* * * Y E S / H E / D I D * * *

Yes he could! yes we could! Yes he did it! He made it. Today is an important day, at least for the US, although I also want to believe for the whole world. The US desperatly needed change, after the former administration. And the world needs a US that can show a different attitude to world politics and to globalisation. It is an historic day because Obama is the first non totally white president to be elected in the US. Of course the race/colour is not important. And yet it is. Particularly in the US, which is the first economic and military power in the world. Because of its racial history and background. And the democrats finally made it back to the White House.
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It wasn't an easy road for Barack Obama. Yes it was a fast track career yet he has this inner strength and capability of mobilising people, of giving hope, believing and making others believe that change is not only possible, it is an urgency. It was an urgency for the US. And after leaving no one less than Hillary Clinton behind, the easiset part was to defeat McCain. It was a clear and easy victory. There were no doubts that Americans wanted Obama to lead them. And it was clear since a long time that the world too wanted him as a counterpart.

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Obama symbolises a lot of what the US is and what is possible in that country. Of the so called "American dream". A son of a Kenyan man who emigrated to the US, now became US president. Obama is not black, he is not white, he is all that and more. Yet he is nowadays an example, a role model, for many Americans, for many African, European, for many people around the world. Becoming the President of the most powerful country in the world is not for everyone (well, there are some exceptions), and Obama doesn't come from a wealthy and powerful background. yet he made it, because he believed in his dream.

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Yes, there was a lot of rhetoric, demagogy, nice speaches, many promises. Obama gathered a huge capital of hope but also a huge will to change things, to do things differently, to change the US, the way of doing politics, the way to interact with the world. Obama has promised a lot of things and different people may have different expectations. It will not be easy to make everybody happy and certainly not overninght. It remains to be seen how Obama will be able to reconcile certain promises, namely to make tax cuts and increase public medical expenditure, or gather the money to relaunch the economy and help entreprises and banks come out of the crisis. No it will not be easy.

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Obama believes in what he says and has this huge capacity to mobilise people around his ideas and build concensus. He certainly will focus in the economy, the American one, this is the most important issue for Americans. And indirectly for the whole world, after all, particularly in these times of recession. He may not deliver all he has promised or wishes, but at least I'm sure things will be done differently, and not only according to the interest of certain big corporations and economic interests. Although I expect some protectionism in American economic policy in the coming years.

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In terms of foreign policy, hopes are very high, too high maybe. And mostly abroad. We have seen his "evolution" since he started running for the Presidency, after his nomination for the democratic party and in particular after he won the elections. Here I think change will be slower. Hopefully the attitude will be different, after all Hillary Clinton will be there too. But the US is the US and their interests are strong. I believe there will be no radical change in relation to Cuba, to the Middle East or Iran... Maybe more openness for talking but in the end, it remains to be seen what results will be achieved. And the US will not pul out of Iraq overnight. Not that they should, but Obama is nowadays much more cautious in relation to that. And how long will it take to close Guantanamo? Something which should be closed straighaway. And how committed will Obama be to seriously promoting peace talks between Israel and Palestina and the actual independende of a Palestinian state? And how will Obama act in relation to Pakistan? And Afghanistan, a big priority for him? And which attitude towards Mexico and the rest of Latin America? Of course, time will tell, yet I fear few change will come in the beginning.

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Anyway, I salute and congratulate Barack Obama. He deserves well to be the President of the US and for once the dream came true and the right thing actually happened. I am sure his parents and grand parents would be very proud of him. Let's hope in a couple of months we will all (and the US in particular) have forgotten the past eight disastrous years of republican administration and he can actually make up for the lost time. And above all, may the democratic debate continue in the US, open for different ideas and opinions. That is the necessary basis for a healthy democracy, and it certainly is Obama's first achievement.
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My music: Happy Birthday Röyksopp!!

Röyksopp celebrated their birthday in December. They are making their new song ‘Happy Birthday’ available free for download, here. Don't miss it!
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My world: The great day has come...

(foto courtesy of my friend Pedro Faria)

My world: Pathetic!

Less than 24 hours after Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza, six European leaders went to Jerusalem yesterday (January 18, before the meeting in Egypt) to give their commitment to ending the arms smuggling into Gaza (!!!), in a move Jerusalem insisted was more than just an empty gesture. As one Israeli senior diplomatic official said, quoted by the Jerusalem Post "Six world leaders dropped everything to come here and express their support for Israel's security. That's not something that happens every day". That is how the Israelis used the situation in their convenience. And Haaretz goes further saying that "None of the European leaders condemned Israel for the casualties in Gaza".

The image on television of those six european leaders (Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown, Silvio Berlusconi and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero) at the gala dinner (!!!) at Olmert's residence, smiling and shaking the hands of israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (and also Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu) was pathetic! More than that, outrageous! As a european citizen I feel ashamed.

Yes, they might have thought that they should better hail the fragile Gaza cease-fire as an opportunity to revive Middle East peace efforts, but instead what our leaders should be discussing with Israel is an ultimatum, either peace (and retreat from gaza) or sanctions would be imposed. Discussing actions to prevent the israeli from buying arms (namely those forbidden internationaly) and imposing an economic embargo until they accept to worlds demands: leave palestinian occuped territory, free the prision of Gaza and open its borders and pay what they have destroyed.

