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12/21/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- More than 300 Airmen partnered with colleagues from five other countries for an exercise held in Southwest Asia that concluded in mid-December. The event began in November and simulated a "large force employment," and gave participating nations a chance to develop solutions to potential issues that might occur during contingency operations. Aircrews from France, Jordan, Pakistan, the U.K., and the U.S. took part in simulated air battles as well as the advanced tactical leadership course, which included more than 200 hours of classroom instruction. In addition, ground crews collaborated on maintenance and security challenges....

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors fly in formation during a training mission in southwest Asia, Dec. 6, 2009. The F-22 fighters and crews are deployed from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and entered the Air Forces Central area of responsibility for the first time as part of a multi-national exercise where aircrews from France, Jordan, Pakistan, the U.A.E., the U.K. and the U.S. trained together in fighting a large-scale air war. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller. SOUTHWEST ASIA — U.S. Airmen here marked a milestone recently, completing the first deployment...

Four trains have broken down in the Channel Tunnel due to cold weather, as snow is expected to cause further disruption in parts of Britain. The temperature difference between the cold air and warm tunnel caused the trains to break down, Eurostar said. Passengers from two of the services have been moved to different trains; the other trains are to be pushed out. More snow and freezing temperatures are expected for parts of Scotland and south-east and eastern England. More than 2,000 people were trapped in the tunnel and some of the trains were without heating and lighting. Two further...

LONDON — A British medical journal has published findings saying a mistress of 16th-century French King Henry II may have died from consuming too much drinkable gold. When French experts dug up the remains of Diane de Poitiers last year, they found high levels of gold in her hair. -snip-

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PARIS - Many people love horses and traditionally, many French people have loved them even more with a side of salad. That passion, however, has slowed to a trickle in the last couple of years as crisis-hit French consumers buy less meat and years of campaigning by animal rights groups take effect. Looking to ram home their advantage, campaigners have launched a pre-Christmas blitz in Paris featuring posters of riding school ponies and graceful yearlings aimed at rending the hardest of hearts. "Every year in France, riding school horses like Caramel are sent to the abattoir," says one poster by...

As many in the world focused on international climate talks and an attack on the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, France remained transfixed by the news that a beloved and aging French rock star known as the French Elvis was in a medically induced coma in a Los Angeles hospital. Long-awaited news about President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to invest in universities and new businesses received far less coverage in most news media than the news about the singer, Johnny Hallyday. Even Le Monde, one of France’s most serious newspapers, weighed in with an editorial bemoaning the rocker’s illness, saying it...

Muslim men who force their wives to wear the full Islamic veil should not be granted French citizenship, Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Thursday. Wading into the debate over whether to ban the burka, Mr Alliot-Marie said the government would await the recommendations of a parliamentary panel considering possible legislation to bar Muslim women from wearing the full veil. But the minister went on to say that "there are a certain number of basics on which we must stand firm". "For instance, someone who would be seeking French citizenship and whose wife wears the full veil is someone who...

Mirage math: Israel better than France SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Dec. 10: Israel is close to swinging an order to upgrade French-origin Mirage 2000 aircraft with the Indian Air Force (IAF) despite France’s charm offensive in hosting the Indian military on the Champs Elysees. Tel Aviv has offered to upgrade the frontline fighter aircraft, of which the IAF has three squadrons, at rates nearly 40 per cent less than the price quoted by the French. Israel, whose chief of defence staff returns to Tel Aviv after visiting New Delhi this week for the first time since diplomatic relations were established...

The reported capturing of a Muslim women in Reus (Tarragona) and the issuing of a stoning sentence for adultery by religious fanatics are a gauge of a phenomenon that has already appeared in Holland and France, and which is now taking root in Catalonia: the creation of Islamic "moral brigades" by fundamentalists, who claim the role of judges and police officers imposing a strict observance of Sharia, or Islamic law. The theatre of the incursions of these Islamic "moral patrols" are the rural towns where the mosques are controlled by Salafists, a fundamentalist sect of Islam, with a substantial presence...

Every child, Muslim or not, KNOWS Islam hates what America stands for. As a European, I understand why many Americans wonder why we don't give more support to the US than we do. You, indeed, supported US, even in our darkest hour; at a point in history we Europeans didn't even support our own freedom. This was just some decades ago. One sort of answer to this question is that deep somewhere in the intrinsic soul of Europe, there is true resistence to evil and enslavement, but after having experienced so much of it, we are somewhat unable of expressing...

