, at Metro Franklin D. Roosevelt. There, for a brief moment, I experienced the most intense sense of dread, despair and sadness I've ever felt; I ran away and cried.

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

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The "3 strikes" crap voted in France

by nicta Sat Apr 4th, 2009 at 07:28:50 AM EST

I watched most of the debates at the Assemblée Nationale and I think my health suffered because of it. At first I was annoyed. Then I got mad. And then I was completely flabbergasted.

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.

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"May your God curse you until the end of times!"

by nicta Fri Jan 16th, 2009 at 05:46:45 PM EST

Who wrote this:

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

Answer after the jump ...

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10 principles of war propaganda

by nicta Mon Jan 12th, 2009 at 09:05:15 PM EST

X-posted at dkos

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.

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Goebbels would be proud -- you can help

by nicta Tue Dec 30th, 2008 at 09:01:43 PM EST

The terrorist group known as "Israeli Defense (right) Forces" is showing off their war crimes on Youtube. I shit you not. Just like Goebbels, they're using the technology of their time to sell their war crimes to the masses.

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Help oppose Sarko's three strike nonsense

by nicta Thu Nov 20th, 2008 at 03:21:24 PM EST

The amazing people at la laquadrature.net are ramping up their campaign against Sarkozy's antidemocratic and liberticide plan.

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.

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I CALLED IT! I CALLED IT!

by nicta Mon Feb 25th, 2008 at 10:45:34 AM EST


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The best explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis (video)

by nicta Wed Dec 5th, 2007 at 05:48:14 AM EST

The Long Johns - The Last Laugh - George Parr - Subprime

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

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Like giving a drunkard a bottle of vodka and the car keys

by nicta Wed Nov 28th, 2007 at 12:38:13 PM EST

Amy Goodman asks Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negociator, why Israel has been rejecting a peaceful solution for so long. He blames fundies, "security hawks", but above all, the US:

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.

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TNR: feast of the wingnuts

by nicta Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 05:20:57 AM EST

Feast of the Wingnuts:


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

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My letter to RSF about Venezuela's RCTV

by nicta Tue May 29th, 2007 at 02:18:44 PM EST

Reporters Sans Frontières goes along the corporate media and the State Department, and condemns Chavez for not renewing the license of right-wing, antidemocratic RCTV.

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

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CS Monitor: stats are only good when they suit us

by nicta Thu Mar 15th, 2007 at 11:34:37 AM EST

Statistics can mislead as easily as they can enlighten


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

My response to them:

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News and Views

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