One may reasonably consider what follows either as purely coincidental, or worthy of further scrutiny. Say, it incidentally caught my attention some days ago, as I was watching a talk-show on a French public TV channel in which François Durpaire, the young author of a book on Barak Obama, and Professor André Kaspi, a reputed French specialist on U.S. policy, were invited.

Sorry to be that long, but it’s worth to be read by all those who are interested in the matter at hand, I believe.

In France, where I am at this time, the presidential campaign in United States is benefiting of unprecedented media coverage; greater than anything I had previously seen, to say. The reason underlying this exceptional interest is obvious, actually.
For French have good reasons to believe that a Candidate of the U.S. Democratic Party, whose views seem to be close to theirs, is likely to become the next President of the United States. In case of success, such a happening would make this country happier; and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy feeling more comfortable with his would-be pro-American stance as his popularity at home is experiencing a steady fall.

Also, careful readings of the Gallic media coverage tend to suggest that French have a fancy for Barack Obama. At this last regard “L’Amérique de Barack Obama” (“America According to Barack Obama”), the book recently published by Francois Durpaire, enjoyed large publicity from this same mainstream media. It’s all for the good for the young author, as for Demopolis, the modest French publishing house that published this book.

So, that’s how I got naturally interested in this book and in who are its author. It didn’t take long until I stumbled across some interesting facts.

Francois Durpaire, 37, is head of l’Institut des Diasporas Noires Francophones, a French think-tank whose mission consists of researches on Caribean and African natives living in France and in North-America. This scholar, who introduces himself as a historian, is also a scientist working for the state- sponsored Centre de Recherches d’Histoire Nord-Américaine (Center for Researches on North-American History) of the Paris I University Panthéon- Sorbonne.

Olivier Richomme, who co-authored “L’Amérique de Barack Obama,” is professor of American Civilization at the University of Lyon II, France.

The main author didn’t intend to write a book on Barack Obama, initially, as he claimed during an interview, but, instead, he was spontaneously asked to do so by Laurent Hebenstreit, head of Demopolis publishing.

Demopolis publishing seems to have a marked preference for politically committed authors who do not express particular sympathy toward the United States and the proponents of capitalism and free entrepreneurship. On the small catalogue of this company that counts no more than 13 books at this time, including L’Amérique de Barack Obama, I found “Toyota; the Factory of Despair;” “Iraq; Call for immediate Withdrawal;” “James Bond; the Man who Saved England;” “100 Myths about the Middle-East;” and “The CIA and the Muslim Terrorism Factory.”

A further look at the life of Francois Durpaire, the starred author of L’Amérique de Barack Obama – co-author Olivier Richomme seems to enjoy much less publicity – shows that the young historian is seemingly coached by the previously mentioned Professor André Kaspi.

André Kaspi is a reputed French specialist on U.S. policy, and he was formerly head of the Center for Research on North-American History. As in September 2007, he has had the sorry privilege to find his name frequently cited in the U.S. media, as he found his name at the heart of what we might call the “Alexis Debat’s Affair.”

For the record, Alexis Debat is a French con-artist who successfully fooled ABC News in obtaining a job as reporter, consultant, and source for this TV channel where he worked for six years; and the Nixon Center, a U.S. conservative think-tank where he was admitted as senior fellow; and The National Interest, a conservative publication for which he managed to be accepted as contributing editor.

Alexis Debat happened to be in the U.S. news when he was forced to resign from ABC News in June 2007, after ABC officials discovered that he had faked his Ph.D at the Sorbonne University.

In September 2007, the French news media Rue 89 revealed that Alexis Debat had fabricated two interviews, one of Barack Obama, and the other of former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan; both published in the French magazine Politique internationale, a publication issued by an organization and think-tank based in Paris.
These revelations in turn forced Debat’s resignation, allegedly for “personal reasons,” from The National Interest and the Nixon Center. Many other personalities also since stated that Debat had made bogus interviews of them. The list included personalities no less important than former US President Bill Clinton; US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; former US Secretary of State Colin Powell; New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Just that!