Instead they will certainly propose a new peace conference with "world donours" who will pay for what Israel has destroyed (as a couple of years ago in Lebanon...). According to the Palestinian Authority some 4,000 houses were destroyed, as well as 48 government instalations and 20 mosques, as well as roads, schools and other infrastructure. According to western diplomats, as indicated by El Pais, reconstruction could cost some 1,600 million US dolars (1,200 million €). Now what is this? Do we european citizens want to use our tax money like this? I do not think so. And to support these "chicken" leaders? Are they afraid of Israelis? It seems so. Be ashamed, be very ashamed. Fortunately Portugal has taken, this weekend, a decision to close portuguese air traffic to any planes that would supply weapons to Israel while the war in Gaza went on... This might be quite symbolic and rhetoric (as we have seen with smuggling prisioners to Guantanamo) yet it is what european countries should be doing.

And all this happens only hours after Israel proposed to end a war in which they have murdered 1,300 Palestinians (of which 410 children and 108 women) and made more than 5,000 injured. The UN estimates that half of the dead were civilians. In Israeli side, 10 soldiers died and 3 civilians. Poor israeli hospitals, they must be undergoing a lot of stress these days... And not to forget the sad show of the many israelis coming to the hills around Gaza to safely watch the action of the israeli army destroying Gaza, and shouting "bravo!).

And in the meantime Hamas pretends to have won the war... also pathetic, oh what a world...
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My music: Friendly Fires feat Au Revoir Simone- Paris (Aeroplane Remix)

My music: The Presets - This Boy's In Love (Lifelike Remix)

My music: MUNK with Asia Argento "Live Fast Die Old"

My Music: Munk - "Rat race"

My music: The hype goes on! Empire of the sun - "We are the people"

We Are The People

My world: Bush's 'Reign of Error' - Game Over

Bush's Reign of Error (*): Game Over

Eight years of disaster politics, errors, nonsense, narcisim and incompetence finally come to an end. After Obama’s election we still had to endure him some long couple of months (something totally ridiculous in American administration I must say). Instead the new President elected should have taken office soon after being elected. It was time to move over, not to see a puppet president pretend he mattered. Bush had no legitimacy nor capacity to continue leading the country.

George W. ends his mandate as one of the most unpopular presidents in modern times - 80 percent of Americans will not miss him after he leaves the White House and only one-third want him to play a post-presidency role in public life. In fact it’s almost as if he is long gone. As Frank Rich wrote in an excellent article in the NYT, “you start to pity him until you remember how vast the wreckage is. It stretches from the Middle East to Wall Street to Main Street and even into the heavens, which have been a safe haven for toxins under his passive stewardship. The discrepancy between the grandeur of the failure and the stature of the man is a puzzlement. We are still trying to compute it.”

George W. has tried desperatly, in the last months, to do something positive, so as to leave a “not too bad” image behind him, in vain however. He is alone and most have long abandoned the sinking ship. Of course History will judge and tell but Americans (nor the world) do not have to wait years to know that Bush was one of the worse US presidents, if not the worst. And the world knows all too well the wreckage he left behind and how the world situation (in relation to peace & global understanding & living together) has deteriorated since Bush came to power.

Of course most Americans only discovered this a bit too late – mostly after Hurricane Catrina in New Orleans in 2005, yet they reelected him in 2004, remember? Yes that is amazing, indeed. As for me I never liked Bush and his politics, since the beginning, and also not his administration and always spoke out against them (and you may check my previous posts). However he was able to convince most Americans to trust him and half of the world to follow him to Iraq and support his war against “terrorism” and against the 'axis of evil'.

But it's not only a question of being "forgotten" or trying to be remembered for something positive he didn't do. Bush & co., after he comes out of office, even risk being pursued by American Justice, for crimes committed by his administration (murder, torture, etc). Vincent Bugliosi, for instance, one of the prosecutors of Los Angeles, has prepared a document to take Bush to justice. The reasoning behind is that, if he is able to demonstrate that Bush has not taken his country to war for self-defence, but that he knew he was deliberately using false pretexts to go to war, then all American soldiers were killed illegally, then it is about murders we are talking. But also Vice-President Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, former White-House Counsellor Karl Rowe are also Bugliosi's targets. And Bugliosi is not the only one thinking about legal prosecution. Two cities in Vermont, Brattleboro and Marlboro have also voted to prosecute Bush legally. And others are considering the issue seriously. Obama however has not been specific about the issue, but this is one of the most popular questions raised in the site change.gov opened by Obama: “Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?” Biden and Obama say that they would rather look to the future but did not rule this out. Prosecution by the IPC (CPI in french) seems however out of question because the US have not recognised it.

And I know, George W. Bush is not worth remembering, maybe not even worth a post in my blog. Yet it is important to remember certain things so that the future generations can learn with History. And with errors. Certain things should never repeat.

So where are we today? What are Bush’s achievements after all? Iraq burned, Afganistan is far from safe, Palestina is helpless, Israel stronger (and mad) as never, terrorism multiplied around the world, civil liberties shrinked, harsh interrogation techniques (read torture) came back, New Orleans flooded, Wall Street fell, the Banks went bankrupt, US debt raised exponentially and so did unemployment, Bush’s adminsitartion ignored intelligence warnings and was unable to prevent September 11 and the US have ignored the serious threat of global warming. And the list could go on… However, as Frank Rich said in the NYT, “Bush remained oblivious to each and every pratfall on his watch”.

Yet, we may miss him, or better, the joke he made of himself. As the Los Angeles Times wrote, ‘You know you'll miss the president who declared: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." You know you'll miss the man who showed his empathy by remarking, "You're working hard to put food on your family."

Yes, they are right. After W, who are we going to laugh at? Who are we going to hate?

(*) as the Motherjones put it.

