Paris Parfait

Of guns and cowardice

Remembering the many victims of senseless gun crime...                                        Photo © Tara Bradford 

 

I've been following the sad news about the horrific shootings in Aurora, Colorado. And it's really hard to feel anything but fury at all these politicians lamenting the tragedy and expressing sympathy - yet doing absolutely nothing to strengthen gun control laws.

Is there a politician in America who has the courage to take on the powerful NRA gun lobby? Is there a politician in America who can - and will - actually lead, rather than kowtow to corporate funding and special interests??!! How many more people must die before our elected senators and representatives introduce laws to curb access to assault rifles and handguns?

Despite the NRA's disingenuous claims to the contrary, this is not about our Second Amendment right to bear arms. This is about the widespread availability of guns - even presented in churches in Tennessee - allowing sociopaths and mentally-disturbed people to kill. This is about ready access of guns making it easy for a three-year-old child to accidentally kill his father or for a child to shoot his classmate. This is about an angry young man with impaired judgment legally buying dangerous weapons and ammunition and killing innocent people in a theatre.

For once, I agree with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

"Maybe it's time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they're going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says: 'Isn't it tragic?'"

"There are so many murders with guns every day. It's just gotta stop. And instead of these two people, President Obama and Governor Romney, talking in broad things about they want to make the world a better place. OK, tell us how... No matter where you stand on the second amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them, concretely, not just in generalities, specifically: what are they going to do about guns?"

Bill Moyers: The NRA has America living under the gun

Guns in America: Beyond control

We've seen this movie before

Guns and the slog

US has more guns and more homicides than any other country

News and blooms

Hortensia blooms in muted colours.

 

On today's radar:

Putlizer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri: Trading stories

Inside Libya's notorious Abu Salim prison. Two brave men I knew are believed to have been murdered in the prison massacre. They are mentioned in my 2006 poem Dead or disappeared.

Palestinians say they are victims of collective punishment, as the pro-Israeli US Congress withdraws aid to the West Bank and Gaza. The move follows the Palestinian's president's statehood request to the United Nations.

Labor unions plan to join Occupy Wall Street protests. And you can send pizza to protesters at Liberty Square!

If you're a fan of the late singer Ella Fitzgerald and the Paris-based Hermes, act fast to bid on Miss Fitzgerald's handbag at auction in New Orleans.

The contrarians: 18th-century furnishings in a Chicago apartment.

This video filmed in Paris is achingly beautiful in its wistfulness.

We remember.

Chapel, York Minster Cathedral, York, England. The windows remind me of the Twin Towers.

 

...and we won't forget.

I sit in one of the dives

on 52nd Street

Uncertain and afraid

As the clever hopes expire

of a low dishonest decade:

Waves of anger and fear

Circulate over the bright

and darkened lands of the earth,

Obsessing over private lives;

The unmentionable odour of death

offends the September night.

***********

Into this neutral air

Where blind skyscrapers use

their full height to proclaim

the strength of Collective Man,

Each language pours its vain

Competitive excuse:

But who can live for long

in an euphoric dream.

- W.H. Auden, Sept. 1, 1939

New York memories

Les fleurs de nuit.

 

Key moments of my life occurred in New York and the missing Twin Towers. I went to New York straight out of journalism school and lived in the city for eight years. While a reporter at the United Nations, I worked part-time for an international organisation with an office on the 46th floor of One World Trade Center.

One of my colleagues introduced me to her cousin, who later became my fiance. I saw San Francisco, Las Vegas and Tucson for the first time with him. Sadly, three years later, he was murdered.

In 1999, I met the man who would become my husband at an ecommerce conference at the World Trade Center. We had a drink at Windows of the World, with its spectacular views of the city, before going to dinner elsewhere. It was the last time I saw the Twin Towers, other than in movies, television news footage or photographs. I didn't take photos of the World Trade Center, believing the buildings were a permanent fixture of lower Manhattan. In December 2009 I was in New York and studiously avoided looking at the altered skyline.

While I have tried not to think too much about September 11th - so painful are its implications - events of that fateful day are impossible to forget. When planes flew into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, I was living in Paris. My husband phoned and told me to turn on the television. For the next two weeks, I was practically glued to the television, watching the horrors unfold on BBC and CNN.

I was stunned not only by the tragic loss of life, but the collapse of the supposedly-indestructible Twin Towers. The buildings were engineered to withstand the elements and natural disasters, such as earthquakes. On the 46th floor, our coats in the closet swayed visibly, as the building oh-so-imperceptibly moved with the wind. The fact that the buildings so quickly imploded was astonishing.

Travelers stranded

After United States airspace was closed and flights grounded, I phoned the American Embassy in Paris to offer our guest room to a stranded family (travelers due to fly had given up their hotel rooms, returning from Charles de Gaulle to find most hotels fully booked). The Embassy's response: "How many people can you take?" In the end, our apartment wasn't needed. But an American friend based in Washington, D.C. came for dinner. While David stayed home to prepare the meal, Mike and I took a long walk around Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne, commiserating about the shocking events in our country.

I'm not going to talk about how George W. Bush took the worldwide goodwill extended towards us in the aftermath of the tragedy and squandered it. This is not the day to write about Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Blair, who sent us down a disingenuous and ruinous path of war in Iraq, forever altering the way the world perceives us. This is not the time to write about all those lives - both soldiers and civilians - killed in Iraq and Afghanistan or to consider the vast treasure expended in such campaigns, draining our economy.

Today I'm focusing on honouring the men and women who lost their lives in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the downed Flight 93.  I'm thinking of the family members left behind and the valiant firefighters, police, medics, rescue workers and ordinary New Yorkers who risked their own lives to save others. Also, I'm thinking about the ghost buildings forever etched in my mind's eye.

