Carla in London

First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy manages to find the camera as she and her Napoleon-sized husband Nicolas and Prince Chuck find their way to a statue of Charles de Gaulle in London, where they laid a wreath to commemorate de Gaulle's broadcast to Nazi occupied France on June 17, 1940, in which he declared himself the leader of the "Free French," which went on play a key role in defeating the Germans.

The full text of de Gaulle's speech is inscribed in a plaque on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:

"The leaders who, for many years, have been at the head of the French armies have formed a government. This government, alleging the defeat of our armies, has made contact with the enemy in order to stop the fighting. It is true, we were, we are, overwhelmed by the mechanical, ground and air forces of the enemy. Infinitely more than their number, it is the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans which are causing us to retreat. It was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that surprised our leaders to the point of bringing them to where they are today.

But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No!

Believe me, I who am speaking to you with full knowledge of the facts, and who tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us victory one day. For France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of the United States.

This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not over as a result of the Battle of France. This war is a worldwide war. All the mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not alter the fact that there are, in the world, all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Vanquished today by mechanical force, in the future we will be able to overcome by a superior mechanical force. The fate of the world depends on it.

I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are located in British territory or who might end up here, with their weapons or without their weapons, I invite the engineers and the specialized workers of the armament industries who are located in British territory or who might end up here, to put themselves in contact with me.

Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished. Tomorrow, as today, I will speak on the radio from London."

France was occupied by the Germans for over four years. Paris was liberated August 25, 1944.

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Abu is Dead, Again

He's been reported dead at least twice before, now Al Qaida CFO Mustafa Abu is reportedly most sincerely dead after a drone attack in Pakistan, not to be confused with Kwik-E-Mart proprietor Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Nuke Your Coffee?

Do you like your coffee hot? Approximately 900,000 GE brand 12-cup digital coffee makers are being recalled, per the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and crap vendor Walmart.

The GE coffee maker can overheat, causing fire and burn hazards to consumers.

According to GE's website, they have "provided advanced and sophisticated technology for nuclear energy for over five decades. Four main product lines support this capability: new reactors, nuclear fuel, reactor services and performance services."

They can't make a goddamned coffee maker that doesn't blow up, and they're building nuclear reactors. Swell.

Goodbye, Dustin Shuler

Los Angeles artist Dustin Shuler has died at age 61 of pancreatic cancer.

Shuler was commissioned in 1989 to create a sculpture for this Berwyn, Illinois shopping plaza. He built this 50-foot "Spindle," known by locals as the "Car Kabob."

After efforts to save the work failed, it was taken down 20 years later so they could build a Walgreens on the spot.

Chexy's Cartoon Corner

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Where the Wild Thing Is

"Precious" starlet Gabourey Sidibe as she appeared on "The View" couch yesterday (sitting next to she whose name must not be mentioned), and an illustration from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are."


Lovely creatures and one hideous beast.

The Devil Wears Schmata

Despised, feared, and perennially bobbed Vogue editrix Anna Wintour at last night's Costume Institute Gala... and some Austrian puff theatre curtains.


Only one hides a big screen portrayal of evil.

Rielle Hunter: Yup, I'm John Edwards

In a shocking revelation, Rielle Hunter revealed exclusively to Chexydecimal that she is, in fact, John Edwards.

Food, Inc.

If you haven't yet seen "Food, Inc." by Robert Kenner, you can watch it online at PBS.org until Thursday, April 29. Click the pic to watch it there.

Happy Birthday, Hitler

Thanks to the genius of Mel Brooks, we have tap-dancing Nazis. Dick Shawn as the Fuhrer.

Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay!
We're marching to a faster pace,
Look out,
Here comes the master race!

Mississippi Goddamn

Gutsy teen lesbian Constance McMillen, 18, who with the ACLU sued her Mississippi school for prohibiting her from bringing her girlfriend to prom, has just been named one of the Grand Marshals for this year's NYC Pride parade on June 27.

US District Court Judge Glen Davidson ruled in favor of both McMillen and the Itawamba County School District, saying that the District did violate Connie's First Amendment rights by not allowing her to attend the prom with her girlfriend, and by not allowing her to wear a tuxedo and by canceling the prom, but also ruled that he would not force the school district to hold the prom.

Last month, lesbian icon Ellen DeGeneres had Constance on her show, and arranged with Tonic.com for a $30,000 scholarship for the soft-spoken teen activist.

McMillen's Co-Grand Marshals include "Don't Ask Don't Tell" battler Lt. Dan Choi, and hate crime legislation activist Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew.

Go Connie.

Cock-a-Doodle-Do

A giant phallus (relatively speaking) is carried through the streets Sunday during the Kanamara Fertility Festival in Kawasaki, Japan.

It's the biggest dick cheered by crowds since Richard Nixon served as Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade in 1960.

Rim Shot sound bite Cool Sounds sound bites

Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

Happy Birthday, Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford was born on this day in 1905. She died in 1977 of a heart attack.


Here's Joan, apparently drunk, being interviewed at an airport in 1968.

Camilla -- Good Lighting, Bad Saints

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, looking appropriate, visits the crypt of the Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague.

This graven image should make it clear to everyone what Charles sees in her.

Cyril, btw, was a Jew-hater, and Methodius was a real pain. But they also created the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets.

This picture of Camilla makes a fine desktop wallpaper (tiled).

Chris Jackson-Pool/Getty Images

Gzandtgstas

E Streeter Steven Van Zandt at the Rockers on Broadway event last night, and Chicago gangster Al Capone.

So alike, and yet only one left Alcatraz in 1939.

Jeffrey Ufberg/Getty Image

Gibson Girls

Mel Gibson babymama Oksana Grigorieva as she appeared last night at the premiere of "The Edge of Darkness," and baby-crazy mother of 14, Octomom.

So alike, and yet only one got pregnant with a real dick.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Natural Born Killers

Foul-tempered paparazzi choker Woody Harrelson, 48, as he appeared at the National Board of Review gala in NYC on Tuesday, and not dead long enough Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley.

So alike... in about ten years.

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images