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My world: Bushisms

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watch the video

The 'misunderestimated' president?

All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue (gaffes) in the heat of the moment - and George W. Bush has made more than most.

The word "Bushism" has been coined to label his occasional verbal lapses during eight years in office, which come to an end on tuesday 20 January.

Here are some of his most memorable 'jokes':

ON HIMSELF

"They misunderestimated me."
Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000

"There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."
Nashville, Tennessee, 17 September, 2002

"There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead."
Washington DC, 11 May, 2001

"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."
Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May, 2004

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

"For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times."
Tokyo, 18 February, 2002

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself."
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 29 January, 2003

"I think war is a dangerous place."
Washington DC, 7 May, 2003

"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the - the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."
Washington DC, 27 October, 2003

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."
Washington DC, 17 September, 2004

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."
CBS News, Washington DC, 6 September, 2006

EDUCATION

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
Florence, South Carolina, 11 January, 2000

"Reading is the basics for all learning."
Reston, Virginia, 28 March, 2000

"As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards."
CNN, 30 August, 2000

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''
Townsend, Tennessee, 21 February, 2001

ECONOMICS

"I understand small business growth. I was one."
New York Daily News, 19 February, 2000

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."
Reuters, 5 May, 2000

"I do remain confident in Linda. She'll make a fine Labour Secretary. From what I've read in the press accounts, she's perfectly qualified."
Austin, Texas, 8 January, 2001

"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."
Washington DC, 19 May, 2003

HEALTHCARE

"I don't think we need to be subliminable about the differences between our views on prescription drugs."
Orlando, Florida, 12 September, 2000

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."
Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 6 September, 2004

TECHNOLOGY

"Will the highways on the internet become more few?"
Concord, New Hampshire, 29 January, 2000

"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber."
Washington DC, 10 April, 2002

"Information is moving. You know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."
Washington DC, 2 May, 2007

OUT OF LEFT FIELD

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
Saginaw, Michigan, 29 September, 2000

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, 18 October, 2000

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
Tucson, Arizona, 28 November, 2005

"That's George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three - three or four books about him last year. Isn't that interesting?"
Speaking to reporter Kai Diekmann, Washington DC, 5 May, 2006

ON GOVERNING

"I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together."
Bartlett, Tennessee, 18 August, 2000

"I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."
Washington DC, 18 April, 2006

"And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it, and [Tony Blair] read it."
On the publication of the Baker-Hamilton Report, Washington DC, 7 December, 2006

"All I can tell you is when the governor calls, I answer his phone."
San Diego, California, 25 October, 2007

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
Washington DC, 12 May, 2008.

Story from BBC NEWS / Published: 2009/01/07
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My world: GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED

sign the petition @ AVAAZ !

My world: GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED !

Sign the petition @ avaaz.org

My world: stop the 'civilizations clash'...

My world: Articles from "Le Monde"

Please check these interesting articles from "Le Monde" (in french):

La paix, seul remède à l'extrémisme, par Mohammed Dahlan

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Combats dans le centre de Gaza, les Nations unies et des médias touchés

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My music: some music to relax - Röyksopp's new single "Happy Up Here" - from Norway!

My world: 'War on terror' was a mistake, says Miliband

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British Foreign secretary, David Miliband, as reported by the Guardian, argues today that the use of the "war on terror as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks has been a mistake that may have caused more harm than good". It seems British officials have not used the phrase "war on terror" since 2006, but it is the first time a British minister has oppenly spoken againts the concept.

Mr Miliband (who is a serious candidate to succeed Gordon Brown...) said the whole concept of a war on terror is "misleading and mistaken". He added "Historians will judge whether it has done more harm than good", however, in his opinion, the whole strategy has been dangerously counterproductive, helping otherwise disparate groups find common cause against the west.

Bravo!
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My world: video

My world: Robert Fisk: Why bombing Ashkelon is the most tragic irony

More interesting articles on the Gaza/Palestinian issue, from The Independent.

And another interesting article by Robert Frisk in Argentina's Pagina 12.
(in spanish)

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My world: Mrs Clinton, new tone in the White House

As the New York Times wrote, "one of America’s greatest strengths is its potential for redemption and renewal. We saw that again Tuesday during Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s confirmation hearing to be President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state."

After eight bad years of Bush admisnistration, which "bullied and alienated" the US's friends and "enabled far too many of its enemies", Senator Clinton pronounced words of hope, promising a return to a foreign policy based on “principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology; on facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice.”

Mrs Clinton's words are indeed those of hope and brought a different tone from the outgoing Bush administration. She showed her concern about the “tragic humanitarian costs” of the conflict in Gaza where more than 900 residents (and 13 Israelis) have already died. She declared "a firm commitment to an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement with a two-state solution". And we cannot forget former President Clinton's efforts to reach peace between Israel and Palestina before he left office.

This is good news and let's hope the new Obama administration effectively follows a foreign policy based on principles and pragmatism that is able to listen to all sides of the conflict (including Hamas) and understand what exactly is at stake there and what needs to be done to achive peace.
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My world: Palestine, a victim of world hypocrisy

(UN partition 1947 and today)

Palestine, a victim of world hypocrisy

Many people say that everybody is to blame, that no one is innocent or has the truth. That Israel has the right to defend itself. Maybe, but I believe that Israel is the one to blame for what’s happening in Gaza and in Palestine.

