“Fed Up Fed!” one protest sign in Oakland, California, proclaimed. Across the nation, in DC, other “No Kings” protesters lofted signs reading “Furloughed And Fired Up” and “Stop Using Federal Workers As Pawns.” An estimated 4 million to 6 million people hit the streets of US cities and towns on Saturday to protest the Trump […]
On New Year’s Eve in 1995, French president François Mitterrand dined upon the cruel apex of French cuisine—foie gras, three dozen oysters, and a capon. But a smaller bird, the ortolan bunting, was the pièce de résistance of the dying man’s last meal. The sparrow-sized Emberiza hortulana are known as the “soul of France” and are easy to recognize with their olive-grey heads and distinctive yellow eye-rings. Poachers use glue and nets to catch the tiny creatures as they rest in trees after an exhausting migratory flight over the Mediterranean. Sold to restaurants, the captives are blinded or immured, as darkness triggers instinctual gorging. After adding a few grams to their minute frames, they are taken, still alive, and plunged in brandy to drown, then marinate, before being plucked and roasted. Connoisseurs speak rapturously of juices bursting from ruptured organs, of how small bones lacerate the inside of one’s mouth heightening one’s sense of taste. Tradition demands draping one’s head with a napkin to shield this gastronomic atrocity from God’s eyes. Not sated by a single serving, Mitterrand ate two ortolan rôti at his morbid banquet.
Join Mehdi in a live Town Hall Q&A with Zack Polanski, new Leader of the Green Party, as they take audience questions about the state of UK politics, Gaza, immigration and more.
We both went to the local “No Kings” protest here in New Orleans on Saturday, and were heartened by it. It is pleasant to be around people who care enough to take a stand against authoritarianism. It is a reminder that Trump’s worst outrages, including his cruel ICE raids and his militarization of the cities, are not popular. These protests buoy the spirit in a dark time. You meet good, compassionate people who want to prevent the country’s slide into full-blown fascism.