City of Bremen to take drastic action to tackle out-of-control feline population, which threatens local songbirds All stray cats in the north German city of Bremen are to be neutered under plans by the local council which campaigners hope could be extended to the whole country. The drastic measure has been proposed by Bremen’s interior minister, Ulrich Mäurer, in an attempt to control the city’s burgeoning feline population, which is threatening local songbirds. The local cat shelter used to look after around 120 cats at any one time. Now it has 378 on its books and fears that number will soon reach 500. In addition, at least 1,000 stray cats roam the streets, chasing birds and, it is feared, spreading disease. “There are so many that the situation has got out of control,” said Wolfgang Apel, chairman of the Bremen Animal Protection Society, which has started a petition inviting visitors to support mandatory castration. “They are becoming a burden to the public,” he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. Under the mooted new law, anyone who allowed their cat to run free would be forced to pay to have it neutered. It currently costs between €130 and €150 (£113 to £131) to spay a female cat, and €100 to castrate a tomcat. Apel hopes that if the law is passed in Bremen, it will lead to nationwide legislation. In Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, Green MP Undine Kurth said the government should take responsibility for the growing problem. “It would help a lot,” said Kurth, “if the federal ministry of agriculture would initiate a debate on the wretched situation.” A number of small German towns already advocate the compulsory neutering of stray cats, including Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was home to 40,000 stray cats before it introduced forced castration three years ago. Now, pet owners in Paderborn must tattoo their cats, or implant them with a microchip. If they are found to have abandoned their cats, they are handed a €500 fine. Germany Animal welfare Animals Europe Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Hoax or not, no apologies from Arizona State Senator Klein for ‘racist’ letter
March 24, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media There was this letter. A letter purportedly written by an Arizona substitute teacher complaining about the Hispanics in his classroom. The entire text of that letter is on David’s earlier post . There are things that bother me about that letter. Like this: I am compelled to write to you about a recent event that occurred to me . This person was substitute-teaching a language arts class. Really? And this: The teacher’s instructions were for the students to read a few pages and answer the questions regarding Mark Twain in their history textbook and to finish their final drafts to Senator Steve Gallardo thanking him for his position on Illegal Immigration rights. I did find a textbook used in Arizona that has a section on a Mark Twain short story, but didn’t find any related material in the Social Studies textbook. But really? Would a teacher of 8th grade Hispanic kids assign a paper thanking Steve Gallardo for his position on immigration rights? Presumably it isn’t “illegal immigration rights”, since the last time I looked there’s no right to illegal immigration. By the way, that “position” was to argue for the withdrawal of Pearce’s anti-immigration legislation because of the detrimental impact it would have on Arizona. This “substitute” goes on to say he provided paper and pencils to the students. Unless Arizona schools are much different than other public schools, this surprises me. By 8th grade, students are expected to be responsible for bringing their own paper and pencils to class. But here’s where my eyebrows go even higher than Megyn Kelly’s: The students’ final drafts that I read were basically the same. Most of them stated they were in the country illegally, White Americans are racist, and that they came here for a better life. I asked the class if America adopted Mexico immigration laws would Americans still be consider racist? It is unusual, to say the least, for any student to state in writing that they’re in this country illegally. But for “most of the students” to say so is nothing short of amazing. My radar was going off so loudly it could be heard on Mars, I’m sure. For the sake of argument, let’s assume it was written by a Tea Party member and sent to King Racist, Russell Pearce. And let’s assume for the sake of argument that he read it and said, “Hot damn, this is exactly what we need to read on the floor of the Senate!” Is it coincidence that it was read right after Pearce’s anti-immigration racist teabagging immigration bills were withdrawn from consideration by Arizona’s legislature? Could it be that someone thought writing a letter like this might re-stir the controversy? Well, if Senator Laurie Klein is to be believed, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s true or not. Megyn Kelly sets this up by claiming Democrats are demanding an apology for reading such a racist letter in the floor of the Senate. Klein’s response? There’s no apology necessary . Unfortunately today in our classrooms here in Arizona, California — I’ve had letters from all over the country as well as other teachers here in Arizona applauding that I had the courage to read the letter. Because we do have a problem. We’re educating and spending millions of dollars in our state, and if this is where our money is going our taxpayers have a right to know that this kind of behavior which is