It is well known that it was Israel that triggered the present violence escalade, when last November 4, the Israeli army killed six members of Hamas, violating the truce, ("tahdiyeh"), that it had established with the Islamic movement (through Egyptian mediation) last June. Of course Hamas fell in the trap and started to launch rockets to Israel [it must be said that in the last 7 years some 20 israeli civilians were killed by these rockets].

Israel then intensified the economic blockade of Gaza, closing its borders, not allowing food, medications and fuel to get in, aggravating thus a situation that the World Bank and the UN have long described as catastrophic. In fact the whole economy of Gaza has been collapsing, enterprises being able to survive, there being no imports possible, no energy, a total humiliation, a huge prision.

Israel was happy. It had provoked Hamas’ reaction and could therefore fully justify its present military invasion of the territory. Of course you do not prepare such an operation overnight. According to israeli paper Ha’aretz, the preparation of the military operation had begun six months ago, while Egypt was mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas and when Hamas requested as condition for truce the end of the blockade.

So why, why did Israel want to invade Gaza and make war against the Hamas? For several reasons, probably. The first is that it pays politically when there will be elections in February. But certainly the most important one is to take advantage of the void of power and leadership in the US with Bush leaving (well he was always irrelevant in the matter actually). And send Obama a strong message saying “here, we are in control of the situation, we decide”. Their objective is to leave the situation even more complicated and chaotic than it was before, making it nearly impossible for Obama or anyone to try and do anything. And let’s not forget that the Israeli military and Olmert were eager to make up for their failure in Lebanon in 2006. And last but not least, by attacking Hamas, that contributes to radicalise the movement, and, with a bit of luck, even contribute to creating other even more radical groups, thus having a solid justification for Israel’s policy in the region and to justify their military control of Palestine. Of course this is the strategy of the Military for Israel, the Military having taken the lead and imposed their strategy to the government (if you consider there is one…). And they have won to the (weak) political view. Nowadays, the Military have been able to convince Israel’s population that this is the only way.

Israel’s objective was to stop the rockets which are becoming better and with increased capacity range (Iranian technology), to destroy tunnels from Egypt and all possibilities for the Hamas to replace material and arm themselves. But they also intended to weaken Hamas to make it negotiate according to Israel’s conditions. The objective was to turn the Palestinian population against Hamas for leading them to the present situation and blockade.

Instead, the population still supports Hamas, and the whole thing will only contribute to reinforcing the radicals, creating an army of potential terrorists and suicide bombers (think of all the parents of murdered children). The forces of Hamas in exile have already promised a third Intifada. The results will therefore be very far from what Israel has planned.

What Israel now fears is that the Hezbollah, supported by Syria, opens a second front of war in Lebanon. Or that a rebellion starts in the West Bank, where Mahmoud Abbas has been incapable of getting any improvement from Israel. The “settlements” continue to expand, military incursions continue, checkpoints multiply and more than 6,000 prisoners remain in prison.

Sure the Israeli want to negotiate and oblige Hamas to sit down and negotiate, but according to their conditions. Of course that will not happen easily. In 2006, Hamas requested that Israel recognises the borders established by the UN in 1967, to withdraw from the West Bank, including Jerusalem and allow refugees to comeback. He proposed peace in Exchange. Israel will never accept that and peace will remain a vain word.

The question is, how did the situation get to this point?

Since 1967 that Israel has occupied, little by little, Palestinian territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and in Gaza (and later in the Golan Mounts). Many Palestinian had to leave their lands and seek refuge in Lebanon and Jordan. In Lebanon they were even massacred by the local militias with Israeli support (remember Sabra and Shatila in 1982?). Israel has always controlled the borders and the access of Palestinians. In the meantime nearly 500,000 people live in settlements in the occupied territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. And they are still being built nowadays. Many also live in the Golan area. Israel has withdrawn from Gaza because the situation was too difficult. Israel usually says that they will not give back the Golan area to Syria because of military strategic reasons but the only reason is water – sea of Galilee and the Jordan river.

So what do you expect from a population under occupation, who see their land being occupied and stolen, day after day? Being humiliated, their rights hampered, their liberty controlled? They organised a “resistance”. Of course Palestinian did not have Israel’s money nor the same powerful friends. No tanks, no helicopters, no airplanes, no missiles, let alone the atomic bomb. In despair they had their own life. Of course nothing justifies terrorism and taking the life of innocent civilian as suicide bombers have done. But have they tried to understand the reasons behind? The total despair of a people let alone? But statistics are there, internationally recognised for all to see the disproportion of the results. Casualties in the Palestinian side are 10 times higher than those in Israel’s side. The number of children killed in Palestine since the first Intifada, alone, is higher than that of all Israelis killed.

And it is widely known how Israel has disrespected all UN resolutions and international laws. And even committed many war crimes. As very recently, during the current war, when Israel has disrespected the UN’s Security Council 1860 for a cease-fire. It has even attacked schools and places where it had indicated civilians to seek refuge, killing many children. Nothing like that is new, that has been a current practise in the past, notably in Lebanon. Israel dictates the rules and decides. In all impunity, without any retaliations.

Of course Israel has always had the strong support of the US and even more so under Bush, who saw in Israel a strong ally in his holy war against the axis of evil. Of course he has never understood (it would have been asking him too much) that Palestine and Israel was one of the reasons for the “axis of evil”…

In conclusion, it is easy to understand how it all started and the reasons for the present situation. Of course, not only the US is guilty and also responsible for letting Israel getting to the present situation. Also most of the world, and Europe in particular, have their share of responsibility. Britain as previous power in the region, and the EU today. When they requested free democratic elections in Palestine and they got it and Hamas won, they made a strong mistake, not to accept the result. And it is quite understandable why Hamas won the elections then. People got tired of political solutions that never worked and tired of seeing the situation always getting worse without any improvement.

