former Washington Correspondent, Le Monde
Former Washington Correspondent for Le Monde, a leading French daily newspaper
PROFILE
Patrice de Beer
Guest
FROM Patrice de Beer
Which Way, L.A.?
How Does Obama's Victory Look to the Rest of the World? Barack Obama 's historic win has been cause for celebration among many Americans, including African Americans who thought they might never see the day a black man would come so close to the White House. Obama's grandmother was watching from Kenya, and so was the rest of the world. What does his historic primary victory mean to people outside of the United States? Is his primary victory causing America's friends and foes to see the country in a new light? Would a President Obama worry old allies or help create new ones? Who's rooting for John McCain ?
To the Point
How Does Obama's Victory Look to the Rest of the World? Barack Obama 's historic win has been cause for celebration among many Americans, including African Americans who thought they might never see the day a black man would come so close to the White House. Obama's grandmother was watching from Kenya, and so was the rest of the world. What does his historic primary victory mean to people outside of the United States? Is his primary victory causing America's friends and foes to see the country in a new light? Would a President Obama worry old allies or help create new ones? Who's rooting for John McCain ?
Which Way, L.A.?
The Politics of Peacekeeping As the United Nations wrangles over the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the big question is whether there will be enough troops to enforce the ceasefire before it collapses. Europe is the obvious place for the soldiers to come from, and today it appears that Italy would take over for France as the leader. But the European Union won't even meet until Wednesday and the UN wants the first contingent in the country by early next week. Meantime, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire resolution after Israeli commandos were dropped into Lebanon's Bekaa Valley Saturday morning, in what might have been an anti-arms-smuggling mission or an attempt to rescue two kidnapped soldiers. We get perspectives from Paris, Beirut and Jerusalem. (An extended version of this discussion originally aired earlier today on To the Point.)
To the Point
The Politics of Peacekeeping France is not the only nation in Europe with cold feet about sending troops to southern Lebanon. Italy, Spain and Finland want to know if the rules of engagement will require their soldiers to make the peace or just keep it. Will they have to disarm Hezbollah? Meantime, Israeli commandos engaged Hezbollah 60 miles inside the Lebanese border. Israel says they were trying to stop arms smuggling prohibited by the UN resolution, but Secretary General Kofi Annan says they violated the cease-fire . There are rumors that they were trying to rescue two kidnapped soldiers. We get perspectives from Paris, Beirut and Jerusalem, and hear about a new UN resolution proposed by the US.
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To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.