BP finally stops oil spewing from Gulf gusher

NEW ORLEANS – The oil has stopped. For now. After 85 days and up to 184 million gallons, BP finally gained control over one of America's biggest environmental catastrophes Thursday by placing a carefully fitted cap over a runaway geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring.
Though a temporary fix, the accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations — and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief. From one Gulf Coast resident came this: "Hallelujah." And from another: "I got to see it to believe it."
If the cap holds, if the sea floor doesn't crack and if the relief wells being prepared are completed successfully, this could be the beginning of the end for the spill. But that's a lot of ifs, and no one was declaring any sort of victory beyond the moment.
The oil stopped flowing at 3:25 p.m. EDT when the last of three valves in the 75-ton cap was slowly throttled shut. That set off a 48-hour watch period in which — much like the hours immediately after a surgery — the patient was in stable, guarded condition and being watched closely for complications.
"It's a great sight," said BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles, who immediately urged caution. The flow, he said, could resume. "It's far from the finish line. ... It's not the time to celebrate."
Nevertheless, one comforting fact stood out: For the first time since an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers April 20 and unleashed the spill 5,000 feet beneath the water's surface, no oil was flowing into the Gulf.
President Barack Obama, who has encouraged, cajoled and outright ordered BP to stop the leak, called Thursday's development "a positive sign." But Obama, whose political standing has taken a hit because of the spill and accusations of government inaction, cautioned that "we're still in the testing phase."
The worst-case scenario would be if the oil forced down into the bedrock ruptured the seafloor irreparably. Leaks deep in the well bore might also be found, which would mean that oil would continue to flow into the Gulf. And there's always the possiblity of another explosion, either from too much pressure or from a previously unknown unstable piece of piping.

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Trip along the Congo River reveals artistic treasures from central Africa

Paris exhibition traces link between works of Bantu speakers spread along the banks of African waterway


A Kota reliquary figure from the Congo River, arts of central Africa exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly. Photograph: Vincent Everarts/EPA
On finally reaching the entrance to the Congo River exhibition, on the upper ground floor, we caught sight of masks that, even from a distance, looked amazing, and equally attractive statues. But we resisted the temptation and headed for a map, in the hope of grasping the ideas underpinning the show, which aims to be much more than just a selection of works from the Congo River basin.

Two arrows on the map show how the Bantu languages spread out from their place of origin in Nigeria from about 3,000BC. One arrow follows the Atlantic coast south, as far as the mouth of the Congo river, arriving there about 2,000 years later. This branch corresponds to the western Bantus. The other arrow heads east towards the great lakes, also reached in about 1,000BC, bending southwards then turning west to follow the Congo and its tributaries. The two branches rejoined in the area now covered by Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The two branches thus circumscribe a vast area, consisting of the river basin and a swath of equatorial forest. To plot the routes, linguists studied successive offshoots of the original Bantu language, identifying the links between the dialects that evolved through time and migration.

This preamble is necessary because François Neyt, who curated the exhibition (until 3 October), makes ample use of the data. He seeks out visible forms of continuity in the statues and masks, and in the religious concepts they reflect. Much as the language, there is unity in the art despite the distances. The subtitle of the exhibition is essential: Correspondence and Mutation of Form.

The show is divided into three parts. It looks first at a specific style of heart-shaped face thought to be common to several peoples – the Kwele, Vuvi and Lega – who also worked with wood or ivory, regardless of whether they were living on the shores of a river or in the depths of the forest.

The second section focuses on the reliquaries associated with specific ancestors fashioned by the Mbede or Fang peoples. Some are made of polished black wood, others are covered with pieces of brass. In some cases, the form is extremely simple, while others accumulate so many votive studs and adornments as to suggest some fantastic anatomy. What is essential in all of them is their magical force: they must contain a power or a spell.

The third part concentrates on the representation of women, the exaltation of their beauty and motherhood among the Punu, Luluwa and Kongo peoples. Here again, the centres of population are often far apart. This section is less convincing, as Neyt has stretched his point here.

The works themselves are splendid though, inventive and beautifully executed, leaving an overall impression of perfection. But different peoples place more emphasis on certain aspects than others. Fang designs are particularly simple, whereas the Songye figures are magnificently overdone.

When the presentation brings together several examples of a single type of object or figure (standing male figures with a closely trimmed beard from the Boyo-Bembe area, or the Kota's geometrical reliquaries) it is fascinating to see the persistence of a prototype and the variations from one workshop to the next. It is equally delightful to see how styles meet and combine, or how the statues and masks of a particular ethnic group are related, but without slavishly applying the same solutions in their representation of faces.

