The French try to build better relations with America
Tuesday, November 16th, 2004 - 1:00am
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1360889,00.html
The guy is such a prick.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
I agree, Blair is a slimeball. But he''s British, not French. And why do you need such a blanket statement, anyway?
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Freedom Fries coming right up, sir!
I`m Artsy Partsy Gun For Hire
This from a man who currently has French forces attempting to ""support democracy"" in the Ivory Coast.
Instead they have incited violence from the rebels by meddling and hostility from the government they were there to support by destroying its entire air force. Now a complete mismanaged mess. Sounds like a proto French Vietnam to me, the irony.
From a man who is the 3rd consequetive French President to be embroiled in corruption charges only to get off scot free on a technicality of office.
How the French put up with him I have no clue, he wouldn''t get away with such cheek and impudence here. The news papers would tear him to pieces.
Oh wait, of course now I remember, their alternative was a goose stepping facist. Of course!
I would be seriously worried if (as the press seems to prattle on about these days) we went to Iraq so we could get ""grooming"" favours from the US. Only a craven cynic would make such a move.
That being said Blair is a slimeball and a lousy long term domestic PM.
Good statesman though, he knows how to massage the masses.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Churchill
That''s certainly a valid reason to hate a whole nation. Hmm hmm.
Ohh burn!
I don't think I've ever said this sentence before, but man would I love to hump that butterfly.-- KrazyTaco
One phone call and you're melting like butter over my kettle pop. -- Edwin to Mex
2005 GWJFFL2 Champion
To be a great leader what you do domesticly isn''t very important. Churchill isn''t remember for his domestic vision.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
""It's a lack of culture to imagine that.""
Hmm, a european head of state claiming one of our government officials lacks culture, nothing like adding weight of evidence to the ""old europe"" argument in the same stroke.
Irony! Irony!
"We do not come in peace, we come ahead of peace to secure it's arrival by force of arms"
Only because he had WWII to deal with, otherwise he would have been.
Unfortunately, if I slash my wrist with my lightsaber it cauterizes instantly. - PurEvil on emo Star Wars plots.
I disagree that Blair is a slime. He understands the World''s relationship with the US in a manner that few other political leaders do. And he''s willing to stake UK lives and his political career to support that relationship.
And that makes him a slime?
Now Chirac, that guy, he''s a moron.
Blog: GameFinance
Twitter: justinmwhitaker
Well thanks for that Ulairi, though from where I''m sitting, domestic policy is pretty critical. You need to carry your own people, not just your military.
The PM is most certainly not a war time leader, he is a compromiser and popularist by nature hence his term ""the third way"".
Well known for bending like a reed in the wind popular opinion shifts but an iota. If he could get out of his current predicament without losing his place in history he would in a flash, but unfortunatly for him the British public have smartened up to his usual tactics now. He''s all talked out and mistrusted because of an endemic failure to deliver.
In all he is the complete anti-thesis of Churchill and much closer to Lloyd George or Disraeli, the arch manipulators. The contrast between the barrister and the soldier is accute.
I have granted however that he is a statesman par excellence and that wiley charisma of his works its magic in diplomatic and foreign circles nicely. He has a natural knack for affablilty and clear expression.
His saving grace is his ideologically untainted foreign policy IMO, which without a doubt is the product of Whitehall mandarins in the FCO.
He will surely win the next election by default and bow out after a year due to ""heart trouble"". We''ll end up with that severe socialist brute the Chancellor in power and live expensively ever after. Vote Blair, get Brown. Bah!
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Churchill
Well I managed to say far, far away from this forum since the very begining and what do I see the first time I come in here? Sheeeesh.
Okay, I''m not French, I''m Canadian. But French-Canadian! So do you hate me?
Naw don''t answer. I really don''t give a frying duck.
Xbox Live: MrGreen
PSN: MrGreenPSN
Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
I don''t hate the french. Far from it.
I think Chirac is an ass. He cares about France and nobody else.
Someday France will want and/or need our help. We will be there for them, no questions asked. The British will be there for them too. I just hope we can get there before the white flag goes up.
I take great comfort in knowing that there is indeed a special bond between Britain and America. I respect Blair for recognizing that bond and coming to our aid when it wasn''t popular. I respect Blair for the role he is attempting to play at this time. Bush needs Blair to kick him in the ass and remind him of what is important every so often.