To all who remember and all who have suffered in the 9/11 aftermath: wishing you peace and brighter days.

Renaissance angels

Madonna and lumiere at the 11th-century Saint Saulve Abbey, Montreuil-sur-Mer, France.

 

We remember. Please take a few moments to watch this slideshow of images taken last week at Saint Saulve Abbey, Montreuil-sur-Mer, France and in May at St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans.

Plastic fantastic and fall fashion

Plastic mannequins with formal hairstyles modeling knit tracksuits at a shop in Madaba, Jordan. Click photos to enlarge.

A row of mannequins model traditional clothing in downtown Amman.

In Bhaktapur, Nepal, the mannequins basically are large plastic hangers.

Curiously, all the mannequins I saw in Nepal resembled Eastern European blondes.

The mannequins in Jordan also had Western features, which suggests no one is manufacturing mannequins specifically for Middle Eastern or Asian markets.

Fall fashion

A world away, check out New York magazine's Fall Fashion issue. Interesting that the "Fall Leanings" section doesn't seem to show anything new. It's true that fashion trends return again and again, usually updated to reflect the times.

What's on your shopping list for fall? For me, it's new boots to withstand cold and wet winters in the Netherlands. But I'll be be wearing warm-weather clothes while spending part of the autumn in Sevilla and other parts of Spain.

Exotic

A spray of cymbidium orchids, Amsterdam. 

For more photos, please visit my new home at Tumblr.

It''s the fifth day in a row of beautiful, warm sunshine here! And speaking of sunshine, if you love traveling to exotic destinations, my friend Gillian has a treat for you: magical Morocco! Join Gillian October 29th through November 6th,  as she leads an adventurous journey to Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech and more. 

Gillian and I have been to New York and to Jordan together and I promise you couldn't ask for a more sympatico travel companion! Besides her spirit of adventure, Gill has a wicked sense of humour and a kind and caring heart. Don't miss this chance to travel with her and see the wonders of Morocco firsthand! Morocco is also a great place to practice your camera skills, with intriguing photo opportunities at practically every turn. Such fun!

Go here for details about the thrill-packed itinerary and to reserve your spot. Meanwhile, you might find Tahir Shah's excellent books about Morocco fascinating: The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca and In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams. And here's Tahir Shah's little tour of Casablanca for the Guardian. I defy you to read the books and not want to get on a plane to Morocco!

Here's your chance!

Let cooler heads prevail

Wrought-iron patio entrance with Islamic symbols, Alcazar de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

The tragedy of September 11th haunts many of us, as evidenced in various memorial ceremonies and reams of copy in publications around the world. But watching media reports of hysterical - and ill-informed - anti-mosque protests in New York; Newt Gingrich's release of a shockingly paranoid, fear-mongering and fact-challenged film and Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck's cynical money-making appearance at a "patriot" meeting Saturday, I was reminded of the poet Khalil Gibran's philosophy:

"The true wealth of a nation lies not in its gold or silver but in its learning, wisdom and in the uprightness of its sons."

Either our coffers are running low or the crazy fringe elements of our society are too noisily promoting intolerance, trying to drown out voices of reason. These increasingly unhinged people do not speak for us. In the United States, our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and justice for all, not just for special interest groups trying to line their pockets by manipulating emotions and inciting violence and hate.

It is my hope and prayer that we make a sincere effort to listen and learn from one another, no matter our faith, creed or country of origin. For all our sakes, cooler heads must prevail.

As the world turns

As the world turns, Selfridges, London.

Ten years ago today, David and I met in New York. A few months later, my daughter Jordana and I moved to London. A year after that, we moved to Paris, for David's job with an international organisation. Jordana attended high school at the American School of Paris and I resurrected my college French and struggled to adjust to French logic. It was my first experience not working for a salary since age 16; initially I didn't appreciate the loss of steady income and control. To lift my spirits, I began frequenting brocantes, flea markets and antiques shops. Soon our apartment was filled with an eclectic collection of art and antiques.

After discovering the endless bureaucracy required to get married in Paris, Jordana, David and I flew to Santa Fe, N.M. Our wedding ironically was at (French) Archibishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy's private chapel. Jordana's friend Vince played acoustic guitar, while she sang Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind."  A dozen friends witnessed the happy occasion and later joined us for dinner at the Inn of the Anasazi.

We traveled to many, many places in Europe and the US.  At home in Paris, David honed his cooking skills as we hosted hundreds (!) of guests. I became a fan of rugby and horse-racing at Longchamp (although I never bet on horses; just admire and photograph them).  My daughter went off to college in the US.

I started this blog and picked up a camera for the first time in many years. I took Eurostar to London at least once a month. I worked on my novel. I wrote poetry. I campaigned for Barack Obama and worked on human rights initiatives. I had a few health woes, but was lucky to have quality medical care in both Paris and London. I studied Spanish in Seville, Spain and photography in London.

I have lived in Paris longer than any city in my adult life (followed by San Francisco and New York). Ten years ago, when David was a guest speaker at an e-commerce conference (at the World Trade Center) and I a writer, covering the conference, I wouldn't have imagined this life. It's had its ups and downs, but for the most part, it's been rich with blessings. While Paris has never felt like home to me, I know we are fortunate.  Having traveled as a journalist for much of my adult life, I've learned, as John Cage said, that "we carry our homes within us, which enables us to fly."

Balancing act, Selfridges, London.

P.S. Don't miss your chance to win a copy of Leonard Pitt's new book Paris Postcards! Go here to enter.

We remember

Bird soaring above ancient chapel, Montreuil-sur-Mer, France. 

I once had an office in the 46th floor of One World Trade Center. These photos taken of the Twin Towers  before Sept. 10, 2001 are a poignant reminder of the iconic physical structures that served as a center of commerce and industry.

