The Obama’s Received $40,000 in Gifts from Nicolas Sarkozy in Just One Year

obamas with sarkozysArticle authored by Peter Allen and appeared in The Daily Mail.  Article is courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Designer golf bags, crystal statues and a $450 bathrobe: Sarkozy and Carla gave Obama and Michelle $40,000 worth of gifts in just one year

Former French President and pop singer wife Carla Bruni gave America’s first couple more than $40,000 worth of gifts in a single year, it emerged today.

Presents included a designer Hermes golf bag and Baccarat crystal statuettes of players, according to newly released records. [Read more...]

China, France Vow to Promote ‘Multipolar’ World; Contain U.S.

France and ChinaArticle is courtesy of The Times Union.  Article is courtesy of timesunion.com

BEIJING (AP) — China’s President Xi Jinping and France’s President Francois Hollande pledged to push for a world free of domination by any superpower Thursday as the French leader visited the Chinese capital in hopes of boosting trade amid his country’s worsening economic woes. [Read more...]

Will the Chinese Be Supreme?

china vs. unites statesArticle authored by Ian Johnson and appeared in The NY Review of  Books.  Article is courtesy of nybooks.com

During the turbulent Maoist era from the 1950s to 1970s, China clashed militarily with some of its most important neighbors—India, Vietnam, the Soviet Union—and embarked on disastrous interventions in Indonesia and Africa. But by the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping had put China on a development-first policy, advising the country to “hide its capacities and bide its time.” This wasn’t exactly reassuring—implying that at some point China would reveal its true intentions—but from the 1980s through the mid-2000s China had relatively few confrontations, despite its rising economic, political, and military power. [Read more...]

U.S. Boss Tells France: “Keep Your So-called Workers!” – Reuters

French factoryArticle was authored by Emmanuel Jarry and Catherine Bremer and appeared on Reuters.  Article is courtesy of reuters.com

(Reuters) – The CEO of a U.S. tire company has delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France’s work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

Titan International’s Maurice “Morry” Taylor, who goes by “The Grizz” for his bear-like no-nonsense style, told France’s left-wing industry minister in a letter published by Paris media that he had no interest in buying a doomed plant. [Read more...]

Big Words, Little Action in UK’s Campaign Against Sahara Islamist Jihadists – Reuters

David CameronArticle authored by Maria Golovnina and Mohammed Abbas on Reuters.  Article is courtesy of Reuters.com  [learn more about Thomson Reuters]

(Reuters) – Britain has vowed a tough response against militants in North Africa, but behind its tough language lies the ugly reality of a fast-shrinking army, deep budget cuts and little U.S. interest in another costly war in a distant desert.

Enraged by the death of British citizens in a hostage taking crisis in Algeria, Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a global response to jihadist threats in North Africa and warned it could take decades to tame the increasingly volatile region. [Read more...]

Is Mali the Next Afghanistan? McClatchy Newspapers

French soldiers in MaliArticle authored by Matthew Schofield and appeared in McClatchy Newspapers.  Article is courtesy of mcclatchydc.com

WASHINGTON — The war rages about cities with names such as Goa and Timbuktu, in a sparsely populated, mostly flat, dusty and landlocked country in northwest Africa.

The combatants include a nomadic Berber people known as Tuareg, the French Foreign Legion and a coalition of al Qaida affiliates who identify themselves with the Maghreb, the desert region of Northwestern Africa. [Read more...]

‘Parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’ could legally replace mom and dad in France – Washington Times

Article was authored by Maya Vidon-White as a special to The Washington Times.  Article is courtesy of washingtontimes.com

PARIS — If France’s new Socialist government has its way, mothers and fathers will cease to exist — in legal papers, that is.

Legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage and give homosexual couples the right to adopt children also would replace the terms “mother” and “father” with “parent 1” and “parent 2” in all legal documents, including birth certificates. [Read more...]

France taxes rich and business to slash deficit – Reuters

Article authored by Daniel Flynn and Leigh Thomas and appeared on Reuters.com.  Article is courtesy of reuters.com [learn more about Thomson Reuters]

(Reuters) – President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government unveiled sharp tax hikes on business and the rich on Friday in a 2013 budget aimed at showing France has the fiscal rigor to remain at the core of the euro zone.

The package will recoup 30 billion euros ($39 billion) for the public purse with a goal of narrowing the deficit to 3.0 percent of national output next year from 4.5 percent this year – France’s toughest single belt-tightening in 30 years. [Read more...]

Cartoons in French weekly portraying l Mohammad naked causes anger – Yahoo News

Article authored by Nicholas Vinocur and appeared on Reuters.  Article is courtesy of Reuters.com

PARIS (Reuters) – A French magazine ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad on Wednesday by portraying him naked in cartoons, threatening to fuel the anger of Muslims around the world who are already incensed by a video depicting him as a lecherous fool.

The drawings in the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo risked exacerbating a crisis that has seen the storming of U.S. and other Western embassies, the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and a deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

Riot police were deployed to protect the paper’s Paris offices after it hit news stands. [Read more...]

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