not acceptable from any race is happening in our schools. Keep in mind, the discussion is taking place as though this letter has been authenticated and verified, so up to now, no mention of the possibility that it’s anything other than genuine. Now as it happens, Klein is also advocating for a bill that would call for identification and “counting” of illegal immigrants, because (concerned face) “taxpayers deserve to know.” How convenient. Finally, Megyn gets around to the possibility the letter is a fake. KELLY: There are questions about whether this guy, Tony Hill, who claims to be the substitute teacher, exists. Now some are raising questions about it. This local news agency called five school districts in Glendale — that’s where he claimed he was from — and all five said he never taught here, he’s never been a substitute teacher here at all. And he also said — he made claims about the students not wanting to read Mark Twain and the school district says we don’t even have the kids read Mark Twain in 8th grade. So, what are your thoughts on that? KLEIN: Well, the gentleman does exist, he’s spoken with our Senate President [Russell Pearce]. He is a substitute teacher, he’s on record as such, he’s married to a Hispanic, by the way, so he’s not a racist. But he identified a problem that we face. We have an organization here called La Raza which is a far leftist racist organization that is inciting young Hispanics to act out, not say the Pledge, spit on America and say it’s our right to take America back. And this is really creating a problem here. KELLY: Just so our viewers know, those are some of the allegations that Mr. Hill raised in this letter — that they won’t say the pledge, that they say we’re Mexicans and Americans stole our land, that they say that they’re in the country illegally, Americans are racists and so on. The things you just listed are in this letter. So, to review. The only person who knows this Tony Hill is Russell Pearce, who is a known racist xenophobe who has an agenda aimed at Hispanics, legal or otherwise. And this Tony Hill just happens to report 8th graders behaving in a way which exactly dovetails with efforts to pass legislation to identify and count illegal immigrants in Arizona schools so taxpayers can “know.” Oh, and this Tony Hill is married to a Hispanic so he’s for sure not racist. As it turns out, the Glendale School District has now confirmed a substitute teacher by the name of Anthony Hill, but they’re not quite as quick to confirm other “facts” as stated in his letter. It seems that Mr. Hill was hired via a private service which the district uses when their contract substitutes are unavailable or assignments exceed the available number of substitute teachers. The district records show Hill worked as a substitute at three different schools, but only two were with eighth graders: on March 9, when he substituted for an art teacher at Challenger Middle School, and on March 8, when he substituted for an eighth-grade reading, writing and social studies teacher at Harold W. Smith Elementary School. The district interviewed students and the teacher at Harold W. Smith Elementary School. “The district believes that the statements made by Mr. Hill in regard to our students and school were not accurate,” according to the release. “Students who were interviewed did not recall making or hearing any of the inflammatory statements attributed to them by Mr. Hill, and students also said they stood for the daily recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.” Mr. Hill has substituted on nine days for that school district. I would like to recommend that he not be called to substitute for any more, not only because of his xenophobic views, but because anyone with such miserable spelling and grammar needs to take an 8th grade class rather than teach one.
Continue reading …Hoax or not, no apologies from Arizona State Senator Klein for ‘racist’ letter
March 24, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media There was this letter. A letter purportedly written by an Arizona substitute teacher complaining about the Hispanics in his classroom. The entire text of that letter is on David’s earlier post . There are things that bother me about that letter. Like this: I am compelled to write to you about a recent event that occurred to me . This person was substitute-teaching a language arts class. Really? And this: The teacher’s instructions were for the students to read a few pages and answer the questions regarding Mark Twain in their history textbook and to finish their final drafts to Senator Steve Gallardo thanking him for his position on Illegal Immigration rights. I did find a textbook used in Arizona that has a section on a Mark Twain short story, but didn’t find any related material in the Social Studies textbook. But really? Would a teacher of 8th grade Hispanic kids assign a paper thanking Steve Gallardo for his position on immigration rights? Presumably it isn’t “illegal immigration rights”, since the last time I looked there’s no right to illegal immigration. By the way, that “position” was to argue for the withdrawal of Pearce’s anti-immigration legislation because of the detrimental impact it would have on Arizona. This “substitute” goes on to say he provided paper and pencils to the students. Unless Arizona schools are much different than other public schools, this surprises me. By 8th grade, students are expected to be responsible for bringing their own paper and pencils to class. But here’s where my eyebrows go even higher than Megyn Kelly’s: The students’ final drafts that I read were basically the same. Most of them stated they were in the country illegally, White Americans are racist, and that they came here for a better life. I asked the class if America adopted Mexico immigration laws would Americans still be consider racist? It is unusual, to say the least, for any student to state in writing that they’re in this country illegally. But for “most of the students” to say so is nothing short of amazing. My radar was going off so loudly it could be heard on Mars, I’m sure. For the sake of argument, let’s assume it was written by a Tea Party member and sent to King Racist, Russell Pearce. And let’s assume for the sake of argument that he read it and said, “Hot damn, this is exactly what we need to read on the floor of the Senate!” Is it coincidence that it was read right after Pearce’s anti-immigration racist teabagging immigration bills were withdrawn from consideration by Arizona’s legislature? Could it be that someone thought writing a letter like this might re-stir the controversy? Well, if Senator Laurie Klein is to be believed, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s true or not. Megyn Kelly sets this up by claiming Democrats are demanding an apology for reading such a racist letter in the floor of the Senate. Klein’s response? There’s no apology necessary . Unfortunately today in our classrooms here in Arizona, California — I’ve had letters from all over the country as well as other teachers here in Arizona applauding that I had the courage to read the letter. Because we do have a problem. We’re educating and spending millions of dollars in our state, and if this is where our money is going our taxpayers have a right to know that this kind of behavior which is not acceptable from any race is happening in our schools. Keep in mind, the discussion is taking place as though this letter has been authenticated and verified, so up to now, no mention of the possibility that it’s anything other than genuine. Now as it happens, Klein is also advocating for a bill that would call for identification and “counting” of illegal immigrants, because (concerned face) “taxpayers deserve to know.” How convenient. Finally, Megyn gets around to the possibility the letter is a fake. KELLY: There are questions about whether this guy, Tony Hill, who claims to be the substitute teacher, exists. Now some are raising questions about it. This local news agency called five school districts in Glendale — that’s where he claimed he was from — and all five said he never taught here, he’s never been a substitute teacher here at all. And he also said — he made claims about the students not wanting to read Mark Twain and the school district says we don’t even have the kids read Mark Twain in 8th grade. So, what are your thoughts on that? KLEIN: Well, the gentleman does exist, he’s spoken with our Senate President [Russell Pearce]. He is a substitute teacher, he’s on record as such, he’s married to a Hispanic, by the way, so he’s not a racist. But he identified a problem that we face. We have an organization here called La Raza which is a far leftist racist organization that is inciting young Hispanics to act out, not say the Pledge, spit on America and say it’s our right to take America back. And this is really creating a problem here. KELLY: Just so our viewers know, those are some of the allegations that Mr. Hill raised in this letter — that they won’t say the pledge, that they say we’re Mexicans and Americans stole our land, that they say that they’re in the country illegally, Americans are racists and so on. The things you just listed are in this letter. So, to review. The only person who knows this Tony Hill is Russell Pearce, who is a known racist xenophobe who has an agenda aimed at Hispanics, legal or otherwise. And this Tony Hill just happens to report 8th graders behaving in a way which exactly dovetails with efforts to pass legislation to identify and count illegal immigrants in Arizona schools so taxpayers can “know.” Oh, and this Tony Hill is married to a Hispanic so he’s for sure not racist. As it turns out, the Glendale School District has now confirmed a substitute teacher by the name of Anthony Hill, but they’re not quite as quick to confirm other “facts” as stated in his letter. It seems that Mr. Hill was hired via a private service which the district uses when their contract substitutes are unavailable or assignments exceed the available number of substitute teachers. The district records show Hill worked as a substitute at three different schools, but only two were with eighth graders: on March 9, when he substituted for an art teacher at Challenger Middle School, and on March 8, when he substituted for an eighth-grade reading, writing and social studies teacher at Harold W. Smith Elementary School. The district interviewed students and the teacher at Harold W. Smith Elementary School. “The district believes that the statements made by Mr. Hill in regard to our students and school were not accurate,” according to the release. “Students who were interviewed did not recall making or hearing any of the inflammatory statements attributed to them by Mr. Hill, and students also said they stood for the daily recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.” Mr. Hill has substituted on nine days for that school district. I would like to recommend that he not be called to substitute for any more, not only because of his xenophobic views, but because anyone with such miserable spelling and grammar needs to take an 8th grade class rather than teach one.
