Winter White in Paris
Photo by Tom Regan
Parler Paris Nouvellettre®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, December 6, 2010 • Paris, France
Tomorrow Night...Watch Adrian Leeds and French Property Consultation on House Hunters International...New Dates!
***"Settling Down in Paris" - Episode HHINT-402
AIR TIMES:
December 7, 2010
12:30 PM e/p
House Hunters International Episode HHINT-402
***"Vacation Home in Paris" - Episode HHINT-1A05***
AIR TIMES:
December 16, 2010
7 :00 PM e/p
House Hunters International Episode HHINT-1A05
To learn more, visit AdrianLeeds.com or email Adrian Leeds, at adrian@adrianleeds.com
Dear Parler Paris Reader,
Winter White
The runways were white with snow when I landed in Paris last Thursday morning and on Saturday, the flurries were heavy all through the day adding more white to the landscape. It's an unusual scene for Paris...yet a beautiful one.
The geraniums were covered in frost, although still flowering. It was heart wrenching to cut off the flowers and leaves to mere nubs, then cover them in a special fibrous paper promising to protect them all winter long. The view now on the window boxes all covered in green wrapping against a gray sky is depressing -- winter is REALLY here...at least for a while.
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks is not just a leak, but one big flood, if you ask me! A week ago, I'd never heard of it. Now, it's headlines across the globe.
If you Google search "WikiLeaks," it takes you to a URL with no name, just "http://213.251.145.96/." Yesterday, I couldn't get online at all. That's because France's main server went offline to prevent access to the leaks! The French government sees the site as "unacceptable" and "criminal" and therefore shouldn't be hosted in the country. How wrong is that? Or how right?
A few days ago, WikiLeaks leaked diplomatic memos from the U.S. ambassador in Paris, Charles Rivkin, that "cast French President Nicolas Sarkozy as 'hyperactive' and impulsive, an authoritarian leader surrounded by aides who don't dare challenge him."
We didn't need WikiLeaks to tell us that, did we? Both men aren't happy with the leak, but then again, maybe we should be more careful about what we put in writing, particularly in emails or on the Internet? This is teaching us a very valuable lesson, "n'est-ce pas?"
This reminds me of the story about the two women who brought a baby to King Solomon, each claiming him as her own. He suggested cutting the baby into halves and giving one half to each woman. "NO!" screamed the real mother, "Give her the baby. Do not kill him." Then Solomon knew she must be the real mother because of the way she was willing to give him up in exchange for his life.
Today's information-rich world is posing problems we never dreamed we'd encounter. This one is so fundamental and basic -- it's all about rights. The most basic of human rights are being violated or not? They might include:
- freedom of speech
- the right to think freely
- the right to peacefully protest a government or group
- freedom of the press
- the right to privacy (with restrictions)
- freedom of opinion and expression
So, are we willing to give up our 'information leaking baby' to secure our governments and let them do their jobs in protecting us? What would Solomon say about all this?
Wi-Fi
Paris has free Wi-Fi EVERYWHERE. Virtually every café offers it free, the Mairies offer it (the Mairie of the 3rd district was the first!), the city offers it in the gardens around town and the various companies that provide the service offer it free all over France to their own subscribers. Because so many companies offer it for under 30€ a month (including VOIP phone and Satellite or Cable TV), almost every hotel and household has it, too. Go anywhere and you can pick up a signal...free. (For more details, see http://www.paris.fr/)
The U.S. isn't quite so Wi-Fi friendly. It's more a way to 'make a buck' then something to which we all have a right. The airports offer it, as long as you're willing to pay and the hotels have discovered they can tack it on to your bill. For that reason, when I was traveling in the States, I took a portable Wi-Fi device called "Clear Spot" for "take-it-with-you" Internet. It was very handy, easy and useful. Now that I'm back with no plans for a trip to the U.S. for quite a while, the device is for sale, along with the contract which would be a savings to the new owner. Scroll down to learn more about Clear and how you can purchase this useful gadget.
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
(with Eva Lee Lichtenberg, in memory)
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Respond to Adrian
P.S. In Loving Memory: We mourn the loss of our dear friend, Eva Lee Lichtenberg, who died suddenly on December 1st in her Florida home for unknown causes. I invite all who knew her to join with us at Parler Paris Après Midi Tuesday, December 14th, at La Pierre du Marais from 3 to 5 p.m., when we take a moment to say a few words and have a moment of remembering this warm and loving person who loved Paris enough to visit with us several times a year for many years. Learn more at http://www.adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/apresmidi.html
P.P.S. Are you interested in sparking off other writers, shaking up the status quo, energizing your craft, drawing from the deep well of your imagination, and having a good time doing it? Are you interested in telling your next story? Then join James Navé to do just that. Register for the "From the Imaginative Storm to the Creative Form" Workshop with James Navé, creativity strategist, radio storyteller, and poet this coming Saturday, December 11, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 19, avenue de Friedland, Paris 8th. 150€. Limited space. Phone or email now!: nave@jamesnave.com or James at +1-919-949-2113.
