Several thoughts

I know what you're thinking, and you're right.

Remember Magnum P.I used to say that all the time? I do, it's one of those unshakeable childhood souvenirs, I keep hearing the Miami-based snoop utter that one every so often. Usually he'd be on his way back from enjoying a 80's style heavily suckered smooch scene with some gigantically haired bird, a sidetrack from his current case which in fact will turn out to yield the crucial piece of evidence in some contrived way.

As for France, her privileged and mysogynistic population choose to go down the neo-con route as expected and Nicolas (je crois en toi) Sarkozy is now at the helm and a great shroud of evil has fallen. Hopefully his show of good faith with Bush earlier in the year was more about spin than kin or we have potentially another mighty nuclear country working as a client state to the US, as if Israel wasn't bad enough. That was one of the reasons I liked Chirac, the fact that he wouldn't support unilateral US international action, unlike that cocklid Blair and to a lesser extent the troop smuggling Irish government. Though, some will tell you that Jacques was just protecting his Middle East economic interests, and of course Lebanon, but at least the end result was a stong, un-cowed country that wouldn't fall to it's knees for kickbacks. The sadness is that we know Sego would have continued that tradition, but unfortunately, at the expense of top earner's potential to maximise their tax cuts when it came to domestic policy and too much security for salary workers, not to mention a raise in minimum wage which would only serve to further frighten off an already nervous corporate sector. The other problem with Sarkozy is his stance on security which with tougher sentences for delinquency and recidivists will only lead to a burgeoning criminal class as these young kids go in for a year and come out twice as malign and ready for anything, badge of honour sentences if you will. I liked the idea of Military style disciplinarianism from the Left, I wish some developed country would at least try it as a model for a while. But in the end, getting back to why Sarko won, besides the boring old Big Business axiom that while it can be used as a cliche hammer to deflect Pinkos, is nonetheless true, you only have to look at the rally and the after party to see which interests have been pandered to. Who comes back from tax exile in Switzerland to congratulate the 'tranquil Rupture'? Only Johnny Halliday, and the ensuing pictures of hearty hugs, kisses and back slaps says it all.

Oh, and this -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6638301.stm

It's a bad time to be a car in Clichy Sous Bois.

But it's not all bad news, the legislative elections are coming up which could severly cripple the Sark, but that would also immobilise the government if he doesn't get a majority. Yikes.

But what about the Irish elections?

I'lk have to get me to an embassy, Brigadier General Alowicius 'Damn the Torpedoes' Fennell didn't fight for our right to suffrage for nothing.