Of course, more than the buildings, we remember the many victims of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001 in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Today we honour their lives and hope and pray for a better world for our children.

Maybe we could learn a lesson from diverse songbirds, which now sing the same tune.

"Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity." - The Dalai Lama.

Scroll down the page for an additional post today.

Gone, but not forgotten

The novelist Laila Lalami reminded me that 40 years ago today, Muammar al-Qaddafi overthrew the Libyan ruler King Idris I.

At the time, my friend Muna was living in Libya. Years later in Amman, she told me the story;  how they awoke at dawn, horrified to find tanks trained on the palace.

Muna's mother worked for the Queen; her Palestinian father for an American oil company. The family fled with just the clothes on their backs. They spent some time in Malta, before working their way to Jordan, where they ultimately obtained Jordanian passports. To this day, they live in Amman.

Laila Lalami wrote: "It seems to me that coverage of Gaddafi is broadly limited to two topics: his social antics (e.g. the tent he set up in the garden of the Hotel Marigny, his all-female bodyguard corps, his ridiculous outfits and so on) and the Lockerbie bombing. One rarely hears about all the political prisoners who have been rotting in his jails for several decades.

"A couple of years ago, the novelist Hisham Matar wrote a very moving piece about his father, Jaballa Matar, who was allegedly kidnapped by Egyptian security forces in March 1990 and then rendered to Libya. He has not been seen in nineteen years and has not been heard from in ten.

How does one remain free from becoming a symbol or a victim? How do we remain whole and free from hate, yet truthful to our memory?

Life attempts to teach us about loss: that one can still find peace in the finality of death. And yet, my loss gives no peace. My father is not incarcerated, yet he is not free; he is not dead, yet he is not alive either. My loss is self-renewing, insistent and incomplete.

I was always told to expect to lose my father. Many Libyan political dissidents have been assassinated or kidnapped. But now I know that I had no comprehension of the danger he was in. If I had, I would have held on to him with all I could, or tried harder to persuade him not to engage in political dissent, perhaps. Regret is the cruellest companion for those of us who are left behind.

I did try to persuade him to leave his political work, because I loved my father more than I loved my country; or, to put it another way, I had learned by then to live without my country, but not without my father.

When Father was taken, the world did feel empty. For the first couple of years, our ship was lost, then we recovered our bearings and learnt that the speed by which one resumes living is no indication of the depth of one’s grief."

I knew Jaballa Mater personally. When I was a UN correspondent, I was introduced to Jaballa by a mutual friend at the US-Arab Chamber of Commerce in New York. The friend asked me to take Jaballa shopping for presents for his family. I remember him purchasing a wallet and other gifts at the Cartier counter at Macy's. A group of friends accompanied him to dinner at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center and the waiter snapped our picture. Jaballa with his shock of grey hair and mustache was laughing, wearing a suit with his signature white silk fringed scarf draped around his neck. There were other dinners, always an eclectic group, whose livelihood or lives were rooted in the Middle East.

Jaballa was living in Switzerland at the time and didn't like to discuss Middle East politics; certainly not the minefield of Libyan politics, which had caused such grief for him and his family. Years later, I was dismayed to learn Jaballa had been kidnapped, while living in Egypt. Widespread speculation was that Egyptian security forces had turned him over to Libya, another victim of Qaddafi's thugs. Until reading Laila's piece today, I hadn't known Jaballa had been heard from at all during the last 19 years. It's possible he is still alive, although who knows in what condition, along with Qaddafi's numerous other political prisoners. Human rights seem to have been forgotten in the West's renewed quest for lucrative oil and business partnerships in Libya.

Another friend, Mansour Rashid Kikhia, the former Libyan Ambassador to the UN, was kidnapped from his hotel in Cairo in December, 1993. Kikhia had resigned his job at the UN and was head of the International Arab Jurists Association. Despite the intervention of the US government and the United Nations, no information about his fate has been forthcoming.

Many political prisoners died in a massacre June 29, 1996 at Abu Salim prison in Benghazi.

In December 2006, I wrote a poem, "Dead or disappeared" about these two men and other activists - and one special friend - I came to know.

Bright young thing
in New York watching
history unfold amidst chaos
key players crossed my path
some became friends
admired for their selfless courage


The last time I saw him
he took off his shoes
and put his feet on the table
at a UN press conference
so we could see the pattern of scars
calling card of the Shah's SAVAK*

He got our attention.
Two weeks later he was murdered.


The last time I saw him
he seemed a little drunk and flirtatious,
escorted by aides and guards
in an Amman hotel lobby
talking about an upcoming meeting
promising an interview

A sobering phone call followed:
felled on his front porch in a hail of assassin's bullets.


The last time I saw him
he was impassioned about
his human rights work
looking forward to an international conference
to expand the jurists' scope and focus
helping secure rights for all

Newspaper headlines reported his disappearance in Egypt;
UN and governmental inquiries produced no answers.


The last time I saw him
I took him shopping
for family gifts at Cartier
they snapped our picture at the Rainbow Room
and we went to a dinner party with friends
then he went home to Geneva

Vanished without a trace in Cairo;
more UN inquiries; no answers.


The last time I saw him
he told me he loved me
and kissed me goodbye
then boarded a plane to Amman
to do his father's bidding
and work in the family business

Less than five months later he was dead,
shot three times in the head.


For those still here
an obligation to tell their stories
remember what they held dear
the struggles and small victories
undying commitment to causes
greater than themselves


*Secret police during the reign of the Shah of Iran

Note that Qaddafi is spelled in a number of ways. At the UN, we spelled his name Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Photo of bas relief sculptures over a doorway in Amsterdam.

Fall preview

Bikes, boats and canal houses at twilight, Amsterdam.

