Le Pen finds a friend

From the JTA June 30:

French extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen met with a Russian ultranationalist during a visit to Moscow.

Sergei Baburin is deputy speaker of the Rodina Party, some of whose legislators backed a letter earlier this year calling for Jewish groups to be outlawed in Russia. Le Pen was in Russia promoting his idea to close off the European Union to people from the Third World.

See our last post for more on the Rodina Party.

The wisdom of disunity, Pt. 2

At least the French socialists have got the brains and the balls to give the no-goodnik the ol' heave-ho from the anti-Europe mobilization. They are boycotting a consultation on "European perspectives after the 29 May 2005 referendum" (the date of the French rejection of the EU Constitution) organized by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin because representatives from Le Pen's National Front were invited. Socialist leader Francois Hollande said that by including the National Front in the meeting, Villepin was contributing to the normalization of the extreme right and its arguments. (EU Observer, June 28)

While here in the fucked-up US of A, the globophobe and anti-war forces are all gung-ho for creepy crypto- (or not so crypto) fascist types like Pat Buchanan and Ramesy Clark. How humiliating to be shown up once again by the supercilious, condescending French! It would be easier to take their stereotype of Americans as shit-burger-scarfing buffoons if it weren't so damn true!

See our last post on the politics of the French "non."