Anti-bullfighting activists fear that allowing a 10-year-old to engage in the bloody pastime could lead to a slippery slope (envisioned above).

Officials in the south of France are preventing a 10-year-old from engaging in organized bull-fighting, reports Time magazine.

Even though the boy, Michel LagravÈre Peniche, was slated to appear in a bloodless version of the traditionally gruesome bout, activists are using the controversy to draw attention to their anti-bullfighting campaign.

But bullfighting backers, like the mayor of the town where the 10-year-old boy lives, says the activists are being paternalistic spoil-sports:

“It’s seen here by most people as an injustice and a mean-spirited effort to impose one kind of thinking on attitudes and events rooted in tradition,” he said.

takepart by signing a petition to ban bullfighting.

It’s Bastille Day! What better way to celebrate the national French holiday (it commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison) than to watch some French cinema?! The list below is comprised of 10 of my favorite French films, it’s in no way a definitive list, but each and every film is not only great, but is also filled with all that makes France a one of a kind place.

Also, takepart to learn about how we can “storm” prisons here. Or in other words how The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is promoting positive alternatives to violence and incarceration.

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10) Beauty and the Beast - Beautiful and for the entire family, Jean Cocteau creates a haunting world that everyone should visit.

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The world’s richest nations and emerging economies joined together at a summit on the island of Hokkaidou, Japan to commit to long range cute in global greenhouse emissions. They concluded their meetings today, calling climate change “one of the great global challenges of our time.” Good news, right? Well, not just yet.

Yesterday, leaders of the G8 (United States, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Britain and Russia) pledged to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases in half by 2050. But the Group of 5 emerging economies (China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) refused to sign onto that goal. They are holding out until rich nations like the United States take more aggressive steps to cut pollution over the next decade.

“It is good that the developing countries have embraced the principal of a global target that they will participate in,” Philip Clapp of the Pew Environmental Group said. “It would have been better if the United States and the other G-8 countries would have been willing to step up to the plate and make a strong commitment about what they would do over the next 10 years.”

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Want to learn our top eco-kinky tips for ‘greening up’ your sex life? How about the top 10 ways to take action against AIDS?  Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie:

Annie Lennox & Top 10 Ways to Take Action Against AIDS

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: American Idol & Yip Harburg

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Nicole:

Top 10 Ways to ‘Green Up’ Your Sex Life

Top 10 Global Warming Myths Debunked

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Giulia:

Mortified Makes Movies

What a Bunch of Boobs

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Gina:

Top 10 Immigration Films

Boarding Gate’s Empty Adventure of Capitalism

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Say Hello to Our Guest Bloggers!

Jon Popham wrote:

Young At Heart Hits the Silver Screen

Death and the River

Andy Kondrat wrote:

Top 5 Things You’ll Love About Planet Green

Leonardo DiCaprio Does Everything For the Environment, Ever

Oliver Assayas’ latest film Boarding Gate has gotten mostly negative reviews but being a fan of his work I decided to see it anyways and I’m happy to report that I actually liked it quite a bit. The film tells the noir-esque story of an ex-corporate whore of sorts named Sandra (played by the fabulous Asia Argento) as she comes back into the life of one time lover and employer Miles (Michael Madsen). We meet them after their love has ended, after the passion is gone and after the whoring out of Sandra to Miles’ clients has stopped.

From here we go on a very Assayas journey to the apartment of Miles for a deadly S&M session, to transient airports and finally to the streets and warehouses of Hong Kong. Along the way we meet businessmen and business women, although like Miles and Sandra we never really know what they’re doing. The cast speaks awkward English as they talk about their business ventures in overly general ways and text each other.

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Robert Capa & Gerda Taro join Susan Sarandon & Tim Robbins, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee, and Lucie & Raymond
Aubrac, in receiving one of my Valiant Valentines Awards for couples who love each other and the world, and work with each other to change the world. Robert Capa, one of the most famous, if not the most famous, war photographers of the last century, is best known for his photo Falling Soldier, which captures a shot soldier falling to his death during the Spanish Civil War. Gerda Taro, the less known photojournalist, is best known for being Capa’s artistic and romantic partner, not for her exceptional bravery and photography. The two brilliant photographers shared much in common: born Andre Friedmann, Capa, who was Jewish, fled the antisemitism of Hungary and went to Paris; born Gerda Pohorylle, the Jewish Taro escaped Germany’s antisemitism and moved to Paris, where she would meet Capa. They began collaborating artistically and Robert Capa was the name they created to sign their shared work. It was their shared love of freedom which brought the two to Spain, where they would document the Civil War– the bombed cities, the deaths and destruction– in the hopes of gathering support and raising awareness of the anti-Fascist cause and of the rising fascism, which they had known so well. Sharing a love for each other as well, they would photograph not just the war, but each other.

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Couples Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins as well as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee have won Valiant Valiant Awards for coupling their efforts to make the world a better place by taking action together. Here is Valiant Valentine Couple #3, whose love for each other, which has already inspired films, books, and videos, and music, will now inspire you.

#3. Nothing says I love you more than risking your life to save the one you love. And this is exactly what Lucie Aubrac did, not once, but twice! And the last time she was pregnant! Lucie Aubrac was a history teacher when she met Raymond, a Jewish engineer and army officer, in France in 1938. After France fell to the Nazis, the two joined the French Resistance, helping found the group Liberation-Sud. In 1943, Raymond, who was now an important leader in the Resistance, was captured by the Gestapo and scheduled for execution. A pregnant Lucie convinced the notorious Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, nicknamed the “Butcher of Lyons,” to let her see Raymond and during the visit, she relayed an escape plan. As he was being driven back to his cell, Lucie and other Resistance members ambushed the truck, freeing Raymond and other Resistance fighters.