Nicolas Sarkozy stoked the debate over immigration today with a warning to Muslims to practise their religion discreetly or face rejection by moderate Islam in France. The President voiced sympathy for Swiss voters who opted last week to ban minarets as he tried to reassert himself in a debate over national identity which he launched last month but that has since spiralled out of his control. Over the past week, Mr Sarkozy had appeared to retreat from his original comments following a backlash over the way that they were being used against immigrants, particularly Muslims. But in a column for...

France, Coming Soon: Dozens of new Mosques The Swiss recently touched the tip of the iceberg by banning minarets, which will hopefully lead to further actions. Unfortunately another European country is allowing Islam to surge forward. Will Europe ever truly wake up and confront the threat of Islam? Sarkozy warns against religious “ostentation” after Swiss vote Tue, Dec 08, 2009

One of the pet peeves of anthropogenic global warming skeptics is how the media and climate change alarmists like soon-to-be-Dr. Al Gore only address events supporting that which they conflate and abuse data to prove. A perfect example is the discussion concerning receding glaciers, as these folks will either ignore when such recession began, .. Maybe even worse, the media alarmists will always ignore information that might throw a monkey wrench into the position they’re trying to advance. With that in mind, it seems a metaphysical certitude American press outlets will ignore reports of glacial expansion around the globe, most...

SNIPPET: "AUSTRALIA'S most notorious terrorist Willie Brigitte will be free from jail next year having served less than half his sentence for conspiring to blow up the nation's only nuclear reactor and the power grid. The Caribbean-born Muslim convert made headlines in 2007 when he was sentenced in France to a maximum nine years, following his arrest in Sydney, for joining an al-Qaida-backed Pakistani terror cell out to bomb Lucas Heights nuclear plant, the national electricity grid or a military base. The French Justice Ministry is considering releasing the 41-year-old, on an early-release good-behaviour plan."

Nicolas Sarkozy has pulled out of a planned trip to London on which he was supposed to calm fears that French-style regulation will be imposed on the City. It was reported this morning that Mr Sarkozy was to make a short visit to Number 10 to smooth relations in the wake of his gloating about the appointment of former French minister Michel Barnier to the EU’s internal market portfolio. But a spokesman for the French president said: “Nicolas Sarkozy will not go to London tomorrow. “There will be a meeting between Brown and Sarkozy on the sidelines of the European...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-ag-1289.html Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 1, 2009 United States Transfers a Guantanamo Bay Detainee to France WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that a detainee has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of France. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance...

I'd rather not know: the psychology of climate denialPARIS, Dec 1 (AFP) Dec 01, 2009 If the evidence is overwhelming that man-made climate change is already upon us and set to wreak planetary havoc, why do so many people refuse to believe it? The UN's panel of climate scientists, in a landmark report, described the proof of global warming as "unequivocal." That was two years ago, and since then hundreds of other studies have pointed to an ever-bleaker future, with a potential loss of life numbering in the tens of millions, if not more. Yet survey after survey from around...

Swiss Proverb:"When you see what you see, and know what you know, you can think what you think" Press Release by Marie-Christine Arnautu Chairman, FN, Ile-de-France [Paris Metro Region] It happened again in July of 2008: the Ile-de-France Regional Council stealthily voted for a subsidy to help in the construction of the new mosque in Créteil, complete with its 25 m [82 ft] minaret, the highest in France. The Union pour un Mouvement Populaire [UMP, center-right party] was outspoken in its support for the subsidy, along with the Parti Socialiste [Socialist Party] and the Parti communiste [French Communist Party]. Only...

[with the vote against the construction of minarets] The Swiss have responded, headed on, Sunday Nov. 29, to the questions that are gradually threading at different degrees through all the European countries. Is Islam compatible with European societies? Could it become an element of the national identities that forged the continent? [...] In France, the vice president of the national Front, Marine Le Pen, has not said differently. She was happy with the Swiss vote, and has demanded that "the elites stop negating the aspirations and beliefs of the European people, who have rejected the ostentatious sings of the political-religious...