Of course Europe could not ask Hamas to accept everything just like that. Even Israel only accepted the existence of Palestine in 1988, long after Arafat’s PLO had recognised the existence of the state of Israel. Europe lost there a unique chance of making things progress. And Europe must also move forward. It cannot continue to be hostage of what happened with the Holocaust, things are not to be mixed. Nowadays it is Israel who is occupying and imposing their dictatorship on Palestinian territories. And being against Israel’s policy or government has nothing to do with being anti Jew. That propaganda from Israel is not acceptable. The world has all the right to condemn Israel’s policy in the area.The problem is that even if Israel accepts to talk with Hamas and Hamas and all other Palestinian groups sit and agree to negotiate peace, it will be very difficult if not impossible to reach an agreement. How can Palestinian accept that a big part of their territory continues to be occupied with Israeli colonies? And Israel will never accept to withdraw back to the borders of 1967, and will never abandon East Jerusalem. Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in occupied Palestinian territory [at the end of 2006, the total Jewish population of the settlements in the West Bank, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, was of 417,723]. It must be said that international law is very clear as regards the illegality of Israeli occupation and settlements in the West Bank (*).

It will be very difficult if not impossible to establish an international zone around Jerusalem either. And Israel will certainly not bring down its wall, most certainly.

Of course after the current war, when Hamas has been more or less neutralised, Israel will sit down and talk. So will some Palestinian, possibly. Many voices already demand today that there be a negotiation with Hamas, even voices like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, former advisers for national security of US presidents Jimmy Carter and Bush or Robert Malley, former adviser for Middle-east issues to president Clinton. But will Hamas still exist after the present war? Who will rule the chaos created in Gaza?

And it remains to be seen what Barack Obama will be willing to do, when he goes to Office next week. To my understanding, there will be little he can do. But let’s hope he has some will. At least it is crucial he understands that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is key to the whole Middle-East and world peace situation and that therefore it needs to be dealt with urgently. Unlike the Bush administration, that considered it peripheral. But that’s the past now.

Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_conflict

http://www.fmep.org/

http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/homepage.asp?pi=25
http://electronicintifada.net/
http://middleeast.about.com/
http://www.mideastweb.org/

(*) Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War states in the first paragraph: “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.” And in the sixth paragraph: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Also, UN Security Council Resolution 446, on March 22, 1979, determined that “the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.” Finally an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in 2004, addressing the West Bank barrier in particular and the West Bank in general, concluded “that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (including East Jerusalem) have been established in breach of international law.”

My Cinema: Best of 2008

My Cinema: Best of 2008

Bellow is the list (in no particular order) of the best films I saw during 2008. I prefer not to select any best film, always hard to do. And even though 2008 was not one of the best cinema years (for me) it was definitely the year of the Coen Brothers. With their (very different) films NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and BURN AFTER READING they were definitely the best!

My special thoughts and respect also to some great cinema people we lost in 2008, in particular to Heath Ledger, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack and Paul Newman.

As regards actors 2008 confirmed the good moment of Javier Bardem (who won his Oscar), of Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz (who we all saw in Allen’s film VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA). And not forgetting Shia LaBeouf, continuing his great career. And Josh Brolin!
Also to mention the come back of Brazilian cinema, with some interesting films and directors! To be followed!

And among other films from 2008, which I haven’t had the chance to see yet, I would like to mention Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER (Mickey Rourke’s comeback) and Gus Van Sant’s MILK (with that dream-cast bringing together Sean Penn - playing Harvey Milk, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and James Franco, among others…) which I am more than eager to see. And also AUSTRALIA (by Baz Luhrmann) which I will see today.

So here’s the list:

Best films 2008 (in no particular order)

INTO THE WILD, Sean Penn, US 2007
THERE WILL BE BLOOD, John Paul Anderson, US 2007
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Ethan and Joel Coen, US 2007
BURN AFTER READING, Ethan and Noel Coen, US 2008
J’AI TOUJOURS REVÉ D’ETRE UN GANGSTER, Samuel Benchetrit, France 2007
GOMORRA, Matteo Garrone, Italy 2008
XXY, Lucia Puenzo, Argentina 2007
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, Paul Haggis, US 2007
LA ZONA, Rodrigo Plá, Mexico 2007
THIS IS ENGLAND, Shane Meadows, UK 2006
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Woody Allen, Europe 2008
TOKYO, Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax, Michel Gondry, France, Japan, South-Korea, 2008
BLINDNESS, Fernando Meirelles, Canada, Brasil, Japan 2008
TROPA DE ELITE, José Padilla, Brasil 2007
THE BAND’S VISIT, Eran Kolirin, Israel, France 2007
IT’S A FREE WORLD, Ken Loach, UK 2007

And a special mention to the following films:

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, Mike Nichols, US 2007
CAOTICA ANA, Julio Medem, Spain 2007
JUNO, James Reitman, US 2007
ENTRE LES MURS, Jerôme Cantet, France 2008
THE VISITOR, Thomas McCarthy, US 2007
THE SAVAGES, Tamara Jenkins, US 2007
CALIFORNIA DREAMING (“Nesfarsit)”, Cristian Nemescu, Romania 2007

>>

My Music: Cool hopes for 2009

So what will be cool in 2009? Who has made some interesting things & promises to be very creative & fresh throughout the coming months?... Hard to say, with the mix of styles today things are going in different directions.

