Lustful Thoughts About Merkel

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The attacks on Charlie Hebdo and their aftermath continue to make the news. We're moved from the news, to the reactions to the news, and now we're on to reactions to the reactions to the news. You are no doubt aware that there was a massive rally in support of freedom of expression Charlie Hebdo in Paris and that world leaders gathered together in a staged photograph solidarity. (No surprise, really. Does anyone think their security details would have let them mingle with 1.5 million people?)

In the front of the group, are the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, Frederica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris. I'm not going to name anyone else in the group, because it's a little off topic. Back to Merkel.

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Je Suis Charlie

Je Suis Charlie

Bonjour, je suis Charlie. No, I’m not converting this into a blog written in French; my skills are nowhere near to up to it. But today, je suis Charlie.

I woke to the news that gunmen had massacred the staff of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. I had heard of the magazine before, though I’ve never read it. If I’m going to read a French periodical, it’s typically Têtu, the French LGBT magazine. I always figured that Charlie Hebdo would be a mix of cultural references I didn’t know (“who is that guy supposed to be?”) and slang that was unaware of (“there’s no entry for that in my Larousse”). But today, je suis Charlie.

The early news on the massacre reported that the gunmen yelled out slogans in Arabic. The police have identified three suspects, but until the police actually name the suspects and a case is made, I don’t want to leap to any conclusions. On the other hand, I don’t want to be Bill Donahue of the Catholic League, who actually sympathized with the killers. The one consolation is that it shows that Bill Donahue doesn’t have to be lying about gay people in order to be a disgusting asshole. In a reasonable world, no journalist would ever again want to sit near Donahue. He made his remarks on CNN; I’m sure they’ll have him back.

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You can follow my blog on Twitter (@impofthediverse) or on Facebook. If you like this post, share it with your friends. If you have a comment just for me, e-mail me at impofthediverse@gmail.com.

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Tianamen Square Reminds Us Not to Turn VOA into Pravda

The LA Times reports today that as we near the twenty-fifth anniversary of Tiananmen Square, people in China are using clandestine ways to commemorate the event. In the Opinion section, Al Pessin, a Voice of America journalist who was ejected from China for his coverage of Tianamen Square warns that

You can't win respect and communicate if no one is listening, and people will stop listening if Congress transforms VOA into a Russian- or Chinese-style state broadcaster.

But, unfortunately, that's exactly what one member of Congress has suggested. Ed Royce, the Representative from California's 39 District has filed a bill that would direct Voice of America to report the news in a fashion "consistent with and promotes the broad foreign policies of the United States."

There's a word for that, Mr. Royce. It's propaganda.

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You can follow my blog on Twitter (@impofthediverse) or on Facebook. If you like this post, share it with your friends. If you have a comment just for me, e-mail me at impofthediverse@gmail.com.

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This blog runs solely on ego! Follow this blog! Comment on this post! Let me know that you want to read more of it!