Bernard-Henri Lévy is so ubiquitous in France’s media that he is universally referred to as BHL. But in Parisian intellectual and journalistic circles he is known by the moniker BHV—the French department store that sells anything and everything. BHL had hoped to sell himself to the United States with American Vertigo, in which he travels the United States “in the footsteps… return to article
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Reader Comments (5)Page 1 of 1 pagesIs BHL a Neo-con in disguise-only more charming?
Posted by cabdriverinchicago on Mar 8, 2006 at 9:17 AM Yes, cabdriver, which is why Stewart received him so warmly on the Daily Show.
Posted by opeluboy on Mar 10, 2006 at 3:52 AM I hope that someone will translate ” Une imposture Française” by Nicolas BEAU and Olivier TOSCER ( Ed Les Arènes) so that people of America know exactly who is BHL. He is the only French Philosopher who is not, and has never been and will never be, studied in any school in our country. He is just a poor rich man.
BEAU and TOSCER’s book is just wonderfull, humoristic sometimes, and once you start reading it, your attention is kept all the way to the end.
On the other hand it is very important to keep the press free, which is not always the case here in France, and this is what gives all the importance to this book and the main reason of it’s writing.
ADRIEN
Posted by Adrien SCHNEIDER on Mar 10, 2006 at 11:53 PM Adrien
I second your plea for a translation .
This exposé of the rise of a creep to fame is of universal interest.............................................................................. ................................................
An Intellectual Superstar in France Gains an Audience in the U.S.
By SCOTT McLEMEECOGITO ERGO ZOOM: In the late 1990s, the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu published a scathing critique of public intellectuals who not only spoke in sound bites, but thought in them as well. It was such a noxious development that it could only be named in Franglais: Bourdieu called them “les fast-thinkers.” He did not explicitly name Bernard-Henri Lévy as an example; but then, he didn’t have to. The man widely known as BHL has been a fixture of French life for the past quarter century, commenting in newspapers and on talk shows about Marxism, ethics, cultural history, and current affairs.
( We miss Bourdieu, a fine sociologist and engaged citizen. )
................................................................................ ....................................................His “work” gets unstinting promotion by TV talk-show hosts, politicians, editors of daily papers and weekly mags, most of these organs being owned by his billionaire friends. They also obediently censor or attack his critics.
He is among the 100 richest people in france.In 1999 he joined in the propaganda war against Yugoslavia. I remember an article he wrote claiming genocide as a reason for invasion. This was complete hype, since proved to be false.
In 1985 he was a rabid supporter of the Contra “Freedom Fighters”, and has gone on to brown-nose the murdering generals in Algeria , what he calls the “paramilitaries” in Columbia, and similar.
BUT, Adrien, I disagree with you about “keeping the french press free”.
I learned a lot from the DIRELAND blog , link above, about how the press here is manipulated and controlled, and so can you !Don’t you remember how 95% of the TV , radio, and written media supported the government line for our Referendum last year ?
That was no accident, no coincidence that all “right-minded” people were of one mind !
here in Normandy , we Know that some journalists of the “Ouest-france” daily paper were “silenced” .
Posted by frog on Mar 15, 2006 at 6:53 PM Thanks Mr. Ireland for this article and the comments where interesting too. (Frog: I think Adrien did say that the press isn’t really all that free in France.) Without knowing all these details, I never liked BHL. Now I know why he gives me the gooseflesh!!!
Posted by Sahelian on Mar 23, 2006 at 8:50 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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