You may not be ready to kiss summer goodbye, but the prospect of fall fills me with excitement. In September, it's not just a birthday that makes me happy; it's the sense of possibility; the first hint of a chill in the air; the colours; the clothes. To mark my birthday, I'm joining other September babies in donating to Charity Water, which helps provide clean drinking water around the world.

My fall diary looks promising. First, there's a week-long photography course in London, fall clothes-shopping and chatty dinners with old friends. Later in September, there'll be teas and dinners with friends visiting Paris. I'll meet my blogging buddy Marilyn for the first time.  My friend Joan, the fascinating proprietor of San Francisco's Timeless Treasures will be in town.  I'll also be escorting my partner-in-crime Di Overton to the brocante at Chatou, hunting for goodies for Ghost Furniture.

Photo shoots in both Paris and the Loire Valley are planned for an upcoming book about French antiquaires and their private spaces. Early in October, David and I will holiday in Scotland and various points in England. In Northumberland, we'll visit Di and Harvey. Can't wait to see their renovated cottage (and sneak a few photos)! In Oxford, we'll visit David's daughter Marie-Claire, as well as Barbara and Barry, the lovely couple whose wedding the gorgeous Gillian and I were privileged to witness last December in New York.

November kicks off with the usual brocante at Bastille. I'll be brushing up on my Arabic in preparation for  spending Thanksgiving and early December in Amman and Petra, Jordan, working on interviews and photo essays. I'll also make sure arrangements for our expedition March 1-8, 2010 are exactly as expected.

We still have two or three spots left; want to come along with Alex and me for an unforgettable adventure? Check out our Journey to Jordan website, then email me with any questions.

This fall I'll also be making a concerted effort to walk and bike more to build up my stamina (to carry heavy photo gear around for extended periods of time); to clear more clutter by selling some antiques and collectibles and to read more and worry less.

What's kick-starting your fall? Any plans for travel or launching new projects or creative ventures? Do tell!

P.S. If you like books and appreciate Brit humour and irony, you may enjoy Me and My Big Mouth. I especially like his criteria for getting rid of books. Note to self: Must do this!

In memoriam: Shafiq al-Hout 1932 - 2009

Shafiq al-Hout died Sunday in Beirut. I had the privilege of knowing the Palestinian activist when I was a United Nations correspondent in New York. Shafiq didn't mind my 1,000 questions about the Middle East, answering them with patience, grace and humor. He was a co-founder of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and top aide to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. But Shafiq - along with the late poet Mahmoud Darwish - fell out with the mercurial leader over the Oslo Peace Accords. Still, he remained an influential voice in Palestinian politics.

From 1974 - 1993, Shafiq served as the PLO's delegate to the United Nations. He was a member of the Palestine National Council and the Palestinian Parliament-in-Exile. Shafiq traveled the globe in his tireless efforts for the Palestinian cause. He will be missed.

Model girls

On Saturday at Les Passages, hundreds of excited young girls and their anxious moms were lined up, hoping to be "discovered" at a beauty event hosted by New York's Elite Model Management.

Why isn't there this kind of excitement at science fairs or events that actually require more clever and creative thinking? Why must the focus for females always revolve around physical attributes??!! It would be a wonderful thing if self-esteem was fueled by one's accomplishments and intentions, not simply one's looks. As my grandmother always said, "Pretty is as pretty does."

At last, some real progress for women in Kuwait.

Scroll down the page for another post today.

Wedding photos

My daughter Jordana Noelle is pictured just before walking down the aisle on Saturday, May 2 at her friends' home in Savannah, Georgia.

Jordana's stepfather David escorted her down the aisle. Here he steps aside, as the marriage vows begin.

Jordana and Keith recite their marriage vows, including a poem by Kahlil Gibran.

The happy couple. Jordana designed her own dress, made of dotted Swiss bought in New York. Her espadrilles are Christian Louboutin.

A private moment.

Jordana's friend Alisa pours champagne brought from Paris into French crystal champagne flutes, a gift from the bride's parents.

Jordana takes a break after the initial wedding festivities.

Evening in Savannah, with Spanish moss dripping from the trees.

Chinese lanterns illuminate the wedding celebration.

Even a decorative birdcage is lit with votive candles. Jordana's friend Sarah, who is in charge of creative displays for a popular retail store in Madison, Wisconsin, decorated the birdcage and draped the wooden arch with tulle and lights. The groom's stepfather built the arch. He presented it to Jordana's friends, as thanks for hosting the wedding.

The guestbook with handmade paper from Paris, enhanced with flecks of gold and glitter and an 18th-century French tulle and satin jewelry pillow.

First dance, as the disc jockey plays Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic."

Cutting the cake.

The cake is from Florida; assorted cupcakes are from a bakery in Savannah and napkins are from Paris. Tables were decorated with colorful floral tablecloths from Anthropologie and centered with bouquets of purple tulips, Jordana's favourite flower. About 50 friends and family members from all across the United States (and France) joined in the wedding celebration, including two of Jordana's former classmates at the American School of Paris.

Jordana and their dog, wearing a bowtie for the occasion.

Thank you all for your warm wishes for Jordana and Keith!

Update Saturday, May 9: And a special thank you to David (pictured with his trusty Nikon) who has been a wonderful father to Jordana. He has been very supportive of her accomplishments. He also helped me keep my sanity in the flurry of last-minute wedding preparations and travel arrangements.

While in Savannah, David made a few side trips for bird-watching and has some fantastic photos of birds and alligators (!), that I'll be posting next week.

And seven years ago today, we got married in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Tonight, we'll celebrate at dinner with champagne, a 1998 Chateau de Chantegrive Bordeaux and duck with sour cherries, cooked by the resident Chef, of course! And he brought me white roses, my favourite.

