Emma Brooks

La porte andalouse

Les morts espagnols ont cette caractéristique que les français n’ont pas : celle de revenir à la vie.

Baltazar Carzon a récemment ordonné l’exhumation de la dépouille du poète federico garcia lorca, sommairement assassiné et enfouit dans une fosse commune depuis 1936.

La signification troublante que revêt cette mesure arbitraire trouve difficilement son écho à travers la dimension humaine de la mort.

Il y a cette disposition indéniable de l’Espagne à être touchée par l’histoire et à vouloir manifestement la transformer.

La propension d’une nation à modifier l’horizon de lisibilité de son passé présume évidemment la fragilité du rapport qu’elle entretient avec son histoire.Continue reading “La porte andalouse”

Today’s Swiss free newspaper, the equivalent of the London paper, or London Lite had on page one a picture of Barack Obama, and the headline “Barack Obama vows to stop smoking”. It was with slight disbelief that I picked up this particular issue, and carried on reading. Apparently Barack Obama is trying to quit smoking, but twice already has given in to temptation. Continue reading “Piece of me”

Chicken or Ostrich?

Or why it is that the leaders of Israel and Palestine can never bring themselves to make bold statements whilst they are in office.

With the latest “Yom Kippur Riot” in Israel, we are brought back to the harsh reality that the conflict is not yet solved and far from being so. Sadly, this also reminds us of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when the Arabs attacked the Jews on their day of rest, on which the whole country grinds to a holt, hoping this would give them the upper hand. Why bring us back to such an image, remind us of the past woes, when they world is desperately trying to bring this conflict to an end?Continue reading “Chicken or Ostrich?”

La “querelle” de l’environnement

Elle s’appuie dorénavant sur une maîtrise imparfaite de sa plus simple signification. Certains y verront un ennuyeux exercice de terminologie, mais il paraît évident que son éloquence s’effile à mesure que chacun contribue à lui donner une définition différente.

Or, le terme d’environnement devrait systématiquement faire appel aux notions fondamentales qu’il préfigure en sollicitant la connaissance immédiate et intuitive de chacun des conséquences qu’auront leurs actes sur l’écologie.Continue reading “La “querelle” de l’environnement”

Entre les murs

Bande annonce
« Entre les murs » est une cloison délicate à traverser tant il y est dépeint le trouble actuel qui ébranle les racines de l’éducation française.

Le quotidien d’une classe de collège s’habille d’une réalité sensible, parfois âpre et s’imprègne d’un idéalisme finalement légitime. La fiction discrédite évidemment la dimension autonome du témoignage mais sans prétendre non plus à embellir une vérité peu reluisante que le genre s’évertue d’ordinaire à produire.Continue reading “Entre les murs”

Smart Alecs and Mavericks

A “soccer mom” caricature

Or a few words on the vice-presidential debate.

Having mentioned my previous lack of interest in American politics, I felt the need to dispell the rumour and make a few brief comments on the latest debate. After all, as I said last time, who America choses for president will affect us all, and the election is now creeping up on us quite fast, so it’s best to stay informed!

I was quite surprised to hear that there was also a debate organised for the candidates running for vice-president (hereon referred to as VP) of the White House, as in European elections (or at least the ones I have experienced), this does not happen. However I can see the importance of doing so, in particular since the debate over the capabilities of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin has been almost as big as the one over the presidential candidates themselves. At a glance, the choice of VPs may seem puzzling to a few. For example, a lot of people will wonder why on earth Barack Obama did not choose Hilary Clinton as his VP. And indeed, it would have seemed a judicious choice: a woman, and an African American running for the white house, both a first in American history! They would have taken the election by storm, being sure to win! But I’m sure that Barack Obama had his reasons for not choosing Hilary even if he did find her a remarkable concurrent, and preferred to settle for Joe Biden instead. I never liked Hilary much anyway, she was always a bit too much of a ‘powerfrau’ anyway…Continue reading “Smart Alecs and Mavericks”

Bird of Prey

A topic I have been interested to learn more about for quite a while now, is that of conservation and helping to save the environment. Well, save is quite a big word but at least work in an environmentally friendly way and do what we can in order to help the endangered species, the forests, all the beautiful environment that we live in. I would in fact love to work for an organization such as Greenpeace in order to further my knowledge in this area, and I’m hoping my upcoming trip to Brazil will give me some insight into this area.Continue reading “Bird of Prey”

Les jeux de la liberté sont faits

Caricature montrant bien la polémique autour des jeux de Pékin

Pekin arborerait une délicieuse tunique en soie brodée dʼor si quelques taches
nʼavaient pas maculé son étoffe dʼhuile.

Lʼ étincelante vitrine que représentaient les J.O semble avoir laissée le regard de lʼopinion publique partagé entre un « produit olympique » inoubliable et la crasse grisâtre de son arrière boutique.

Les jeux les plus chers de lʼhistoire dépassaient éminemment le cadre de la simple dimension sportive et représentaient déjà depuis 2001 des valorisations bien plus déterminantes : La consécration dʼun pays prospère, harmonieux et surtout sa parfaite intégration – malgré sa différence significative avec la tradition occidentale -au sein dʼune communauté internationale encore dubitative. Les jeux étaient incontestablement la garantie dʼune respectabilité sans appel.Continue reading “Les jeux de la liberté sont faits”

Of French fries and TV shows

A different vision of the Republican candidate

In other words, thoughts on the American presidential debate…

I have never been one much interested in the politics of the American presidential race. Of course, who the Americans will choose as their president affects us all, but the interminable run-up to the election, in which so much back stabbing goes on you can hardly keep track, just bores me no end! However I did think it was important to reflect upon the just gone debate between this year’s two candidates. Funnily enough, one of them makes me think of French fries and potatoe wedges, whilst the other reminds me of the TV show 24 and President David Palmer… This doesn’t say much for my cultural references but just goes to show how one can take this to the most uninteresting level.Continue reading “Of French fries and TV shows”

Rock Paper Scissors

Team America's caricature — Team America

Or how the French interior Minister thought a handbook would save the day…

This week’s Economist, or should I say this week’s just gone, features an interesting article entitled “Jailhouse Jihad”. It mentions the fact that in France, there is an active recruitment of radical Islamists in overcrowded prisons.

I found this article quite interesting as terrorism has now become a day to day reality for all of us, and our countries strive hard to keep it under control. Since “the Economist” referred to an article published in the french newspaper “Le Figaro”, I decided to follow up this path and see what more I could find out on the matter.Continue reading “Rock Paper Scissors”