Back in the U.S.S.A

Back in the U.S.S.A — more as I get de-jetlagged — but my thoughts are still with the resonant NO the French referendum threw in the face of the possibility of a political (rather than economic) Europe. Fascinating late night tv roundtable debates with the whole spectrum of ideas (from Le Pen’s fascist daughter to the young postman who leads the LCR, the Revolutionary Communist League, via Daniel Cohn-Bendit, aka Danny the Red, now Euro-parlementarian, Chiracians such as Dominique de Villepin who just this morning was made French prime minister (he’s the one who delivered the French opposition to the war in Iraq speech ay the UN) and various sides of the Socialist party, and the old rotten never-completely- de-stalinized PC. Each got equal time, though of course many talked at the same time, in classic French ‘Café du Commerce’ fashion. Two hours without commercial interruptions (well, there was a break after the first hour, & adds flowed for a solid 5 minutes). Intelligent oral debate, informative exchange & analysis of complex ideas through the medium of television is not only possible, but, as was the case in this instance, highly entertaining.