Look closely...

...but don't count on television news for truth and accuracy.

Glass photographic plates from 1910-1918, found at the flea market at Vanves, Paris.

In recent years, the mainstream media - particularly television news - in the US has veered dangerously off course. Gone is the objectivity that's drilled into our heads in journalism school; instead, money, power, influence and politics have corrupted the news agenda. And I'm not talking only about Fox "News," which is known for its right-wing slant. I'm referring to ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, as well as Fox.

The most recent example of abysmal reporting concerns the television news coverage of the Putlizer Prize. David Barstow of The New York Times deservedly won for his "tenacious reporting that revealed how some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended," according to the Pulitzer Committee.

But, as Glenn Greenwald of Salon noted, the television networks "kept completely silent about Barstow's story, even though it sparked Congressional inquiries, vehement objections from the then-leading Democratic presidential candidates and allegations that the Pentagon program violated legal prohibitions on domestic propaganda programs. The Pentagon's secret collaboration with these "independent analysts" shaped multiple news stories from each of these outlets on a variety of critical topics. Most amazingly, many of them continue to employ as so-called "independent analysts" the very retired generals at the heart of Barstow's story, yet still refuse to inform their viewers about any part of this story."

American television networks simply eliminated Barstow's name from their Putlizer coverage or any direct reference to Barstow's honor. Obviously, to do so would shine a spotlight on their own cupability, as outlined in Barstow's investigation.

NBC's Brian Williams was one of the worst offenders,prompting Media Matters to call him out for his so-called "reporting" on the pervasive impact of the Pentagon's program on television news coverage. Greenwald called Williams' behavior "disgraceful on this issue, almost certainly due to the fact that some of the 'analysts' most directly implicated by Barstow's story are Williams' favored sources and friends."

CNN ran a lengthy story on the Pulitzer winners, conveniently omitting any mention of David Barstow's prize for uncovering corruption at the core of CNN's Iraq War coverage, as well as its reporting about other military-related matters.

Such disgraceful, shameful and unethical behaviour on the part of American television news! It seems many, many pronouncements of television reporters must be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. If you want the true story, best to check in regularly with Media Matters, which does an excellent job of dissecting the mainstream media's reporting and separating fact from fiction.

Scroll down the page to read about Kelaya's story and how you can help.

Murder in Gaza and other crimes

Exhibition poster, Paris metro.

Israeli army vets admit killing innocent civilians in Gaza

Read Donald McIntyre's piece in The Independent about the appalling litany of war crimes in Gaza. Read more about the soldiers' admissions at Haaretz.

"Journalists" defend the indefensible

The pathetic lack of objectivity among some "journalists" in the mainstream media is amplified by stupid rhetoric about Dick Cheney. The former vice president - who openly advocated torture, among other human rights violations - continues to make false and misleading statements about the current administration. Read Glenn Greenwald's insightful article in Salon.

Iranian blogger dies in prison

Human rights campaigners call for justice after an Iranian blogger dies in prison.

Newspapers continue their struggle

The Columbia Journalism Review writes about the challenges for the few remaining two-newspaper towns.

Keep calm and carry on

The World War II Keep Calm and Carry On posters are doing a brisk business in Britain, as a "stiff upper lip" reaction to the faltering economy. I have a poster from Barter Books and two tote-bags bearing the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan from the Victoria & Albert Museum gift shop in London. My daughter also has a totebag and my husband has a poster in his office.

Making every moment count

18th-century Italian angel in my cabinet d' curiosities, Paris.

 

"As a tale, so is life; not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." - Seneca.

Remembering Natasha Richardson, 1963-2009.

Jeanne Magnin's Roman-inspired sketches

French artist Jeanne Magnin's drawings from her sketchbook found at a brocante. To see more of her work, visit Le Musee Magnin in Dijon, France.

These sketches reflect Magnin's interpretation of the Roman style. See her Egyptian-inspired sketches here. And check back later for Magnin's Greek-inspired drawings, as well as her Byzantine sketches.

Sony 2009 World Photography Awards winners

Go here to see the photographs - both professional and amateur - awarded prizes.

Sad, sad news

Update 1 a.m. Thursday Paris time: Natasha Richardson has died from her injuries, it has been announced.

I am deeply saddened by the tragic news that the actress Natasha Richardson has suffered a life-threatening head injury. Her family has gathered at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York to say their goodbyes.

Vanessa Redgrave was particularly kind to my daughter on her eighth birthday, when we met in London through a mutual friend. Faced with losing her child, I can only imagine the pain Miss Redgrave must be enduring. And of course Natasha's husband Liam Neeson and their two sons are devastated by such an enormous loss. My thoughts and prayers are with the Redgraves and the Neesons.

Always an adventure

Seeking adventure; will travel. Photo at Galeries Lafayette, Paris.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.” - Helen Keller

I am delighted to be guest blogger at the lovely Relyn's place. Won't you join me for a chat about adventures and perhaps a hint or two about my upcoming novel? I'd love to hear about your memorable adventures. And I've saved a seat just for you!

Just write.

Window-shopping, North Beach, San Francisco.

An excerpt from Bonnie Friedman's book Writing past Dark:

"In New York I saw a Buddhist monk making a sand mandala. He had six or seven bowls of colored sand - egg-yolk orange, midnight blue, dusty gray among them - and a metal cone the size of a bull's horn, which had a tiny hole at the end. The monk scooped a bit of sand into the cone and when he tapped, a trickle of sand beaded out of the hole a few grains at a time. With this he painted elaborate, complicated scenes: a procession of elephants looped tail to trunk, many-tiered palaces, flying birds, regal tigers, each intricate quarter of the design mirroring the opposite quarter in byzantine symmetry, the entire disk perhaps four feet across.