28 November 2008 – According to news flash which appeared in today’s edition of the Journal du Dimanche, the French Minister for Immigration, Eric Besson will sign a bilateral readmission agreement with the Kosovo authorities during a three-day-visit to the Balkans. Only a week ago, the same newspaper announced the imminent conclusion of a bilateral readmission agreement between France and Serbia. In exchange, the French minister promised to support the adoption of visa facilities for the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia during the next meeting of the European Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which will take place in Brussels, on...

Jean-Yves Blondeau (Aix les Bains, 1970 - ), also known as "Rollerman", is a French designer who is best known for creating the 31-wheel roller suit (Buggy Rollin'). This suit places a number of rollers (similar to those found on rollerblades) on most of the major joints, the torso, and the back. The wearer can ride in a variety of positions (rollerblade, on back, on torso, on all fours, etc.) at speeds of up to 60 mph (96 km/h). He has been featured on television shows in several countries.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday questioned US President Barack Obama's decision to attend the start of upcoming negotiations on global warming instead of the decisive final days. "We can't allow the presence of one single head of state to stymie the world's affairs," Sarkozy told reporters ahead of the Copenhagen conference which opens on December 7. "The decisive moment is December 17 and 18. If some come at the beginning and others at the end, when will we be able to take decisions?" he asked. Obama is scheduled to address the meeting in Copenhagen on December 9, the day...

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — The leaders of Britain and France gave their backing Friday to a global fund that would provide billions of dollars to poor countries to help them reduce the output of greenhouse gases linked to climate change. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the wealthiest nations should set aside the money as part of a climate agreement at next month's U.N. summit on the issue in Copenhagen. Sarkozy told reporters at a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad that the fund should provide $10 billion annually for the next three years to...

Friday November 27, 2009 French National Assembly Rejects Euthanasia Bill by Wide Margin By Hilary WhitePARIS, November 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The French National Assembly has rejected an attempt to legalize euthanasia in a 326 to 202 vote. "Euthanasia is not a medical act. The right to die is not a medical act," said Union for a Popular Movement party deputy Jean Leonetti, author of a 2005 law on dying that promotes the use of palliative care. The Alliance for Human Life welcomed the vote, saying that the bill "played on the ambiguity of the word 'dignity'" and "contributed...

Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, November 23, 2009 Arms Dealer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Supply U.S. Fighter Jet Engines to Iran Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama to conspiracy to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the Untied States to Iran. Monsieur along with Dara Fotouhi, aka Dara Fatouhi, an Iranian national currently living in France, was charged in a...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – A cutting-edge French warship sailed into St. Petersburg Monday to show off its capabilities to potential buyers in the Russian navy, whose pursuit of an amphibious assault capacity is frightening some neighboring countries. Russia's once-mighty navy was severely degraded after the fall of the Soviet Union and it currently has no big ship with the power to anchor in coastal waters and deploy troops onto land. Russian officials announced this year that they were planning to make their first arms deal with a NATO country by buying a French vessel like the Mistral, a 23,700-ton (21,500-metric...

A marvelous painting of a gourmand at his table hangs in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris — a portly, pink-faced figure happily gorging on a regal casserole, with a bottle of wine at one elbow and a luscious-looking soufflé at the other. It is traditionally believed to be a portrait of Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent Grimod de la Reynière, an aristocrat notorious in Napoleonic France for gratifying his palate with the same abandon as his contemporary the Marquis de Sade showed in indulging carnal desires. Whether or not the painting is actually Grimod’s likeness, it captures the eccentric, omnivorous spirit that made him...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris last week that he wanted to launch talks with Damascus without preconditions, according to Syrian President Bashar Assad's top aide Bouthaina Shaaban. Shaaban told Arab reporters on Friday that Sarkozy had told Assad in his subsequent meeting with the Syrian leader that Netanyahu had told him "that the Syrian track was very important, and that he wanted to open talks without delay and without preconditions." However, she said that Assad had responded by saying that before talks could start, he wanted guarantees that Israel would return "Syria's land" and...

The Irish Justice Minister today demanded a rematch after a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry beat Ireland and put France through to the World Cup Finals. Dermot Ahern lashed out at governing body Fifa after the Republic of Ireland were cruelly beaten by the controversial extra-time goal. Dubbed 'Le Hand', Barcelona star Henry confessed to using his arm to control the ball before squaring for teammate William Gallas to finish. The Irish Justice Minister today demanded a rematch after a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry beat Ireland and put France through to the World Cup Finals....