Continue reading …Somewhere the ghost of George Orwell cringes in recognition. In her eagerness to please, Rachel Maddow occasionally collides headlong into immutable facts of economic reality. To wit, cutting taxes does not constitute new government spending, at least outside of doctrinaire Marxist analysis. Here's MSNBC's Little Miss Sunshine giving her two-cents' worth on this Tuesday night (video below page break) — Anybody who reports that Republican governors and legislatures are taking drastic measures to close their states' budget gaps is not reporting this truthfully. In New Jersey, where the governor's cuts to education from last year were just ruled unconstitutional today, in New Jersey the justification for those cuts was of course that New Jersey's broke, right? What does Gov. Christie want to do to fix that problem of New Jersey being broke? He wants the state to spend $200 million a year that it is not spending already to cut taxes on estates and corporations. Maddow criticizes unspecified reporting in the media as not being done “truthfully” — followed by her engaging in the same practice she condemns. Operative sentence here — “He wants the state to spend $200 million a year that it is not spending already to cut taxes on estates and corporations.” I'm reminded of Orwell's observation in his essay “Politics and the English Language,” written in 1946, that “in our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. … Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.” Maddow achieves an Orwellian trifecta here – euphemism (tax cuts as new spending), question-begging (“that it is not spending already …”?) and sheer cloudy vagueness (as evident by Maddow stumbling over the gratuitous “that is is not spending already”). Maddow's claim, streamlined to its dishonest essence — He wants the state to spend $200 million a year to cut taxes on estates and corporations. Absent its intentionally vague qualifier, the sentence collapses under its own contradiction. More accurately, Christie wants to prevent the state from spending $200 million a year by keeping the money from being collected as taxes to begin with. The only way Maddow's claim makes sense would be if Christie wanted to cut $200 million in taxes annually while maintaining the same level of state spending. But this clearly isn't the case, as shown by Maddow pointing out that Christie cut education spending last year. By doing this, and other measures as well, Christie deprives liberals like Maddow of criticizing him for tax cuts that aren't “paid for.” What do they do in response? Label tax cuts as new spending, since the notion of shrinking bloated government programs or eliminating them altogether is unthinkable to left wingers. In fact, the source cited here by Maddow, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states this in the same excerpt cited by Maddow — At the same time, the governor has proposed substantial pay decreases for state employees, applied for a waiver from federal Medicaid rules that would likely reduce significantly the number of people with access to the program, and other spending cuts.
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Somewhere the ghost of George Orwell cringes in recognition. In her eagerness to please, Rachel Maddow occasionally collides headlong into immutable facts of economic reality. To wit, cutting taxes does not constitute new government spending, at least outside of doctrinaire Marxist analysis. Here's MSNBC's Little Miss Sunshine giving her two-cents' worth on this Tuesday night (video below page break) — Anybody who reports that Republican governors and legislatures are taking drastic measures to close their states' budget gaps is not reporting this truthfully. In New Jersey, where the governor's cuts to education from last year were just ruled unconstitutional today, in New Jersey the justification for those cuts was of course that New Jersey's broke, right? What does Gov. Christie want to do to fix that problem of New Jersey being broke? He wants the state to spend $200 million a year that it is not spending already to cut taxes on estates and corporations. Maddow criticizes unspecified reporting in the media as not being done “truthfully” — followed by her engaging in the same practice she condemns. Operative sentence here — “He wants the state to spend $200 million a year that it is not spending already to cut taxes on estates and corporations.” I'm reminded of Orwell's observation in his essay “Politics and the English Language,” written in 1946, that “in our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible. … Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.” Maddow achieves an Orwellian trifecta here – euphemism (tax cuts as new spending), question-begging (“that it is not spending already …”?) and sheer cloudy vagueness (as evident by Maddow stumbling over the gratuitous “that is is not spending already”). Maddow's claim, streamlined to its dishonest essence — He wants the state to spend $200 million a year to cut taxes on estates and corporations. Absent its intentionally vague qualifier, the sentence collapses under its own contradiction. More accurately, Christie wants to prevent the state from spending $200 million a year by keeping the money from being collected as taxes to begin with. The only way Maddow's claim makes sense would be if Christie wanted to cut $200 million in taxes annually while maintaining the same level of state spending. But this clearly isn't the case, as shown by Maddow pointing out that Christie cut education spending last year. By doing this, and other measures as well, Christie deprives liberals like Maddow of criticizing him for tax cuts that aren't “paid for.” What do they do in response? Label tax cuts as new spending, since the notion of shrinking bloated government programs or eliminating them altogether is unthinkable to left wingers. In fact, the source cited here by Maddow, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states this in the same excerpt cited by Maddow — At the same time, the governor has proposed substantial pay decreases for state employees, applied for a waiver from federal Medicaid rules that would likely reduce significantly the number of people with access to the program, and other spending cuts.
