please stop bashing France

"IO" wrote in message
...
I agree Poland is not Europe... Poland is Third World... Iran and poland
have similar pils remember it...

Christ... have you ever been to New England?

Si

The Europeans have lived in a protected little green house so long they
seem to think that if all the nice people just agree to be nice there
will be nothing but joy for all of us. Someone has to shoot the wolf at
the door, even if the loud noise disturbs your garden party.

The Wall Street Journal noted this morning that the reason UN
peacekeeping forces are more and more drawn from poor nations is that
they alone have the surplus troops for this sort of mission--troops
who moreover are thrifty to maintain and proud of the job. With the
exception of Britain's, European armies have been drawn down to the
point where they are essentially useless. From what I've read earlier,
that would also appear to be true of Canada's.

So not only is the U.S. the "sole superpower," it is very nearly also
the only democracy with an army. Think of NATO's war against
Yugoslavia. All of continental Europe couldn't manage a war against a
small Balkan nation, without the U.S. and Britain to do the heavy
lifting.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Aren't freedom of speech and democracy the very concepts your country was
built upon?

Many Americans don't understand the concept of free speech, so I'm not
surprised that the concept should elude a Frenchman.

The U.S. Constitution imposes upon me the duty to give another man the
freedom to speak his mind. It does not, however, impose upon me a
duty to listen.

As for democracy--ayuh! That's what Americans for more than a hundred
years have bled for, bringing democracy to Cuba, France, Iraq, and
other unfortunate places. But loving democracy does not oblige us to
treat M. Chirac with respect. Quite the contrary, in fact. The
American brand of democracy has always had a strong vein of
irreverance built into it.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

This guy has a point. We have got to begin saying "except for Britain,
Spain, Poland, and perhaps a few others that have slipped my mind,
*Europe* is / isn't / etc."

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

"Frank Vaughan" wrote in message
...
France, if you recall, has for years been excessively rude to US
tourists.

Oh come on, you can't criticise people for having a hobby. :^) This maybe
something of a generalisation, but call it an un-scientific observation:
North American tourists (I'll include Canadians too, why not) often *appear*
to be of the opinion than anyone and everyone in the countries they visit is
there solely for their benefit, like we're all staff at Disneyland or
something. When I hear a whiney kid point at an old house (say 40 years+)
and go "Gee Ma, is that a castle?" it's hard not to be rude. (Ok, so
that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I did hear it from one pointing at a
church once.)

BTW, don't take this post too seriously, it's just all the manic
nationalistic attitude in this group today has gone to my head and I thought
I might as well just join in for the hell of it.

Si

Are you seriously denying that there was a French bashing campaign in the
US?

There was no campaign. There was a spontaneous national revulsion
against France. A few (a very few) newspapers jumped on the bandwagon
after it had already begun to roll down the street.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...

"Frank Vaughan" wrote in message
...
France, if you recall, has for years been excessively rude to US
tourists.

Oh come on, you can't criticise people for having a hobby. :^) This
maybe
something of a generalisation, but call it an un-scientific observation:
North American tourists (I'll include Canadians too, why not) often
*appear*
to be of the opinion than anyone and everyone in the countries they visit
is
there solely for their benefit, like we're all staff at Disneyland or
something. When I hear a whiney kid point at an old house (say 40 years+)
and go "Gee Ma, is that a castle?" it's hard not to be rude. (Ok, so
that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I did hear it from one pointing at a
church once.)

BTW, don't take this post too seriously, it's just all the manic
nationalistic attitude in this group today has gone to my head and I
thought
I might as well just join in for the hell of it.

Say what you want to say, it is why we fight.

Bring forward the BMFH ...

"Alan Minyard" wrote in message
...
France is not a "race" so French bashing is not racist.

Interestingly (maybe) British law doesn't see it the same way. (I'd be
interested to know the American legal position.) In UK law, there is no
distinction between discriminating against someone's nationality of origin
and their ethnic race. Therefore French-bashing in the UK could be
considered a criminal offence, but I think it would probably only likely
come into play as a reason for a greater offence, i.e. racially motivated
violent attack, or discrimination at work. (Though logically verbal abuse
against someone because they're a different colour is no different to if
they're a different nationality.)

Si

You are Polish? And are you proud of being Polish? Italian roads are full of
Polish whores... The only good things that poland produces without the help
of the germans...

Ahh, the enlightened *Western* Eurotrash...


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"

We certainly are grateful for the support of the Polish people and
their Government. I am afraid that the use of terms such as
"euro-wieni" etc have become associated with the French to the point
where they are used interchangeably. Please forgive this usage, we
certainly do not include the Poles in the reference.

And I will apologize for generalizing. Polands contribution before, during and
currently in Iraq is courageous and shows a lot of character and is very much
appreciated by nearly every American. By saying "European", I was meaning
western European (i.e. Germany, France and Belgium).


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"