"Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in the UK but we all love Carla Bruni" (The Telegraph)

"Miss Bruni looked as demure as a convent girl, and as ready to be naughty if the spirit, or the Prince of Wales, moved her.
She wore a long grey coat and a slim grey beret, and managed to make almost everyone else appear overdressed." (The Telegraph)



"it's all about Carla - and that funny little husband of hers" (The Telegraph).

Tata buys Jaguar and Land Rover

Is it the colored man's burden to save the ruined English auto industry (see bellow)?



('Swami Vivekananda (Sanskrit: स्वामी विवेकानन्द, Svāmi Vivekānanda) (January 12, 1863 – July 4, 1902), whose pre-monastic name was Narendranath Dutta (Narendranath Dut-tta), was one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. He is a major figure in the history of the Hindu reform movements.'
- in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda.

'Vivekananda's main agenda was Hinduization or Vedantization of the Christian West, a sort of muted counter conversion of the people whose missionaries had been evangelizing and Christianizing the Hindu Orient. "India must conquer the world," the "cyclonic Hindu" announced in the West. (...) "I was born for this, and it was left for me to do!" This indeed was an audacious challenge from a colonial native to the imperial West--a powerful response to the Western "civilizing mission" in the colonial world - a dramatic reversal of the concept of the "white man's burden" into that of the "colored man's burden." '
- in http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155781996.html)

Vel'oh: Vade retro, satana!

The Wort has just discovered that Luxembourg and the Vel'oh bicycle system will become a lucrative business for JCDecaux, as confirmed by Jean-Sebastien Decaux, the executive director of the company.

I'm outraged. I feel betrayed. We all thought that JC Decaux was a non-profit organization, but no, it's a market economy firm.
I want to scream: "____________" (here you can choose: "¡No Pasarán!" or "Vade retro, satana!")

Bigfoot in Luxembourg

Nice buzz for the movie (check the director's name). But who needed the video confession, at least this side of the Atlantic?

Luxembourg drivers: are they truly polite?

From the Wort: "Luxemburger sind höfliche Autofahrer". I agree that it's not easy to find an agressive driver in Luxembourg. But "polite", "courteous"? "Höflich" can also be translated has "unrude", which is more appropriate in this case. A tree is unrude. A stone wall is unrude. Luxembourgish drivers (or Luxembourg drivers) are not rude, they drive peacefully and respect traffic rules (when they're aware of them...). But this is not being polite: being polite is to adequate your speed near a junction to let someone turn left in front of you, even if you have the right of way. Being polite is to aknowledge the existence of other drivers and don't wait half a minute before moving so that you don't limit the number of cars that make it through before the light turns red again.

Robert A. Heinlein once said that politeness is a sine qua non of civilization. I totally agree with him.

Leonard Cohen in Europe

(Because Of, from the "Dear Heather" album, PV by his daughter, Lorca)

"Leonard Cohen announced his world tour, marking a return to the live arena after 15 years. He is scheduled to open in Toronto on June 6 and 7, the city that gave birth to his career as a recording and literary artist, and then play Europe in the remainder of June, July, August and early September." (in http://www.leonardcohen.com/)

In Europe:
14-Jun-08 Dublin IMMA
15-Jun-08 Dublin IMMA
17-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House
18-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House
19-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House
20-Jun-08 Manchester Opera House
29-Jun-08 Glastonbury Glastonbury Festival
01-Jul-08 Oslo Aliset Stadium
03-Jul-08 Helsingborg Open Air
05-Jul-08 Copenhagen Rosenborg Castle
06-Jul-08 Arhuus Raadhus Parken
08-Jul-08 Montreux Montreux Jazz Festival
09-Jul-08 Lyon Festival
10-Jul-08 Bruges Cactus
12-Jul-08 Amsterdam Westendam
16-Jul-08 Edinburgh Castle
17-Jul-08 London The 02 Arena
19-Jul-08 Lisbon Passeio Maritimo
19-Jul-08 Lisbon Passeio Maritimo de Alges
20-Jul-08 Bennicasim Festival
22-Jul-08 Nice Jazz Festival
24-Jul-08 Nyon Paleo Festival
25-Jul-08 Lorrach Stimmen Der Welt
27-Jul-08 Lucca Summer Festival
29-Jul-08 Athens Lykabettus Theatre

(see also http://aeglive.com/tourdates.php?id=17701&detail_type=event; be aware of
some contradictory information)

Diesel taxes in Europe

"The European Commission says the wide variation in rates of diesel (officially known as gas oil) taxes creates distortions in the road haulage market – and also increases environmental damage by encouraging “fuel tourism” by hauliers (i.e. making special journeys or using longer routes in order to fill up in a country with low taxes). Also, since diesel and petrol have similar impacts, especially from the point of view of CO2 emissions, there is no environmental reason for the two minimum rates to differ. The Commission is therefore proposing to raise the minimum rate on diesel up to the minimum rate on petrol."

"Adopting by 447 votes in favour to 64 against with 39 abstentions a report based on a draft by Olle Schmidt (ALDE, SE), MEPs agreed with this in principle, but said the minimum taxes on diesel should rise more slowly, from the current level of €302/1000 litres to the current petrol level of €359/1000 litres by 2015 rather than 2012. Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania should have until 2016 to reach the target. On the other hand, contrary to the Commission proposal, MEPs said Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece did not need a transitional period."
(in http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/044-23872-070-03-11-907-20080312IPR23862-10-03-2008-2008-true/default_en.htm)