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The Kinks legend says he wants ‘something special’ at this year’s festival and has lined up acts including the Fugs, Nick Lowe, Madness and Terry Jones Caspar Llewellyn Smith John Domokos
Continue reading …What a radical concept: If we just stopped selling arms to repressive regimes, they wouldn’t be able to use them against their own people! I think I like this idea: In 2009 alone, European governments – including Britain and France – sold Libya more than $470 million worth of weapons, including fighter jets, guns and bombs. And before it started calling for regime change, the Obama administration was working to provide the Libyan dictator another $77 million in weapons, on top of the $17 million it provided in 2009 and the $46 million the Bush administration provided in 2008. Meanwhile, for dictatorial regimes in Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, US support continues to this day. On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even gave the US stamp of approval to the brutal crackdown on protesters in Bahrain, saying the country’s authoritarian rulers “obviously” had the “sovereign right” to invite troops from Saudi Arabia to occupy their country and carry out human rights abuses, including attacks on injured protesters as they lay in their hospital beds. In Yemen, which has received more than $300 million in military aid from the US over the last five years, the Obama administration continues to support corrupt thug and president-for-life Ali Abdullah Saleh, who recently ordered a massacre of more than 50 of his own citizens who dared protest his rule. And this support has allowed the US to carry out its own massacres under the auspices of the war on terror, with one American bombing raid last year taking out 41 Yemeni civilians, including 14 women and 21 children, according to Amnesty International. Rather than engage in cruise-missile liberalism, Obama could save lives by immediately ending support for these brutal regimes . But for US administrations, both Democratic and Republican, arms sales appear to trump liberation. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute documented that Washington accounted for 54 percent of arms sales to Persian Gulf states between 2005 and 2009. Last September, The Financial Times reported that the US had struck deals to provide Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman with $123 billion worth of arms. The repressive monarchy of Saudi Arabia accounts for over half that figure, with it set to receive $67 billion worth of weapons, including 84 F-15 jets, 70 Apache gunships, 72 Black Hawk helicopters, 36 light helicopters and thousands of laser-guided smart bombs – the largest weapons deal in US history. Instead of forking over $150 million a day to the weapons industry to attack Libya or selling $67 billion in weapons to the Saudis so they can repress not just their own people, but those of Bahrain, we – the ones being asked to forgo Social Security to help pay for empire – should demand those who purport to represent us in Washington stop arming dictators in our name. That might drain some bucks from the merchants of death, but it would give nonviolent protesters throughout the Middle East a fighting chance to liberate themselves. The US government need not drop a single bomb in the Middle East to help liberate oppressed people. All it need do is stop selling bombs to their oppressors.
Continue reading …Ed Schultz: Three GOP Governors Down in Polls – ‘It’s a Turning Point in American History’
March 24, 2011 No Comment
MSNBC's Ed Schultz on Wednesday claimed that recent polls finding that three newly-elected Republican governors wouldn't win if elections were held today represented a turning point in American history. Not surprisingly, his far-left guests from the Nation magazine quite agreed with him (video follows with transcript and commentary): ED SCHULTZ, HOST: But, this is the story that has me fired up first tonight, folks: American voters are having, I think, buyers’ remorse with radical Republican governors in key parts of the country when you look at 2012. If the elections were held tonight, Republican Governors Scott Walker, John Kasich and Rick Snyder, they would all be out of a job. Last November, Walker in Wisconsin defeated Tom Barrett 52-46 percentage-wise. Walker would now lose to Barrett by seven points. In Ohio, John Kasich — well, he defeated incumbent Ted Strickland 49 to 47. And at this point, Strickland — well, I guess you could say he would just smoke Kasich by 15 points. And in Michigan, Rick Snyder, very radical, very anti-public education, walked to an 18-point victory over Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero last fall. In a hypothetical do-over — I like do-overs — Bernero would now beat Snyder, 49 to 47 percentage-wise. Now, in less than five months, has the light bulb gone on? Voters have quickly pivoted away from these radical Republican governors. This shift is taking place because Walker, Kasich and Snyder’s radical priority list is being played out right in front of