The new French president's plane was hit by lightning on his first day as president on his first trip in the plane. 

If I was a religious person...

Ok. Here's the bottom line of the French elections - the idea of using austerity measures to get out of the debt crisis is over. 

Between the results of the Greek elections Sunday, the collapse of the Dutch government a week or so ago and Sarko getting kicked out of office there is no way in hell any other euro country will stick to any austerity plans. 

Not only has austerity not made the crisis a thing of the past, every government that has tried to put it into place has been kicked out of their jobs. Politicians aren't dumb and they'll learn their lesson from this. 

That means that the euro countries are going to have to come into political conflict with Germany, because the Germans are insistent that austerity is the way to go. They were able to push this idea through only because they had Sarko's support. Without a French/German alliance on the issue, the issue is dead and there is no way in holy hell that Hollande will bend to the Germans on this one. 

So what you are going to see is countries trying to reverse austerity. They'll try to hire more public employees (probably cops and teachers) to get unemployment down. They'll set up big public works projects. They will increase unemployment benefits and job security laws. They'll develop programs to keep kids in university. 

The problem, of course, is how the fuck will they pay for it? There's only one way to do it - to devalue the euro back to at least dollar parity.

There is some precedent for this - when the euro was introduced it was worth slightly less than the dollar and Europe survived. Bringing the euro back to that level solves a lot of problems. 

Right off the bat it cuts public debt in terms of hard currency considerably. Any contract or debt they have with a non euro country denoniated in euros suddenly becomes 31 percent cheaper to pay off. 

It also makes exports cheaper - which creates jobs and with jobs you have more working people paying taxes and less people getting unemployment. Just think about it - if French wine were suddenly 31 percent cheaper would people buy more of it? If German cars were 31 percent cheaper would they sell more of them? Yes they would. 

It would also be a huge boon to tourism - which makes up a huge amount of the income for many European countries. If hotel rooms, meals, drinks, airfare, etc.. to go to Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid and Athens were suddenly 31 percent cheaper a lot more tourists would come. And, once again tourists spend money that creates jobs and leads to more working people paying taxes. 

The problem with this is that in order to devalue the euro you need the help of the European Central Bank which is heavily influenced by the Germans. And, the Germans don't want to devalue the euro - even though it would help their economy - because they are proud that the euro is worth more than the dollar. They had a strong currency before the euro and they want to retain a strong currency now that the euro is here. It's totally a pride thing but not one the Germans are about to bend on. 

So, this will lead to a showdown between other euro countries and Germany about currency valuation and who the fuck knows who will win that one. 

What is pretty clear is that if France, Spain, Italy and Greece can't force a devaluation they'll never be able to pay for the programs their citizens are demanding and Europe will go bankrupt. 

Will Germany allow that to happen just to stick to the principle of a strong Euro? 

Who the fuck knows.

The Choices:

Sarko: Normally smart guy who is proposing changes to the French system that will lead to large scale riots and massive nationwide union strikes. And, he's admitted he's proposing these changes because Germany, the country's traditional enemy, thinks it's a good idea.

Hollande: Dim bulb who has the correct idea that the country needs a bunch more cops and teachers but is unwilling to make it affordable to hire these people by working to devalue the Euro (the only way for France to end up with enough money to pay for what he wants.) Will therefore have to back away from all his promises once elected, leading to large scale riots and massive nationwide union strikes.

This should be a fun summer.

OkCupid is a succubus. Except not. Succubus' tend to provide more fun.

Seriously when the profile thing tells me to write a "self summary" what the fuck is one supposed to say?
The very question dooms the project.
~sigh~

I must pee. And do something more useful.

The Hunger Games comes on Friday in the US and UK - but it comes out Wednesday here!

Feel free to be jealous - but it's fucking time this happened. Usually we get popular movies two to six weeks after the UK and the US so just once it will be nice to see something before everyone on my friends list has.

There is a new book that's popular in America now about raising children "The French Way." I can not be more disgusted at this because it ignores all the realities of the differences between the French and American systems and the actual results of both systems.

1. It advises having a life beyond just caring for your child. Yeah, well, in France you get free high quality government paid for day care from the time the child is really little. In America, you don't. And, guess what, it's a shitload easier to have your own life if you have reliable people taking care of your child during the day at no cost to you.

2. It says not to let yourself get stressed out as a parent. Again, with free, reliable daycare this is easier.

3. It forgets to mention that in France you get long term paid for maternity leave. It's probably a lot less stressful to raise a child when you aren't worried that your choices are either be broke or go back to work when your kid is three weeks old (knowing that most of your salary is going to go to pay for day care anyway.)

4. I'm unconvinced that French parenting is any better. At least two or three nights a week there are little kids running around making noise in the bar after like 10 p.m with parents paying little to no attention.

5. It seems like children become more independent much sooner in the United States. I see a lot more children living at home with their parents into their mid to late 20s here than I do in the United States - and I even know one married woman who still lives rent free with her parents (her husband lives their rent free too as well) which I can't imagine doing after marriage. Sure we hear about slacker kids in the US staying home for years as well but it seems a lot more common here.

6. A recent poll asking French teenagers what their "dream job" would be came up with the results that the majority of French teens chose "civil servant" over anything else. I'm not sure that a system that leads children to dream about working at the post office rather than becoming a rock star or an astronaut is exactly doing the best job possible.

I haven't update in a month. Let me finish this smoke and I'll get around.
And yes, I'm fine. Thank you very much.

Vous pensez avoir tout connu? Guerre? Misere? Devastation? Catastrophe naturelle? Hiroshima?

Avez vous deja fait les soldes avec une Femme?
Non?
Bonne chance mon frere, heureux de t'avoir connu, rares sont les braves qui s'en sortent.

Ps: Mesdames, arretez de nous demander si on trouve ces chaussures / "petits hauts" / "Rooooobe!" / pantalons jolis. On s'en fout.
On veut juste rentrer vivants.

I usually don't bother with New Year's Resolutions, finding the entire concept a bit silly, but this year I have one: I want to be more like Captain Picard.

That probably sounds rather silly at face value, so I'd best explain. As Steve and I have been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, my admiration for Jean Luc Picard has crystallized, and I have gained a greater understanding for all the factors that led to it.

I have many of the same attitudes about things, and, I believe, many of the same initial reactions to them as the character of Captain Picard. (This likely stems from the fact that he basically seems like a Humanities professor who was given command of a starship. Have I mentioned I love Starfleet?)

But what I've come to admire about Picard isn't how he's so often right about things (objectively, and according to possibly shared prejudices about freedom and tolerance). What's trully great about the man is how he recognizes his limitations and doesn't allow himself to grow arrogant. He isn't afraid to make tough choices, but he puts real thought into them. He considers everyone's side of every argument, analyzes things from every possible angle, and has a great deal of respect for the opinions of others.

This is the quality I want to strive to emulate. Although I'm clearly not in command of a Federation Starship, or anything nearly so consequential, I could benefit from a similar approach in my interpersonal relations with others, especially my partner. Though I never realized it before, impatience and an overly strong willingness to trust my immediate reactions to things is one of my greatest failings. And if someone like Jean Luc Picard can sit back and really analyze both personal and professional issues from every possible angle, I really have no excuse.

Black coffee, croissant and a little bit sugar and I'm happy.Yes, I l o v e You, Paris, please love me too.