Covering the US election

Newspapers in France have a real challenge in covering the results of the US election on 2 November. Except for Le Monde, they all go to press just before the polls are to close in the US. There will be much guessing, and maybe even some risk-taking in French newsrooms on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

Bush ou Kerry? Kerry!

All over France, French people have stepped forward in new ways to say what they think US voters should do in next Tuesday's election. If anyone sees anything like this in support of President BUSH, I would be happy to add it, but so far I have seen nothing. Established media, such as Le Figaro, are occasionally airing pro-BUSH pieces, such as this interview from last week.

ARAFAT

If anyone sees any especially interesting stories about ARAFAT's stay in the French hospital, please let me know at tmaguire@newsppaper.com I'd be happy to add a link here. We are all reading lots of analyses of the impact of this on French relationships of all kinds, on the Middle East of course, and on many other related aspects of the trip. But I have not yet seen a piece written from the patient's perspective about what life is like for him in this hospital.

Here is a way of following the story you may not have seen - the French edition of the Jerusalem Post.

Musicians at work

NPR profiles Pink Martini, a fascinating group of musicians which started off as two Harvard classmates. Listen to this interview and learn about how China FORBES (one of those classmates) feels about writing, reading and recording in French.