You mean, in comparison Bush does care a whole lot about France!?!?! Whoa.
Chirac is a populist. There was near 101% unanimous sentiment in France against invasion of Iraq (Ulairi, please don''t counter with statemenets from French Youth For Bush or similar organizations), and he simply acted as his people wanted. This alone scores him easy extra points with his constitutients.
Blair, on the other hand, has cornered this whole ""unpopular but inevitable PM"" thing. He knows he can do whatever he wants, and the public, no matter how angry, would vote for him again because the whole institution of opposition is so broken in GB and the incumbency always has such an awesome advantage. So this scored him extra easy points with Bush.
The ""very special bond"" between UK and US sure become less apparent outside of Iraq, where they both have large interests.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
You mean they have other interests than to free the Iraqi people and fight for the freedom of mankind?
Xbox Live: MrGreen
PSN: MrGreenPSN
Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
I won''t say that Bush cares a lot about France. I do believe that should France ever ask for our help with an international situation, Bush would answer the call without asking ''whats in it for me?''
In general terms the UK-US relationship is more inseperable then ever.
Our economies, academics, technology and culture are far too intertwined to easily be severed.
Thats why in generally what is good for the US is good for the UK, the maintence of the 250 year old Anglophonic Western hegemon is a key factor.
Everything else is merely political ideology.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Churchill
Saywha!?!
Oh boy, I''m outta here. See you guys in the gaming forum.
Xbox Live: MrGreen
PSN: MrGreenPSN
Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
Naw I don''t hate you. Most Canadians do that already for me.
(That was a joke)
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Xbox Live: MrGreen
PSN: MrGreenPSN
Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
No, ""what''s in it for me"" would be OK. That''s what all those Polands, Latvias and Azerbaijans did, to be counted by US as the proud members of ""coalition of the willing"".
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Damn, we have a lot of work to do to shore up our relations with Western Europe and our NATO allies. I doubt you will see any improvement with US-Europe and more importantly France relations with this administration. There is little to no reason to do so. The French and US governments would rather argue with each other versus actually addressing each other concerns. Any attempt by the Bush administration to improve things with France obviously falls on deaf ears. I still vividly remember that picture of Chirac leafing through a magazine while Bush spoke. Not sure where this was but it does illustrate a clear picture that the French government and via proxy, the French people want little to do with the US. It seems that this feeling is reciprocated. After all, what have they every done for us? (Since they helped us win the Revolutionary War that is)
Steam Community ID
I think that both parties should *want* to patch things up for relations to get any better, and France and Germany frankly don''t seem interested in patching anything up. They seem more interested in becoming a ""counterweight"" with respect to us. Then again, that''s just my ill-informed opinion.
Psychotic Foreign Teenage Chicks are so hot. - Legion
I find it ironic anytime a healthy vaccinated person bitches about science...on the internet. - MaverickDago
Buzz, you pretty much nailed my understanding of this particular rift. Now, in my ill-informed opinion, I thought Germany and the US were doing better. There are very real economic reasons to maintaining the Germany-US relationship. Not so much with France.
Steam Community ID
This isn''t true in Germany. THey do want to patch things up. France wants to build a counterweight to us, the British don''t, and the Germans don''t. We just aren''t very popular there. Many European countries are doing the same thing the Islamic countries are, deflecting blame from the government onto us. France and Germany have crappy economies, poor consumer spending, retail sales are slowing, high unemployment, ect. I would think their people would rather have a better economy than hate us. I hope I''m right.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
I will say regardless of content, the title of this thread is 100% inappropriate. I''m going to ask you to change it Ulairi.
"I think Elysium has the right of it" - Certis
Sorry, but these comments by Chirac are, viewed objectively and not from the ""America-is-the-bomb! We rule!"" perspective, no worse than comments made by various U.S. administration officials about other countries in the past 4 years.
"All that time you waste dating and having sex could be better spent scouring the web for new game developer press releases." - Quintin_Stone
Alien: why your avatar is so dark and murky all of the sudden?
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Because it''s... <Wait for it>
Midnight in America!
Psychotic Foreign Teenage Chicks are so hot. - Legion
I find it ironic anytime a healthy vaccinated person bitches about science...on the internet. - MaverickDago
Find me some quotes on the same level from this, from President Bush.
.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Didn''t Condi Rice say we should ""Punish France, Ignore Germany and forgive Russia""?