46 year old Johnny Depp has been named The Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine for 2009. This marks the second time Mr. Depp has earned that honor, the first time was in 2003. This is rather unusal since he has mostly been under the radar in 2009, while other candidates such as Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal) and Robert Pattinson (Twilight) have made big waves. Johnny Depp however has stood the test of time. He's been a major, if not minor heart-throb since 1987 when he first appeared in 21 Jump Street. He reached true stardom with his silent portrayal...

To mark their 23rd anniversary, the French pro-life group SOS Tout-Petits held their annual National Rosary for Life on Saturday, sparking heated protests from the country's pro-abortion activists. Catholics gathered to pray outside cathedrals and churches in at least 28 cities throughout France, as well as in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Philippines. In many of these cities, the peaceful event attracted large anti-Catholic counter-demonstrations. For example, at the St. André Cathedral in Bordeaux, police were called to the scene as a large crowd opposed the 150 people gathered to pray. The crowd carried pro-abortion signs and shouted "Caca Catholic," "Mary,...

It seems like there was a bit of a kerfuffle in Paris that has him fuming mad. An internet marketing company decided to stage a promotional stunt: they were going to drive a bus through the city throwing money at passers-by. The event was advertised heavily (Duh - it's a marketing company) and attracted large crowds. So large, in fact, that police became nervous at the size of the crowd, estimated at 7,000 strong, and its composition — young, low-income males from bad parts of Paris' suburbs. Given the risk of violence and traffic chaos caused by the crowd, the...

Senate Democrats crafting a job creation bill are considering a proposal to give money to workers who cut their hours in order to avoid layoffs. A bill sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) would give unemployment compensation to employees who accept a reduced work schedule to allow their companies to avert layoffs or to hire more employees. Reed's proposal for work-sharing was mentioned during the Senate Democrats' lunch Tuesday, when Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) announced that an initiative focusing on jobs would soon be a priority, Reed's office said.

The Obama girls and Michelle O were dressed in designer French labels for their official White House portrait. Maybe you didn't know this because the MSM has a protective shield over the family. If they were Republicans there probably would be an outcry at the very least. BTW, they all look wonderful and I love the clothes. Granny J

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy made American actor and director Clinton Eastwood a commander in the prestigious French Legion of Honor on Friday. The citation for the highly coveted decoration said Eastwood, 79, was honored for his body of work, his longevity and his ability to delight audiences around the globe. Former French President Jacques Chirac had honored Eastwood as a knight of the Legion of Honor two years ago, and Friday’s decoration was a step up for Eastwood to grade three on the legion’s five-grade scale. Speaking in English, Eastwood thanked Sarkozy and the French people.

Muslims takeover a city street, while dropping to pray in front of dozens of storefronts. Even directing traffic with their own self appointed policeman. Is this the "tolerant" part of Islam, that we keep hearing about? To view the short video...

PARIS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy says there is no place for full face and body veils such as the burqa, or for the debasement of women, in France. Sarkozy says all beliefs will be respected in France but says "becoming French means adhering to a form of civilization, to values, to morals." Sarkozy said Thursday during a speech on national identity that "France is a country where there is no place for the burqa." France has a large Muslim community but only a small minority of French Muslim women wear burqas, common in Afghanistan, or other face-covering veils. Sarkozy...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says there is no place for full face and body veils such as the burqa, or for the debasement of women, in France. Sarkozy says all beliefs will be respected in France but says "becoming French means adhering to a form of civilization, to values, to morals." Sarkozy said Thursday during a speech on national identity that "France is a country where there is no place for the burqa."

Report: Pakistani president suspected of graft in submarine sale South Asia News Nov 10, 2009, 10:56 GMT Paris - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is suspected of having received millions of dollars in kickbacks from the 1994 sale of three French submarines to the Pakistani Navy, the daily Liberation reported Tuesday. In addition, investigators believe that the non-payment of the full amount of the agreed kickbacks may have led to the deaths of 11 French nationals in a 2002 terror attack in the city of Karachi. In the report, Liberation says it acquired documents that allegedly show that Zardari received...