But as I’m writing this comment, Alexis Debat is still member of the Consulting Committee of Politique internationale, where André Kaspi acts as Consultant. André Kaspi also happened to be the thesis director of Alexis Debat at the Paris I University when he authored, in 1997, “C.I.A. et Perceptions de Sécurité aux Etats-Unis: 1947-1962” (“CIA and Security Perception in United States: 1947-1962”), whose release by Hypothèses publishing was repeatedly postponed since then.

Well, we may have valuable reasons not to be surprised by the interest of the French in candidate Barack Obama, at least because he is a Democrat, if not because he incarnates a minority. This curiosity seems to border on the fringe of enthusiasm, as it led French journalists to Kenya where they met Obama’s grand-parents who live there in a quite modest fashion. Equally, the release of L’Amérique de Barack Obama, which in fact turns out to be a praise for Barack Obama, is an event as normal as it is likely to make good sales given the circumstances.

So far, so good.

However, as we notice at some point this angry raised fist on the latest Obama’s promotional video, previously linked on this blog; and this video showing an image of a Cuban flag with Che Guevara’s face superposed on it hanging on the wall in Obama Campaign headquarters in Houston; and this gathering of French state-sponsored bedfellows promoting the image of Barack Obama, then we may reasonable wonder whether all these sad coincidences are not casting a shadow of a sort over the candidacy of the so charismatic U.S. Candidate?

This is NOT the Official Campaign Office. The local news station in Houston, tried to interview the Cuban-American seen in the picture, and she refused to complete the interview. If you go to the website for the station, you will also hear from the Head of the Houston campaign office. Please do not think there is some insane, conspiracy going on! http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/News/Politics/Detail?contentId=5756697&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.14.1

Tiffany,
As I authored the first comment linked to this post I feel personally concerned by your message, and I would like to say something.

Frankly, I don’t think so that there is any conspiracy, and my previous comment didn’t intend to suggest such a thing. What I believe, instead, is that there is a gathering of facts which are not directly connected with each others, but which are all bearers, however, of particular beliefs that lead toward a the perception of a common consistency. Here lies the cause of a possible bias, if ever there is any.

Said otherwise.

I willingly believe that this Cuban flag with the Che on it is less or more a personal initiative done by certain persons who have considered at some point that Barack Obama’s ideals are close to theirs; and that is their opinion.

Equally, I willingly believe that certain interests, foreign to the United States its national interest, may certainly consider that if ever Barack Obama became President of the United States, then such an event might be likely to serve their interest, one way or another. That’s why those foreign interests may attempt to favor the victory of Barack Obama, within the range of their possibilities, of course, since they cannot directly and significantly influence the outcome of this race. I really don’t know whether they are indulging in self-delusion or not.

In revenge, I hold this raised fist anyone can see at some point (min. 1:57) in the promotional video titled “Yes we can,” paid for by Barack Obama, as a peculiarity likely to arouse anyone’s legitimate perplexity, if not concern.
For such a sign, or gesture, has historically been, and still is, this of the enemies of capitalism and free entrepreneurship; two values that characterize the way the United States has chosen since the day of its independence, and which each and every U.S. President have fiercely defended, regardless of their respective political color.

Barack Obama and all his advisors did watch this video before it was released, unavoidably; and they couldn’t miss to see this fist; and, as American citizens involved in politics, they all have the educational background and competencies that allowed them to know what this universal gesture means when it relates to politics. Whichever one’s opinion and perception of this gesture is, an ad for a presidential campaign is sensitive matter leaving no room for such an ambiguity.

Subsequently, if I join you in your conviction that there is no conspiracy at all in all this, the third of the three aforesaid compels me question the ambition of Barack Obama to resume for the United States a policy that has made it a successful country granting an individual liberty and a collective happiness which still have no equivalent in any part of the world at this time.

I make profit of this comment to remind that each time an American yields to the temptation to question these values he should remember that they constitute a standard commonly used to measure the level of democracy in all countries on Earth. In this sense, he is endowed with an exceptional responsibility whose importance goes well beyond his personal opinion and fancies.

For those who have not had a chance to vote yet, take a look at these videos. They say it all.

http://www.sallyanthony.com/newsite/sallyanthony/site_flash/index.php