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France has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish a French military base in Abu Dhabi of up to 500 permanent military personnel. In exchange, France has agreed to assist the UAE in developing “peaceful nuclear energy.” This is the most recent agreement regarding nuclear energy in a series of deals between France and other Arab countries, and the second agreement of its kind in the Gulf - the first is with the United States. The US currently has several army, navy and air force bases located in the Arabian peninsula.Beyondnuclear.org is an organization that aims to educate the public about the links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Learn more about sustainable energy on their website and take action:

“Dear Reuters reporter Patrick Markey and editor by Xavier Briand: your article Colombia Protests Over Nicaragua’s FARC Remarks is confusing, at best, and misleading, dishonest, ideological, at worst, and if I were a Reuters editor, I’d fire. But, to be charitable, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and some tips on reporting. OK, take out a pencil. And some coffee, because it’s going to be a long night. Where to start? OK, here we go. You wrote that the Colombian Government is angry at Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega because

Ortega…. and ex Marxist guerrilla…. and…. a former Cold War enemy of Washington, called FARC chief Manuel Marulanda a “dear brother” during a speech this week in which he also backed international efforts to free captives held by the leftist rebels.

1) LANGUAGE: as reporters, you’re supposed to PRETEND to be objective. Framing Ortega as a Cold War enemy is a little charged, not to mention passe. So try to keep your Cold War feelings to yourself. (Also, if you want to go all Cold War, why not give props to Reagan for training the Contras in Nicaragua to take care of the Sandinistas, of which Ortega was part. I guess then you’d have to bring up the whole selling arms to Iran to support the Contras habit thing, which is a little awkward. )

2) TRUTHINESS Your phrasing suggests that the Leftist Ortega sucked up to the leader of the Colombian Guerrilla group FARC and called him a brother, while, on another note, and coincidentally, he also asked some random leftist rebels to free their captives. This is truthy, but not true. The truth is Ortega was explicitly invited by French President Sarkozy (you guys would like him, because he’s not Washington’s enemy) to pressure the FARC to free their captives, one of whom is the French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt. Rather than calling the FARC leader a brother and also trying to free some prisoners, Ortega specifically implored his “dear brother” the FARC leader, to release the captives FARC under his leadership, is holding.

3. OMISSION AND TAKING WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT. Again, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I could draw the conclusion that you purposefully omitted the context of Ortega’s comments in order to make him look like a crazy wing bat instead of a tactful, diplomatic, head of state attempting to ensure the release of prisoners. But, I, at least, am a woman of my word, so I will assume you are lazy, or don’t speak Spanish or don’t have a translator. (Although I can’t help noticing that your Ortega quotes were limited to two words “my brother” you were much more thorough when it came to translating Colombian government’s response: “The government … is obliged to reject phrases expressing brotherhood with terrorists…. Colombia awaits clarification of the statement to ensure such actions do not affect relations.”) So, I thought I would do some investigating for you. Here is what Ortega said: “Quiero aprovechar para hacer un llamado a mi querido hermano, el comandante, Manuel Marulanda Vélez… en nombre de los revolucionarios latinoamericanos… que como una señal de trabajar por la paz… yo le pido que ponga en libertad a Ingrid Betancourt.” Don’t worry boys. I know you too well to expect you to try to translate this, so I’ve done that for you. Ortega said, “I want to make a plea to my dear brother, commander, Manuel Marulanda Velez… en the name of Latin American revolutionaries… as a symbol of working for peace… I ask you to free Ingrid Betancourt.”

4. REWRITE Again, aware of your less than protestante work ethic, I have taken the liberty of rewriting your truthy sentence into a truthful sentence. Try replacing, Ortega “called FARC chief Manuel Marulanda a “dear brother” during a speech this week in which he also backed international efforts to free captives held by the leftist rebels” with Ortega “who was invited by French President Sarkozy to help negotiate the release of FARC’s captives, appealed to the FARC chief Manuel Marulanda, saying “I want to make a plea to my dear brother, commander, Manuel Marulanda Velez… in the name of Latin American revolutionaries… as a symbol of working for peace… I ask you to free Ingrid Betancourt.” Now, doesn’t that sound better? And doesn’t writing something more true and less truthy feel better?

President Niolas Sarkozy has appealed to Latin American Presidents on the Left including Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Argentina’s Kirchner, and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega to pressure the left wing Guerrilla organization FARC to release Ingrid Betancourt. A French-Colombian dual citizen, Betancourt was kidnapped by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces) in 2002, while she was running for president. Ortega, the President of Nicaragua, and former Sandinista (who the Contras took care of) agreed to Sarkozy’s request and urged FARC to release their captives, including Betancourt:

I want to make a plea to my dear brother, commander, Manuel Marulanda Velez… en the name of Latin American revolutionaries… as a symbol of working for peace… I ask you to free Ingrid Betancourt.

In this time of intense negotiations over the freedom and lives of more than a thousand Colombian hostages, the Colombian Government has its priorities in order and is putting all of their diplomatic energy into…. threatening Nicaragua? That’s right. Instead of being happy that a left wing hero is using his left wing cred to push for the release of hostages(which is precisely why Sarkozy asked Ortega, along with Chavez and the Kirchners, for his support) Colombia is focusing on semantics and demanding an apology:

The government … is obliged to reject phrases expressing brotherhood with terrorists…. Colombia awaits clarification of the statement to ensure such actions do not affect relations.

Maybe the hostage exchange being brokered in Colombia can offer a solution to this diplomatic spat. How about an apology exchange, in which Ortega apologizes for daring to call a Left Wing Guerilla leader “dear brother” (in order to appeal to his bro to release his hostages), as soon as Colombia’s President Uribe apologizes for supporting right wing death squads?