our eyes and it’s getting attention. Scott Walker, he didn’t run on ending collective bargaining for public employees, but now that he’s shown his cards, he stands a real chance of being recalled. Now, 57 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose Walker’s radical policy. Only 39 percent support it. In Ohio, Kasich ran on job creation and low taxes — you know, the normal Republican thing. Now, he wants to sell state prisons, the state liquor licenses, and maybe even turn over the Ohio turnpike to the private industry. Well, but his attack on collective bargaining is really tanking him in the polls — 54 percent of Ohio voters are against Kasich’s attack on labor, and only 35 percent support it. Now, former Gateway CEO, Rick Snyder, sold Michigan voters on the fact that he was a job creator. Take a look at this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: Fifty percent of the jobs lost in America in the last 10 years were lost in Michigan. How did that happen? Politicians gave us the worst business tax in the country. And regulations that made creating jobs almost impossible. I’ve created thousands of jobs. We’ll dump that tax. Thin the regulations. And jobs will come back. C.J. LEE: Rick is our one chance for jobs. (END VIDEO CLIP) SCHULTZ: One chance for jobs? How many jobs have they created? We’ll get to that story in future shows. Isn't that great? “How many jobs have they created?” They've been in office less than three months and this so-called journalist is asking how many jobs they've created. But that's just the beginning: SCHULTZ: Michigan has been killed by Republican policy that led to thousands of jobs being shipped overseas. Um, Ed – the previous governor was Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat that raised taxes and drove the state into the ground. But that's not important, because Snyder's been in office for almost three months: SCHULTZ: Ever heard of manufacturing in China? When Snyder was on the board at Gateway, they shut down plants in America and shipped those jobs to China. Snyder’s plan for labor? Well, you know what it’s going to do? It’s going to bring Chinese wages back home to the great state of Michigan. I bet they can’t wait for that. Almost 60 percent of voters in Michigan are against Snyder’s plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights. Now, get this number — if 300,000 people sign a petition in the state of Michigan, Snyder could be recalled as early as June. I tell you, it’s in the air, isn’t it? All of these governors got elected by talking about jobs and the economy. Obama wasn’t any good. They had all the answers. Well, now the pushback is very clear. And I think that this is a political turning point. I think that this is a moment that voters aren’t going to forget, because it’s a consolidated, concerted effort by these right-wing Republican governors to butcher — to butcher — labor in this country and in their states. Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think about this. Tonight’s question: can Democrats capitalize on reaction to the radical GOP governors in the 2012 election? Text “A” for yes, text “B” for no to 622639 — or go to our new blog tonight at Ed.MSNBC.com. And I’ll bring you the results later on in the show. Joining me now is John Nichols, Washington correspondent for “The Nation.” Is this a political turning point in American history? I mean, you can’t tell me that all of a sudden there’s a group of Republican governors that are tanking in the polls, there’s demonstrations abound in all of these states. What do you think, John? Yep – some polls in three states concerning governors in office for less than three months are a turning point in American history. Not surprisingly, his guest from the Nation agreed: JOHN NICHOLS, THE NATION: Well, I think there’s no question, Ed. In fact, we’ve already reached a turning point. It’s just a question of how big a turning point it is. Yep – we've already reached a turning point. These polls on these three governors mean that the entire country has in less than five months shifted back to the left despite rising gas and food prices, exploding debt, a new war, plummeting home values, and continued unpopularity of ObamaCare. Republicans oughtn't even run candidates in the November 2012 elections – conservatism has ended in this nation because these three new governors have seen their poll numbers drop. But there was still more, because Schultz's next guest, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of the Nation – isn't it marvelous how he brought on two folks from the country's most left-leaning magazine rather than anyone that might actually challenge his cockamamie premise?!? – who after agreeing with him broadened the conservative bashing: ” We are witnessing a possibility of these House extremists taking us back to a time when we didn`t have child labor laws, or safety or clean water or clean air .” Yep – that's what Republicans are all about. They want to get rid of child labor laws as well as those involving clean water and clean air. And this is what passes for journalism on MSNBC.
