Monthly Archives: July 2011

At the 2115 Café on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem, where the hotel chambermaid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of criminal sexual assault used to spend much of her free time, there are some interesting pictures on the wall. One shows owner Ibrahim “Abe” Fofanah, 46, gripping and grinning with a police captain. Another shows him with New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

But pride of place goes to the photograph of Fofanah and Alpha Condé (with Sarkozy above, right) , who was elected last November as president of Guinea, the country from which DSK’s accuser immigrated and requested political asylum.

Condé, as it turns out, also has extensive ties to major political players in France, including people close to – wait for it — both President Nicolas Sarkozy and Strauss-Kahn, who had been expected to be the incumbent’s main challenger in next year’s elections. You can see why the conspiracy-minded French find the case so fascinating.

DSK Accuser’s African Connection (Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFKnMCRwNOI

(The nice Vimeos were taken down. Here’s a Youtube double bill.)

Greenpeace is using two equally cute remakes of VW’s own viral ad campaign to encourage the automotive giant to reduce its CO2 emissions.

Doubtless, we can expect one more good one, then three crap prequels in a row.

Greenpeace’s beef appears to stem from a letter to the European Union from Volkswagen and other German car manufacturers on January 26, 2007. In it, the carmakers asked the EU to reconsider proposals of a mandatory target of 120g/km CO2 or less for all new cars sold in Europe from 2012.

Greenpeace claims that as the largest automotive manufacturer in Europe (one in five vehicles sold in Europe are produced by Volkswagen Group), Volkswagen has the ability to have the greatest impact in CO2 emissions.

Greenpeace vs Volkswagen: The Dark Side goes viral (Car Advice)