The BBC has brought out a list of the artists they think might be making waves during 2009 and they make a huge bet on the new female electro pop stars... and in a whole new generation of laptop-wielding stars (mostly female), predominately in their early 20s.... They say these should replace the "old-fashioned" white male guitar bands that have dominated the charts in recent years... To be checked very closely...

A paper published in the Guardian went as far as to suggest that during 2009 the majority of labels would not be signing guitar bands and instead should turn their attentions to the more electronic-based synth pop sounds. The supposed trend shows the fruits of a new generation of technology-savvy kids who turned to the laptop as a creative output, instead of the guitar or the drums... and reviving synth sounds, nu-disco & pop from the seventies... See the full list over the BBC News website.

They suggest names like La Roux, Lady Ga Ga and Little Boots (pictured above) but others can be added such as Karin Dreijer Andersson (from The Knife, with her solo project), the already well-known scandinavian girls Sally Shapiro and Lykke Li, or others like Liela Moss (& her band The Duke Spirit) and even Lilly Allen. And let's not forget other males like Breakbot, Surkin, Yuksek, the italian group Crookers, the brits We have band, Late of the Pier, Pnau and of course, the greatest australian act Empire of the sun (check previous posts).

Find bellow a couple of suggestions of what might follow in 2009... N-joy!

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Little Boots

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - La Roux

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Lilly allen (not a newcomer though) from forthcoming CD “It’s not me it’s you”

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Liela Moss & The Duke Spirit

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Fuck buttons “sweet love for Planet Earth”

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Crookers (the italian Justice)

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Brasilain Girls (nor girls nor brasilian, from NY)

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Breakbot

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Pnau

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - We have Band

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Surkin

My Music: Hopes for 2009 - Yuksek

My Music: Top 20 of 2008 gayness

I publish here an interesting reference to the "Top 20 of 2008 gayness" - N-joy!
http://fuckyouonfriday.com/2009/01/08/516/

My Music: Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife.

My Music: B E S T of 2 0 0 8

My best music - 2008

> 10 Best AlBUMS

Best Album of 2008:
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a dream

Other:

Black Ghosts / Black Ghosts

Crystal Castles / Crystal Castles Cut Copy / In ghost colours

Golden Bug / Hot robot Hot Chip / Made in the darkLeila / Bloods, Looms and blooms Melle Caro & Franck Garcia / Pain Disappears Quiet Village / Silent movie Tetine / Let your Xs be Ys +
MGMT / Oracular spectacular
(which came out end of 2007 but I hadn't included in my best of 2007 )

+ special mention to Hercules & love affair

> TOP 40 MiXed tunes (alphabetical order)

Alter Ego Gary (Carl Craig Remix)
Andrès Garcìa No More Tears (Quarion Rmx)
Ben Mono Jesus Was A B-Boy feat. Jemeni - TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos Remix
Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya Fuck Friend (Yuksek & Brodinski Remix)
College feat Anoraak Fantasy Park (Moulinex remix)
Cut Copy Lights and Music (Boys Noize Rmx)
David Rubato Circuit (Aeroplane Remix)
Dubfire I Feel Speed - Original Club Mix
Fischerspooner The Best Revenge (Oliver Koletzki Remix)
Friendly Fires Paris (ft. Au Revoir Simone) (Aeroplane Remix)
Golden Bug LookLookLook - In Flagranti Remix
Hot Chip One pure thought (Supermayer remix)
Hot Chip Ready for the floor (Soulwax dub)
Jamie Jones & Simon Baker Kaskazi (Emotional Mix)
Jamie Lloyd May I? - Quarion's Morning Rave Remix
Ladytron Runaway (Ashtar Command remix)
Le Corps Mince De Françoise Ray-Ban Glasses (Les Gillettes Remix)
Little Boots Stuck on Repeat (Fake Blood Remix)
Lullabies In The Dark Iridium - Superpitcher Remix
Matias Aguayo Minimal [DJ Koze Remix]
Metronomy Heartbreaker (Kris Menace Remix)
MGMT Kids (Soulwax Mix)
Munk Feat. Asia Argento Live Fast Die Old (Maral Salmassi & Zero Cash Remix)
Of Montreal Gallery Piece (Minitel Rose Remix)
Sam Taylor-Wood (prod. Pet Shop Boys) I'm In Love With A German Film Star (Jurgen Paape Mix)
The Presets This Boy's In Love (LifeLike Remix)
Robert Babicz Dark Flower(Joris Voorn Remix)
Róisín Murphy You Know Me Better (Guy Williams Vocal Mix)
Sally Shapiro Jackie Jackie (Spend this Winter with Me) (Junior Boys Remix)
Sally Shapiro I'll Be By Your Side (Tensnake Remix)
Santogold L.E.S. Artistes (Ooh Ee Remix)
Sei A Smile For Me - Chaim Remix
The Shortwave Set Now 'til '69 (Aeroplane Remix)
Surkin Next of Kin (Todd Edwards' Re-Kindled Mix)
SymbolOne Love Juice (Moulinex Remix)
Ted & Francis I Wish I Was A Polar Bear (Arctic Urgency Edit)
Tiga Mind Dimension 2 (Soulwax Version)
The Ting Tings Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix)
TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos Tranentrekker (Ben Mono Remix)
Veerus & Maxie Devine O Zibaldone (Popof Remix)