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There are bigger, showier festivals but Fierce understands it’s not just the party that matters, but the traces it leaves “A poet’s hope: to be like some valley cheese, local but prized elsewhere,” wrote WH Auden . Harun Morrison, joint artistic director of Birmingham’s Fierce festival , argues that you can say the same of festivals. But to continue the cheese theme, as Jonathan Holloway, late of the Norwich and Norfolk festival and now heading Australia’s Perth festival , says: “Two cheeses on a plate do not make a festival.” You can chuck a few pieces of work together and brand it as a festival, but you won’t kid anyone that it’s the real thing. After a day spent in Birmingham at the start of Fierce – the first festival since 2008 – it’s clear to me that Morrison and his co-director, Laura McDermott, are eschewing both the chuck-it-in-and-hope-for-the-best approach and the cherry picking-style curation typical of so many festivals. Everyone always claims that their festival reflects their own particular city – Brighton has responded to its lack of performance spaces with site-responsive productions; Hat Fair turns the whole of Winchester into a glorious, outsized village fete – but in too many cases it feels as if the work has been made elsewhere, then parachuted in. The rising number of performance festivals across the country are often driven as much by economic as artistic considerations, and leave no real legacy for either artists or audiences. Yet long before yesterday’s first day of performances and installations, Fierce was busy leaving its own snail trails across Birmingham, drawing on the work of local artists such as Stan’s Cafe , but also working with many other artists who have been spending time in the city over the last year. The relationship is a long-term one: this year’s artists won’t simply be replaced by next year’s shinier models. In a city where theatre output has been dominated by conventional forms demanded by the Birmingham Rep building (currently being redeveloped as part of the new library complex to include a new 300-seat theatre, bridging the gap between The Door and the main house), Fierce is getting out from behind closed doors and playing all over, in its museums (do catch Lundahl and Seitl’s mind-boggling Symphony of a Missing Room if you can), its canals , its streets, its train stations and its open spaces. It’s also offering space for West Midlands voices, too, in pieces such as James Webb’s Prayer , an exquisite sound installation featuring recordings of prayers from 40 different faith groups from across the city. There are showier and more high-profile festivals, but Fierce understands that it’s not just the party itself that matters, but the traces it leaves behind. Those traces change our relationship with the city, not just for the duration of the festival but for ever. Festivals Dance Theatre Communities Lyn Gardner guardian.co.uk
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From Brittany to Corsica, France has a fantastic array of beaches for naturists, families, divers and campers. Here 10 connaisseurs des plages select their favourites Best in Corsica: Porto-Pollo Jacqueline Mirtelli, France Tourism Development Agency As a native of the French Riviera, I am very keen on the sea. For me, Corsica is a true paradise for beaches and it’s only a two-hour flight from London or Manchester. Between Propriano and Bonifacio in sunny southern Corsica is Porto-Pollo beach, a long white arch of sand in a bay sheltered by green hills. I have been lucky to go to the Seychelles and Mauritius and it’s like that – OK, a little bit less wild! Snorkelling is a must as the water is crystal clear and filled with fish. • Hôtel Les Eucalyptus ( hoteleucalyptus.com , doubles from €80) is 50m from the beach. Rooms have sea views, and there’s tennis and pétanque on site Best Breton beach: Baie d’Audierne, Brittany Chosen by Wendy Mewes, author of Footprint Brittany With 2,000km of coastline you’ll have more trouble avoiding Brittany’s beaches than finding one. For sand less travelled, head to the Baie d’Audierne on the west coast of Finistère. This really feels like the edge of Europe; 30km in length, it offers calm relaxation on family-friendly beaches such as Pors Carn. But if you’re after dramatic activity, check out the wild Atlantic breakers drawing surfers from afar to the Pointe de la Torche, where a second world war German bunker huddles beside a Neolithic grave. • Overlooking the bay at Penmarc’h is Le Sterenn (+33 (0)2 98 58 60 36, hotel-sterenn.com , doubles from €72). Its seafood restaurant is recommended Best for diving: L’Ile de Riou, Marseille Frederic Di Meglio, secretary general of the Fédération Française d’Etude et de Sport Sous-Marin Wild, uninhabited and carefully preserved, L’Ile de Riou is accessible only by boat. Its small beach was in use 2,500 years ago by founders of Phocea, the town that evolved into present-day Marseille. Now the beach is the starting point for scuba expeditions around the archipelago, but in 2012 it will form the heart of the Parc National des Calanques, an undersea forest ideal for swimmers, snorkellers and scuba divers. • Marseille is an ideal base for visits to L’Ile de Riou. Rooms at the dated but highly rated Hôtel Peron (+33 (0)4 91 31 01 41, hotel-peron.com , doubles from €75) look out to sea Best naturist: Euronat, Côte d’Argent, Aquitaine Nick Mayhew-Smith, author of The World’s Best Nude Beaches Backed by pine woods and