"In the hour I watched - this was in the Museum of Natural History, at the raging height of an apocalyptically hot summer - the monk shaped the tail of a lion. First he used yellow. Then he shaded with an echoing curve of red, then white. The tail shimmered like a flame.

"It was a meditation to construct this mandala. It was being drawn for the spiritual benefit of the artist and of those people who would see it. The monk leaned intently over his trickle of sand. It would take three months to finish the work. It would take hundreds of hours of steady focus. Then, when it was done - kaput! He'd throw it to the wind. Or he would take it and toss it into the sea "for," a sign explained, "the spiritual benefit of the fish."

"This is how it is with mandalas. With them, it's all in the doing. When they're done, they're gone. How can he bear it? I thought. In every tap of the funnel there is farewell. In every moment of the wrist, good-bye, bood-bye. The reward for the effort is giving it to the wind, giving it to the fish in the sea, doing it to be doing it, not to have it done."

It's up to us

It seems to me that every writer and artist experiences much the same thing. We create art, then release it to the wind. We can't know how people will react; if their thoughts will be the same as ours when we wrote the words, put brush to canvas or picked up a camera. All art is subjective. People see what they want to see, according to their unique philosophies; their life experiences and travels; their cultures and traditions. To worry about reactions to our work is futile. Our job is simply to create.

In his novel The Dork of Cork, author Chet Raymo writes about the importance of following one's passion, rather than listening to the opinions of others. "Just paint," one character tells another, who repeats it to herself like a mantra. And she paints.

All too often we censor ourselves, worried what others might think. Instead, we should focus on creating work that depicts truth and beauty.

Just paint. Just write. Just create.

Store in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Champagne at the Plaza

,,,and that's the least of the story!

It began over two years ago, this meeting of the minds. Somehow our paths crossed in the blogosphere and Gillian and I began corresponding and became friends. With her in Canada and me in France, it wasn't easy to arrange a meeting. So when I planned a trip to Philadelphia to see my daughter, I invited Gillian to meet me in New York.

Gillian had been to Cuba and points beyond, but never to New York. I lived in New York for eight years and welcome any chance to visit. Plans were made and at last the day arrived. Gillian had flown from Toronto the day before, to take in a Broadway play. I arrived the next morning, via an early train from Philadelphia. We met later that morning and went to have coffee/tea and decide our course of action. As Gillian didn't have any preferences, I decided to give her a whirlwind tour - on foot.

We went into Grand Central Station, then walked past the public library and up Sixth Avenue, where Gillian stopped to buy "magic" Obama flags. Later, these would prove useful in pointing out landmarks, deterring would-be pickpockets and retrieving a lost camera. We continued on to Radio City Music Hall, then to Rockefeller Center, where preparations were underway for the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony later that evening.

Crossing the street to Saks Fifth Avenue, we took photos of their holiday vitrines. Then we went into St. Patrick's Cathedral and lit candles for those in need. We walked past the Fifth Avenue stores, oohing and aahing and snapping pictures along the way. At Tiffany's, we showed admirable restraint and didn't buy a thing!

We walked past the Museum of Modern Art, to the Henry Darger exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum. We were both captivated by Darger's Outsider art and talked about what he might have witnessed as a child, to have created such vivid images of children in danger. Darger portrayed a group of children on horseback known as "The Vivian Girls" riding to the rescue of the children in peril.

After lunch at the museum - and a camera lost, then found - we walked past Trump Tower, Bergdorf's and the Plaza Hotel, into Central Park. I showed Gillian the Wollman Ice Skating Rink and pointed out a few landmarks, including a giant rock where I once saw Salvador Dali sitting cross-legged, watching the world go by. That's the wonderful thing about New York: you never know what will happen once you step out your front door. Always an adventure! As we were crossing a bridge, we stopped to take photos. I was snapping the above photo of Gillian when I felt a tap on my shouder.

I turned around and a smiling young woman asked if we would mind witnessing a wedding! Well, who could decline such an opportunity? So we were introduced to the bride and groom, Barry and Barbara. They'd been together for 25 years and were celebrating by getting married! It was a romantic ceremony, with Gillian and me trying to suppress happy tears while snapping photos (me with the bride's camera; Gillian with her own).

After the ceremony, we signed papers as witnesses and were chatting, when a Northern European woman came up and told us she watched the ceremony from the end of the bridge. She said she worked for NASA and that it was a very auspicious day, with lots of light and the planets aligned just so - and that the newlyweds should enjoy a long and happy life together. Well who could argue with what seemed obvious?

Barbara and Barry invited us to join them for champagne at the Plaza and of course we accepted! We agreed to meet in 30 minutes and off Gillian and I went to freshen up and explore the maze of shops in the basement level of the Plaza. I was amazed at how much the Plaza has changed, having had a few afternoon teas at the Palm Court and evening drinks at the famous Oak Bar. Unfortunately, the new design has blocked off space that was formerly wide open, making it seem smaller and less grand. What once was an open reception area has had parts of it altered with mirrored walls. I kept walking into them on our way to the Champagne Bar - and I hadn't yet had any champagne!

The charming newlyweds were waiting for us; we were thrilled to toast their happiness. Turns out Barbara and Barry live in Oxford, England, so it is hoped we'll meet during my next trip to Oxford. They were amazed that Gillian and I had never met in person before that day, as we seemed so relaxed and at ease with each other. We agreed that it seemed as though we'd known each other all our lives.

Later, the newlyweds and their driver drove us to my hotel, en route to their wedding dinner at Chelsea Pier. Gillian and I exchanged presents, then cabbed it to one of my favourite restaurants in Soho. We drank more champagne, talked and ate until late. And before we knew it, it was time to go home. Alas!