> Best tunes (unmixed) alphabetical order

Black Kids I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance
Clara Moto Silently
Empire of the Sun Walking On A Dream
Guy Gerber Disorientation (Original Mix)
Herb LF Sunliner
Jean Claude Ades & Vincent Thomas Shingaling
Johannes Heil & Christian Pass Love And Hate
Justus Kohncke Parage
KiD CuDi Day 'N' Nite
Ladyhawke Paris Is Burning
Manuel Tur & DPlay Deviate (Original Mix)
Morgan Geist Most of All
Mujava Township Funk
The Rubies I Feel Electric
Siriusmo Diskoding
Solomun Don't Cry
Something A La Mode Paris Makes Me Feel Like Dancing
Skatebård Meeting 1990
Solomun Somebodys Story
Tetine Let The X Be X

> 10 Best REMIX/COMPILATION ALBUMS

Âme Fabric 42
Cosmic Balearic Beats Volume 1
Danielle Baldelli Cosmic Disco
François K Masterpiece
Full Pupp presents Greatest Tits Vol 1 (feat Prins Thomas)
Kitsuné Compilation Maison Vol. 6
Metro Area Fabric 43
Onur Özer Watergate 01
Poplife sucks various
Sally Shapiro remixes vol. 1

> Best MIXERS

Soulwax
Hot Chip
Aeroplane
Moulinex
Ted & Francis


> Best MUISC BLOGS & SITES

Ohhcrapp
Bigstereo
Discodust
Discobelle
You call me Pelski
Pretty much amazing
Sundtrack
Redthreat

<<<

My Music: Playlist November & December 2008

PLAYLIST 2008 – November + December
in alphabetical order
(Best of 2008 coming out soon)

1 Appaloosa / The Day We Fell In Love (Ted&Francis Remix)
2 College feat Anoraak / Fantasy Park (Moulinex remix)
3 David Rubato / Circuit (Aeroplane Remix)
4 Empire of the Sun / Walking On A Dream
5 Eskimo Disco / Japanese Girl (Fred Falke Club Edit)
6 Franz Ferdinand / Ulysses (IMISSMYJUNO remix)
7 Freezepop / FrontLoad (Designer Drugs Remix)
8 Golden Bug / My Teacher Is A Zombie
9 Hot Chip / Touch Too Much (Fake Blood Remix)
10 Kid Carpet / Hitting The Wall
11 Kid Cudi & Crookers / Day 'n' Night (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit)
12 Killers / The Human (Ocelot Remix - Alternative Live Edit)
13 Ladytron / Runaway (Ashtar Command remix)
14 Little Boots vs Richard X / Fine Boots
15 Lullabies In The Dark / Iridium (Superpitcher Remix)
16 Metronomy / Heartbreaker (Kris Menace Remix)
17 Mini Viva / Left My Heart In Tokyo (Fred Falke Dub Mix)
18 Nathan Drew Larsen / Touch Me (King Roc Remix)
19 Of Montreal / Gallery Piece (Minitel Rose Remix)
20 Sam Taylor-Wood & Pet Shop Boys / I'm In Love With A German Film Star –
(Jurgen Paape Mix)
21 Sebastien Tellier / Kilometer (Moulinex Remix)
22 Sei A / Smile For Me (Chaim Remix)
23 Ted & Francis / I Wish I Was A Polar Bear (Arctic Urgency Edit)
24 Tiga / Mind Dimension 2 (Soulwax Version)
25 We Have Band / Oh! (Andrew 'Friendly Fires' Remix)
26 You Love Her Coz Shes Dead / Dead End (Scion Edit)

<

My Music: More Empire of the sun!

My Music: Empire of the Sun!

My music: Clubfeet - "Teenage suicide"

My music: Italian electro guys - The Bloody Beetroots

CORNELIUS from borntofilm on Vimeo.

My Music: Munk'tastic!

MUNK "Down in L.A." (Shazam Version) from Leroy Hanghofer on Vimeo.

My Music: autokratz

AUTOKRATZ - Stay The Same
envoyé par MaisonKitsune

My Music: Fischerspooner

Fischerspooner - Never win
envoyé par muse324

My Music: Hercules & Love Affair

Hercules & Love Affair

My Music: LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem

My Music: more from http://www.myspace.com/nightlife

Scotty Coats

My Music: Myspace tv is in

Neon Beanbag

My Music: Kitsuné Maison 6 is OUT!

Kitsuné Maison 6 video
envoyé par MaisonKitsune

my music: Opus III - It's A Fine Day

PLAYLIST October 2008

>[in alfabethical order]

Andrès Garcìa - No More Tears (Quarion Rmx)
Arnaud Rebotini - The spirit of boogie
autoKratz - Stay The Same (Edit)
Clara Moto - Silently (Video Edit)
Le Corps Mince De Francoise - Ray-Ban Glasses (Les Gillettes Remix)
The Death Set - Negative Thinking (Treasure Fingers Remix)
DJ Pippi Vs. Willie Graff - Hyper Space (Space Dub Mix)
Eine Kleine Nacht Musik - La Serenissima
Friendly Fires - Paris (ft. Au Revoir Simone) (Aeroplane Remix)
Golden Bug - LookLookLook - In Flagranti Remix
Grovesnor - Drive Your Car (Hot Chip Remix)
Hercules And Love Affair - You Belong (Riton Remix)
Jamie Jones & Simon Baker - Kaskazi (Emotional Mix)
Morgan Geist - Detroit (c2RMX2 By Carl Craig)
The Shortwave Set - Now 'til '69 (Aeroplane Remix)
Skatebård - Hidden Track
Solomun – Somebody’s Story
Texi - Texi (edit)
Veerus & Maxie Devine - O Zibaldone (Popof Remix)
Yuksek - Tonight
<