The exhibition feels inexhaustible. This is particularly the case for French-speaking visitors. Belgium having colonised and exploited the Congo, many of the finest pieces created in this region have found their way to collections there. They are represented here in large numbers, to demonstrate the ideas underpinning the show but also to show off the magnificence of what was once known as art nègre

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Sarkozy Storms Away From Bastille Day Fête

We are saw the Sarkozy Storms Away From Bastille Day Fête

PARIS—Every year on July 14, France's ruling elite mixes with thousands of ordinary citizens in the president's garden to toast Bastille Day and the birth of La République. Not this year.


Reuters
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, arrive at Paris's Hotel Marigny on July 14, 2008, to attend the Bastille Day garden party.

As part of his austerity drive, President Nicolas Sarkozy has abolished the annual garden party. The official reason is that the party isn't an appropriate use of money at a time when the government is pushing belt-tightening measures.

But another factor is Mr. Sarkozy's battle to change his image as the bling-bling president who spends too much time hosting parties. With his popularity ratings at record lows and allegations of illegal campaign financing—which he denies—Mr. Sarkozy is under pressure to lead by example.

In dumping the get-together, Mr. Sarkozy won't be the first president to meddle with France's national day of celebration. The country's leaders have long sought to transmit their own vision of the republic to the masses through the July 14 festivities.

"Bastille Day is a mirror which reflects whatever image a French president wants to create," say Olivier Ihl, a professor at French university Sciences-Po Grenoble. "Over the years, the image has varied enormously."

The daylong party, which kicks off with a military parade followed by village fêtes and fireworks, was born out of political necessity in the late 19th century.

In 1880, following a stinging defeat at the hands of the Prussians, French politicians decided to create a day of national celebration to boost morale.

There was debate over which date to pick. The storming of the Bastille prison in July 1789 was a bloody affair at the start of the French Revolution. However fêting the beginning of a brutal popular uprising was deemed too controversial by some. As a result, politicians plumped for July 14, 1790, a date when people from all over France came together to celebrate the creation of a short-lived constitutional monarchy.

"That day no one can say that a drop of blood was spilt, or that there was any division amongst the country," concluded French Senator Henri Martin in an 1880
speech. "It was the total unity of France." The Marseillaise was selected as the official French national anthem and a republican tradition was born.

At first, Bastille Day had to compete with other national days of celebration, notably Joan of Arc Day and May Day. However, July 14 got a boost after it was banned following France's invasion by Germany during World War II, says Mr. Ihl. After the country's liberation, Bastille Day again became a symbol of French resistance and pride.

Politicians were quick to harness the event to serve their own needs. In the 1960s, France tried to present itself as a "third voice" by distancing itself from both Russia and the U.S. The then-president, Gen. Charles De Gaulle, used Bastille Days to promote his vision of a unified and independent France. The ceremonies under Gen. De Gaulle were famed for large military parades and grandiose speeches.

The general's successor took a softer line. In the 1970s, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing presented a younger and more inclusive image of France. He created the Bastille Day garden party and instigated an annual July 14 televised address to the people.

In the two decades that followed, French presidents sought to reconcile the country with its tumultuous past and build ties with their European neighbors. Under President Jacques Chirac, foreign nations were increasingly invited to parade down Paris's Champs Élysées. France's former colonies were also encouraged to play a more important role in events.

In 2007 Mr. Sarkozy was elected on the premise of a "rupture" with past governments. Accordingly, he did away with the annual presidential televised July 14 interview. He also shunned the presidential grace, which often saw speeding tickets rescinded and prison sentences shortened.

During the economic downturn, the revamped July 14 celebrations seemed out of place. Last year, his glamorous wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, invited cameras into the gilded presidential palace for a private tour, while Mr. Sarkozy welcomed guests in the garden.

Now the president can ill-afford to publicize this glitzy existence.

"He wants to do away with this image of bling," says Mr. Ihl. "He wants something more in tune with the national mood."

Some question whether cutting the €700,000 ($884,380) garden party will have any real effect on the country's budget. In 2008, the French president had a €112 million annual budget to spend on his palace, travel and staff, said Jean Launay, a Socialist Party politician who publishes an annual review of the president's expenditures.

Canceling the garden party "seems like a small sacrifice to me," said Mr. Launay.
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