untouched by mass tourism, the endless golden sands of the Côte d’Argent are a haven for back-to-nature beach lovers. Unsurprisingly, the coast is also home to some of Europe’s best naturist resorts; a collection of laid-back villages where European families unwind – and go home with the perfect suntan. My pick is the stretch of beach at Euronat, with supervised swimming, beach cafes and uncrowded sands to explore on either side. Further south are Montalivet CHM, La Jenny and Arnaoutchot. Birthday suits are de rigueur on the wilder stretches of shore. Just take an extra bottle of sunscreen. • Euronat’s Eden-esque campsite (+33 (0)5 56 09 33 33, euronat.fr ) has ready-assembled tents and mobile homes, plus family-size pitches from €20 Best for watersports: Plage de l’Almanarre, Hyères, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Pascal Boulanger, world champion funboarder The best beach for wind fanatics is a sandy spit that runs 4km from Hyères out to the pretty town of Giens. There is a superb consistent wind on one side, while the other is sheltered by the Porquerolles and Port-Cros islands. One area is reserved for windsurfers, kitesurfers and funboarders – the winds can be wild in winter. Calmer areas are perfect for paddleboards and kayaks. Behind the beach is a salt marsh where pink flamingos nest. • The rambling old Hôtel Provençal in Giens (+33 (0)4 98 04 54 54, provencalhotel.com , doubles from €122) has a saltwater swimming pool and fine sea views Best for motor homes and campervans: Plage de Ménéham, Brittany Meli George, editor of All the Aires France Discover some of France’s finest white sand beaches by taking the single-track coast road north of Kerlouan between the hamlets of Ménéham and Neis Vran. Every turn offers a vista of another stunning cove with rocky outcrops and deserted sandy shores. Motor homes and campervans are welcome to park overnight for free all year round. At Ménéham, a restored fisherman’s cottage is a spectacular starting point for a coastal walk along the dunes with the beaches – including some naturist ones – stretching out on one side. • Caravans and tents are welcome during July and August at Camping Municipal Bendin (+33 (0)2 98 83 98 35), 500m from Ménéham beach Best for celeb-spotting: Paloma Plage, French Riviera Gerard Spatafora, Clé d’Or and Concierge at the Fairmont Hotel Monte Carlo since 1980 La Paloma is calm, chic and sheltered. It’s a favourite of the jet set and celebrities who arrive on superyachts in the bay. You could perhaps see Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on a summer’s day. France is democratic however, and half of the beach is public – reserved for non-millionaires. A lovely coastal path runs from Beaulieu-sur-Mer, past the former house of David Niven, all the way to Paloma Plage. • A two-minute walk away is the Hôtel Brise Marine (+33 (0) 4 93 76 04 36, hotel-brisemarine.com , doubles from €145), set in a belle époque villa. It’s laid-back, comfy, with fine old gardens and wonderful seascapes Best wild beach: Côte Sauvage, Poitou-Charentes Dominic Earle, editor of France: Time Out’s Perfect Places Due south of the Ile d’Oleron, the gloriously unspoilt Côte Sauvage is hemmed in by the towering pines of the Forêt de la Coubre. It’s only accessible by a good 10-minute hike (or bike ride – two wheels are the ideal way to get around) from the D25 between Ronce-les-Bains and La Palmyre. After a slog up the dunes and through the coarse beach grass, the reward is 30km of unadulterated white sand and Atlantic rollers. There’s not a beach umbrella or souvenir shop in sight. • In nearby Royan, the Family Golf Hôtel (+33 (0)5 46 05 14 66, family-golf-hotel.com , doubles from €88) sits plum on the main town beach, with a terrace gazing out over the Atlantic Best for families: Argelès Plage, Languedoc-Roussillon Mirella Salomone, co-founder of findmybeach.com Tucked up against the Pyrenees, the Languedoc’s Mediterranean beaches are magnificent. Pick of the bunch is Argelès Plage, a 8km stretch of golden sand and clear blue waters that rarely gets crowded. French families have flocked here for years, and for good reason. It’s beautifully maintained and has great on-site facilities such as a marina and a beach club for kids. A two-mile tree-lined promenade flanks the northern end of the beach and offers great shade from the soaring summer temperatures. • In the pine woodland behind the beach is Camping le Littoral (+33 (0)4 68 81 17 74, camping-le-littoral.fr ) with a kids’ club, restaurant, swimming pool, evening entertainment and mobile homes. Family pitches from around €30 per night Best for children: Beaulieu-sur-Mer, French Riviera Samuel Landry (aged 8) My favourite beach is the one in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. The best thing about it is that it’s easy to swim out to a floating trampoline – you can bounce around on it, then jump off and into the water! I also like this beach because it’s sandy and shallow. The sea here feels warmer than the water at other beaches. Nice is nearby but the water there is deep, and sometimes it’s freezing. • Le Havre Blue (+33 (4)93 01 01 40, lehavrebleu.com , doubles from €80) is one of the Riviera’s biggest bargains. Several rooms in this blue-shuttered mansion have terraces, and there’s a cheap studio to let too Interviews by Tristan Rutherford All room rates are for a double in high season France Beach holidays Brittany Top 10s Camping Family holidays guardian.co.uk
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