Music Playlist September 2008

Ben Mono - Jesus Was A B-Boy feat. Jemeni TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos Remix
Class71 - Diamond Door Original Mix
Cut Copy - Lights & Music Moulinex Remix
Danton Eeprom - The Infinity Symbol Original Mix
DeAdMaU5 & KaSkAdE - I Remember D Dub Edit
Dirty South & Axwell - Open Your Heart Vocal Remix
Dubshape - Droplets Early Night Mix
Fairmont - Down The Rabbit Hole Original Mix
Herb LF - Sunliner Original Mix
Housse De Racket - Oh Yeah Tepr Remix
Junkie XL - You Make Me Feel So Good
Low Motion Disco - Love Love Love Aeroplane Mix
Lullabies In The Dark - Song For Marie And Elise Aeroplane Remix
Matias Aguayo - Minimal DJ Koze Remix
Metronomy - Heartbreaker Discodeine Remix
Minilogue - Jamaica Dubfire Remix
Morgan Geist - The Shore
Mujava - Township Funk
Pan/Tone - Perdon Pan/Tone Original Mix
Phonique And Kiloo - The Passion Manuel Tur And DPlay Remix
Sami Koivikko - Sapphire Original Mix
Solomun - Don't Cry
Something A La Mode - Paris Makes Me Feel Like Dancing
Stimming - Una Pena Original Mix
Veerus & Maxie Devine - O Zibaldone Popof Remix
>

MUSIC PLAYLIST JULY-AUGUST 2008

Here's finally the playlist for the summer 2008!

Abel The Kid & Raul Ortiz – Phoenix
Blackbelt Anderson - Sirup (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
Botox - Babylon By Car
Cazals - Somebody Somewhere (Lifelike Remix)
CSS - Left Behind (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)
Discodeine – Joystick
Faze Action - Original Disco Motion (vocal)
FM Belfast - Killin In The Name Of
Fukkk Offf – Black Phantom
Guy Gerber - Disorientation (Original Mix)
Hedford Vachal - Alan vs. Gary
Henrik Schwarz, Ame & Dixon - D.P.O.M.B. (Version 2)
Kimouts - Down to Earth (MyMy Monterrey Wash Remix 2)
Kleerup - thnku4nthn (Alf Tumble remix)
Low Motion Disco - Things Are Gonna Get Easier (Windsurf Remix)
Manuel Mind & Valentino Tomasi - Strange sounds (robot mix)
Mark Knight, Adam K & Soha - From the speaker (Dub Remix]
Morgan Geist –Most of all
Moulinex - Down and Out
Mzkbx - Chinese Restaurant (Yakuza Version)
M83 – You appearing
Phonique And Kiloo - The Passion (Manuel Tur And DPlay Remix)
Rubies (feat. Feist) - I Feel Electric (TieDye RMX)
Sally Shappiro - I'll Be By Your Side (Tensnake Remix)
The Shortwave Set – No social (Optimo Espacio mix)
Symbol One - Love Juice (Moulinex Remix)
Toby Tobias - The Feeling (vinyl version)Uncle O - Sin drum

PLAYLIST 2008 - April to June

<
Warriors ( In Space ) the Beat Broker
Shaded (Compuphonic and Kolombo Remix) Cari Lekebusch
Seaphone - Quarion Remix Class71
Antimatter Compuphonic & Kolombo
Lights and Music (Boys Noize Rmx) Cut Copy
To The Bone - Original Mix Danton Eeprom
Not Exactly (Trick & Kubic Remix) Deadmau5
Pocket Piano DJ Mehdi
The Best Revenge (Oliver Koletzki Remix) Fischerspooner
This Sound Flip & Def Jaguar aka Djuma So
Quiet Before The Storm - Quarion Remix Foster
A Thousand Nights (Dubfire Quiet Storm Remix) Gregor Tresher
Business Acumen In Flagranti
4NC Jay Shephard
Dangly Panther (Original Mix) Jimpster
Love And Hate Johannes Heil & Christian Pass
The Deep (Jimpster Remix) Joris Voorn
Happy House (Lee Douglas remix) The Juan MacLean
No Kinda Man - Body Language Exclusive Track Junior Boys
Paris is Burning - Cut Copy Remix Ladyhawke
Stuck on Repeat (Fake Blood Remix) Little Boots
Move-Dub Mix LouLou Players
I'm Good, I'm gone (Fred Falke Remix) Lykke Li
Deviate (Original Mix) Manuel Tur & DPlay
Better Days Minitel Rose
Grace (Black Labelles Minimal Grace Mix) Miss Kittin
Live Fast Die Old (Maral Salmassi & Zero Cash Remix) Munk Feat. Asia Argento
I Lust U Neon Neon Feat. Kate Le Bon
Talk Like That (Miami Horror Remix) The Presets
Mirando (MMMatthias remix) Ratatat
Dengon feat. Mai - Larry Heard's Gentle Breeze Remix Richard Les Crees
Dark Flower (Joris Voorn Magnolia Mix) Robert Babicz
Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix) Rufus Wainwright
Find My Soul (Norweigan Electrojazz Mix) Sally Shapiro
L.E.S. Artistes (Ooh Ee Remix) Santogold
Rising Sun (C2 Edit) Sebastien San
Diskoding Siriusmo
Let The X Be X Tetine
Tranentrekker (Ben Mono Remix) TJ Kong & Nuno Dos Santos
Prepare to energize Torch Song
>