As for Gillian, she's a true kindred spirit and I adore her. Gillian is everything I expected her to be and more - beautiful, smart, funny, generous, curious, observant and adventurous, with a blithe spirit. She is a treasure! I'm looking forward to our next meeting - wherever that may be!

Photo of Gillian on the bridge where the wedding was performed, Central Park. Read Gill's account of our day out here.

Oh happy day!

Changing history: One of two "magic" Obama flags my Canadian friend Gillian bought last month during our whirlwind trip to New York. The flag is perched on an architectural model. I wanted to photograph the Obama flag in various locations around Paris, but it rained. Come back soon for the story of the magic flags and more.

For most Americans, this is a momentous day. I am overcome with emotion: bursting with pride and alternately weeping with joy or laughing out loud because today BARACK OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT! It was a long, hard road, but together, we worked hard and made it happen.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who took this restless -and at times harrowing - journey; to those who supported and encouraged my political posts and reminded me that every voice matters. I wish we were all together in one big room, drinking toasts to our new president! Tonight, when we pop the champagne corks, I will be thinking of you, with awe and amazement at what we've accomplished.

But after the champagne's gone flat and the fireworks fizzle, our real work begins. We can't afford to be complacent. If we learned anything during the last eight years of Bush-Cheney and one disaster after another, it is that we cannot take our eye off the ball or lose sight of our moral compass, beliefs and principles. We cannot just sleepwalk amidst our personal comfort zones, while things fall apart around us. We cannot expect our government to solve all our problems; as citizens we share responsibilities for our nation's welfare.

It's important that we get involved and make a difference in our communities. We need to volunteer in local government; in our schools; hospitals; civic organisations; human rights groups; charities. We need to write our Congressmen and women and question their choices. We need to speak out when we witness injustices. Silence is no longer an option.

We are all in this together - and that's evidenced - especially on this bright, auspicious day - by the shining eyes and smiling faces of my fellow Americans, rich in our diversity. What unites us is stronger than what divides us. So let's celebrate - we deserve it! Tomorrow, we start to heal the gaping wounds of our country.

Le Monde, Paris. "The era of Obama: Patriotism, but without nationalism."

Le Parisien. "The 44th President. Everything follows the inauguration of Obama."

Le Figaro.

Le Figaro's special section about the US presidential inauguration. Note the way the American flag wraps around their banner.

France Soir. "Remember our history and the lessons of Martin Luther King."

Liberation.

Les Echos. "The new America."

The International Herald Tribune.

Rumblings on rue Cambon

Rather ominous economic rumblings on rue Cambon: layoffs at tbe venerable House of Chanel. C'est pas vrai! Oui, c'est vrai! A Crime Scene Investigation vehicle is part of a French film crew preparing to shoot scenes Thursday near the Ritz on rue Cambon.

Chanel's 31 rue Cambon vitrines are as stylish as ever.

Fencing, anyone? Perhaps a bit of skiing in the French Alps?

For apres-skiing - or swimming, a warm jacket accented with Chanel's trademark camellia.

At the other end of the street, a simpler fashion advertising the winter sales.

As I was snapping this photo, two Frenchwomen walked by and agreed the paper cut-out dress was "très original."

And I love New York!

P.S. More about the Antiquites Brocante at Bercy later.

The blind leading the blind

Open corridor, Mosquée de Paris. Photo by Jordana Shalhoub.

"Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind." - Katha Upanishad.

Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon about the world's mounting opposition to the Israeli war in Gaza - while the US Congress thoughtlessly votes to support Israel.

"International pressure intensified sharply on Israel on Thursday, the 13th day of its Gaza assault, after the United Nations suspended food aid deliveries, the International Committee of the Red Cross accused the Israelis of knowingly blocking assistance to the injured and a top Vatican official defended comments in which he compared Gaza to a concentration camp.

"The Israelis have deliberately made it impossible to know the full extent of the carnage and humanitarian disasters because they continue to prevent journalists from entering Gaza even in the face of a now week-old Israeli Supreme Court order compelling them to do so. According to Palestinian sources, there are now 700 dead Palestinians -- at least 200 of them children -- and well over 1,000 wounded. Those numbers are not seriously doubted by anyone. By comparison, a total of 10 Israelis have died -- 10 -- almost all of them by "friendly fire." The unusually worded Red Cross condemnation of Israel was prompted by its discovery, after finally being allowed into Gaza, of starving Palestinian children laying next to corpses, with ambulances blocked for days by the IDF. Even with the relative "restraint" Israel is excercising (the damage it could cause is obviously much greater), this is not so much of a war as it is a completely one-sided massacre.

"As a result, much of the world is urging an end to the war and acting to forge a cease-fire -- except the United States. Here, blind and unequivocal support for the Israeli attack is actually increasing almost as fast as the Palestinian body count piles up. Apparently, it isn't enough that we supply the very bombs being dropped on the Palestinians and use our U.N. veto power to prevent any U.N. action to stop the war or even to urge its cessation. The U.S. Congress wants to involve the U.S. further still in Israel's war.

"This afternoon (Thursday), the Democratic-led U.S. Senate did just that by enacting -- via a cowardly voice vote -- a completely one-sided, non-binding resolution that expresses unequivocal support for the Israeli war, and heaps all the blame for the conflict on Hamas and none of it on Israel. Harry Reid -- who jointly sponsored the Resolution with GOP Leader Mitch McConnell -- proudly proclaimed: "When we pass this resolution, the United States Senate will strengthen our historic bond with the state of Israel." On its website, AIPAC is already patting the U.S. Senate on its head for "for conveying America's unequivocal and steadfast support for Israel's right to self-defense."

Read the full story here.

Meanwhile, Israel is ignoring the United Nations resolution passed last night, calling for an immediate ceasefire and end to hostilities. And history repeats itself.