France Shows Us Our Future: Longer Work, Shorter Retirement Joe WeisenthalNov. 9, 2009, 6:34 PM It's not all that surprising that France, with its generous labor and pension laws would find itself slamming into a brick wall, as pension systems begin to run dry. FT: Mr Sarkozy favours extending minimum contribution periods for a full pension, rather than raising the standard pension age beyond 60, the official suggested. The contribution period is already set to rise by one year to 41 years by 2012 but should be increased still further. The aim would be to make reform more politically palatable,...

In a few years France's Taxes will look comparatively low and their government more free than ours.

"For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows." -- Epictetus In a little-known book entitled Capital Rules: The Construction of Global Finance written in 2007 a year before the global financial meltdown, Harvard professor Rawi Abdelal tells how it was French socialists, not Wall Street or the U.S. Treasury or credit rating firms (S&P, Moody’s, etc.), that liberalized global finance. The only problem with this book is that it is not one of the many books on the financial meltdown that follows the successful pop journalistic formula of demonizing greedy financial...

Vélib’, Paris’s bicycle rental system, inspired a new urban ethos for the era of climate change. Residents here can rent a sturdy bicycle from hundreds of public stations and pedal to their destinations, an inexpensive, healthy and low-carbon alternative to hopping in a car or bus. But this latest French utopia has met a prosaic reality: Many of the specially designed bikes, which cost $3,500 each, are showing up on black markets in Eastern Europe and northern Africa. Many others are being spirited away for urban joy rides, then ditched by roadsides, their wheels bent and tires stripped. With 80...

A short workweek and the prospect of early retirement. Job-protection laws that make it almost impossible to get fired. Seven weeks of holidays and vacation time a year. Oh, and paid lunches. A harried American worker might ask: What's not to like? And a dissatisfied French worker might respond: Plenty. A wave of suicides at the country's largest telecommunications firm has unnerved France, long viewed by many outside the country as a cushy haven for employees. Experts say the incidents are the most visible examples of the growing phenomenon of stress-induced illness in the country. Marie Peze opened the first...

MOSCOW – Moscow plans to buy a French amphibious assault ship, the first such purchase from a NATO country, as the Kremlin seeks to reaffirm Russia's global reach, a Russian news agency reported Saturday. The Defense Ministry also plans to license the production of four more ships of the Mistral class in Russia under the guidance of French engineers, Navy Admiral Oleg Burtsev was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying. A Mistral ship is capable of carrying more than a dozen helicopters along with dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles and is fit for missions intended to project Russian...

PARIS (AFP) – Jacques Chirac will be the first former French president to be tried for corruption, officials said Friday, after charges from his years as mayor of Paris returned to taint the twilight of his long career. Chirac stands accused of giving political allies lucrative bogus jobs as city hall "ghost workers" and his trial will be the latest in a series to expose graft and dirty tricks at the highest levels of state. Judicial officials confirmed to AFP that Chirac would face trial on charges of "abuse of trust" and "misuse of public funds". A statement from the...

Paris, France (AHN) - France's largest telecommunications firm is setting aside $1.48 billion to fund a stress-reduction program for staff aimed at ending a spate of suicides among its workers. France Telecom SA revealed the plan Wednesday in the face of lower third quarter profits. Under the planned program, staff aged over 57 or those who feel full time work is adversely affecting their health will be offered part-time jobs. Last year, 28 staff of the firm committed suicide. The suicides were blamed on poor working conditions at the company, which is trying to cut cost to meet profit targets.

France's leading high society magazine has today produced a devastating portrait of Carla Bruni as the country's new Marie Antoinette. Point de Vue presents the 41-year-old First Lady as a daffy multi-millionaire socialite who does very little real work, and who is completely out of touch with ordinary people. The attack by the Paris weekly, which specialises in covering the lives of aristocrats and European royalty, will come as a huge blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy as he tries to play down his monarchichal style.

Iran wanted shipments of low-enriched uranium (LEU) -- for conversion abroad into fuel for a Tehran research reactor -- to take place in stages, not as one block. It also wanted simultaneous imports of higher-enriched fuel from other countries for the same plant. The conditions were likely non-starters for Western powers, which suspect the Islamic Republic covertly seeks nuclear arms capability.