Please read this for the cold hard reality on the ground in Gaza:

No room for the dead, no room for the living...

And a doctor describes the horrors he's witnessing in this short video:

On Saturday, Jan. 10, demonstrations are planned outside the Israeli Embassy in London and at Place de la Republique in Paris.

A New York state of mind

An Albino peacock and ornate silver, Fifth Avenue, New York.

Ode to René Lalique, French glassmaker (1860-1945) at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue.

Ice storm, Saks Fifth Avenue.

Carmen Miranda at the Disney Store, Fifth Avenue.

Ice skating at Wollman Rink, Central Park.

Ice hockey at the Wollman Rink, Central Park.

Taxis and giant red Christmas balls, Sixth Avenue.

The red ornaments in front of 1251 Avenue of the Americas.

Mural, Sixth Avenue entrance, Rockefeller Center.

Angels blowing trumpets, Rockefeller Center.

Christmas tree, Rockefeller Center.

Anthropologie with the Rockefeller Center tree and flags reflected in the glass.

Anthropologie, Rockefeller Center. I bought a fabulous and warm teal blue beret.

Tapestries, Anthropologie.

Artful display, Anthropologie.

19th-century lights, The Plaza.

Oasis of calm near Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

Abstract knit pattern and neon lights, MOMA window. The reflection of the building across the street makes it appear piles of knitted goods rest on top of the building and are cascading down the front, like an unruly scarf.

Highland fling, Fifth Avenue. Yes, that's a miniature castle on that mannequin's head.

New York stories

Evening gowns and party frocks at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York.

This emerald green number reminds me of a Flamenco dress.

Old-style Hollywood glamour, with halter gowns and fur.

What shall I tell you about New York? Maybe you'd like to hear about an unexpected and romantic wedding, then toasting the newlyweds with champagne at the Plaza? Magic Obama flags. Browsing at Tiffany's. Visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral. Rockefeller Center, both before and after the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Visiting the Henry Darger exhibition at the Museum of American Folk Art. The Museum of Modern Art. A walk in Central Park. Dinner in Soho. Shopping at Bloomingdale's. And the incomparable Gillian, of course - the reason for the whirlwind trip to New York.

So many New York (and Philadelphia) stories to tell: please forgive me for making you wait a day or two to hear them. I've brought the flu home from Philadelphia and am feeling too awful to write. Back soon.

Scroll down the page for an additional post today.

An insider's perspective

The author is a poet and former public information officer at the United Nations. Born in Palestine, he is an American citizen and lives in New York. He wrote this piece at my request.

By Yousef Hamdan

The pictures of dozens of children pulled out from under the rubble in Qana, Lebanon streamed out of TV screens and caused maddening outrage in millions of homes throughout the Middle East. Qana was not just another town. The massacre of its people in 1996 is still imprinted in the collective memory.

In the morning, demonstrators stormed the UN building in Beirut and Gaza. In many cites in the Arab world, men women and children took to the streets denouncing George Bush and his friends in the Arab World. On Sunday morning, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council and urged it to condemn the attack on Qana.

After a day of consultations, the council failed to condemn the massacre. US Ambassador John Bolton blocked it from doing so. Only a few days earlier the Israeli delegate proclaimed Mr. Bolton a member of his delegation to the UN!

Just before the air strike on Qana on July 27th, 2006, Israeli Justice Minister, Haim Ramon, a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told Israeli Army Radio: "All those now in South Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah." Ramon also said "villages should be flattened by the Israeli air force before ground troops move in."

Anyone who thought Qana may have been another “accident” should think again. If this was not a war crime, what is? Yet the Bush administration insists it must go without rebuke.

When you hear people in the Middle East calling talk shows on TV and screaming in outrage against their inept leaders and the US president, you sense a volcano about to erupt. They know the US is the only Member State blocking the UN from calling for a ceasefire; a ceasefire on the civilians in Lebanon, its basic infrastructure and every means of civilized existence. They heard Chief of Staff Halutz saying Lebanon’s clock will be turned back 20 years.

Yet the US thinks a ceasefire is not a good thing - yet. Instead, the US rushed laser-guided bombs to Israel. In their haste, they forgot to tell Tony Blair they would be using British airports for the delivery of the bombs.

Earlier this month the US cast yet another veto, killing a draft resolution calling on Israel to stop its onslaught on the Gaza strip. Civilians are killed every day in the besieged strip, without electricity, food or medicine. But while that receives wide coverage in the Middle East, the US media pays little attention. A UN delegate from the region said Monday that the children who witnessed Qana ten years ago are those who are now launching rockets on Israeli towns.

Bold headlines throughout the Middle East announced that the US Congress almost unanimously backs Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon. Israeli press is filled with commentary indicating this war is a US war by proxy. One Israeli news commentator revealed that a Republican fundraiser, close to the Bush administration telephoned Israeli officials and urged them to “deliver the goods” and achieve a clear victory.

Now that the “beacon of democracy” called Iraq has not delivered the “goods," a “war president” must have another war with a possible successful outcome. After all this is an election year. Not by accident, Mr. Bush, Monday in Florida, called the war in Lebanon part of the War on Terror. Was the milk factory in Beirut, destroyed by air strikes, a terrorist target?

In the meantime, one third of Israel’s citizens continue to suffer in shelters and a third of those are refugees. As guns will go silent, the vast segments of Israeli society living in poverty will expand and get poorer. On the other hand, the American-Israeli military industrial complex will get a windfall out of this war. We - the American taxpayers - will pay the bill.

Why do they hate us?

A friend in the region called me a few days ago and asked how I could continue to live in the US? I tried to explain that America is not this Bush, nor is it this Congress. Most Americans are waiting to wake up from this nightmare.