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The Town Hall Archives
Ahh, the nostalgia.
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DrWhit73
Junior Member
Joined: 10 Dec 2002
Posts: 250
Location: Mississippi
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 Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 8:31 pm Post subject: France Does It Again |
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France Does it Again
What do ya'll think about this?
Last edited by DrWhit73 on Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jared
Cute and Cuddly
Joined: 23 Nov 2002
Posts: 4672
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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I think it's time that the Town Hall is the home of a nice fisking!
And you all stand around wondering what a "fisking" is. Well, it's named after New York Times middle east journalist Robert Fisk, who is subjected to many of them. What is it? A line by line look at an article, picking it apart and heavily criticizing it.
So, allow me to try it with that article linked above...
| News Article wrote: | | French Defense Minister Chides Rumsfeld |
Now if this were Rumsfeld criticizing the French Defense Minister, that word "chides" might just read (choose from list) slams, attacks, bashes, lambastes.
| News Article wrote: | | France's defense minister criticized her American counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, in an interview published Saturday as someone who considers the United States the world's only military, economic and financial power. |
In other news, Madeline Albright criticized Bush as someone who considers the earth to be round. Also, since when did the French and American militaries end up on an equal plane? Counterparts?
| News Article wrote: | | Michele Alliot-Marie also accused American industry of waging "economic war" by trying to "take over the capital" of European defense-related industries. Europeans must regroup to resist, she said, according to the interview in the daily newspaper Le Monde. |
Oh no! Old Europe is going to team up against us! Get the fallout shelters ready! Oh wait, it's only Old Europe. We're talking France, Germany and their friends. It isn't like we have to take on a formidable foe like Bolivia or anything... Also, just out of curiosity: when did the heads of American industries kidnap Rumsfeld and take over the Defense Department? And if "economic war" means that they are doing their best to make a profit by selling what is needed -- outrageous! A business trying to make money? What could be more evil than that? And trying to sell at better prices than European countries? Appalling! Throw them in the dungeons!
| News Article wrote: | | Alliot-Marie's blunt remarks recalled the bad blood between Paris and Washington over France's leading role in opposing the U.S.-led war in Iraq. |
Alliot-Marie makes blunt remarks; Rumsfeld makes snide ones. Or so I hear from the newspapers.
| News Article wrote: | | Rumsfeld's January dig at France and Germany as being part of "Old Europe" epitomized the problem that both Paris and Washington have been working to repair. |
Of course it's all Rumsfeld's fault. If he had only called them glorious Europe, they would certainly have all sided with us. Right? That's the insinuation here, isn't it? So it's safe to say that the French lied for and protected a murderous dictator because they held a grudge? Somehow, my opinion of Monsieur Chirac and Co. is not improving.
| News Article wrote: | | "The American defense secretary believes that the United States is the world's only military, economic and financial power," Alliot-Marie told Le Monde. "We do not share this vision." |
If you had vision, Ms. Alliot-Marie, your country wouldn't be stumbling around with an insane anti-American policy.
| News Article wrote: | | Alliot-Marie also said Rumsfeld's thinking seems to be out of line with that of the U.S. military and intelligence services. |
Ah, so our military absolutely hates the fact that they are good at their job and long to be more like the French? They anxiously await the day that an invading force of twenty-five unarmed nine year olds can force entire squadrons to hoist the white flag? They actively consider bolting to France so they can join a real fighting group?
| News Article wrote: | | "During the period of Franco-American tension, relations between our intelligence services remained perfect," she said. |
In other words, they may hate us but they still need us. They give us a scrap of intelligence or two and we give them dossiers on everything. Step two: we find photocopies of these dossiers in bombed Iraqi government building. Hmm... I wonder how those got there. Surely it was an accident. Right?
| News Article wrote: | | The article was reread and "amended" by her, which is a relatively common practice here, Le Monde noted. |
So the French get to change the record? They give an interview, then decide whether or not they really wanted to say what they said? Convenient.
| News Article wrote: | | Alliot-Marie's comments were geared to the opening of the Paris Air Show, the largest display of aeronautical technology and might in the world which is held every two years. |
Technology and might with the U.S. Air Force star on the side or United States-based company names on the fuselage. No American planes? They'll have to get out the old Sopwith Camels, repaint them and declare it the newest leap forward in military aviation. Of course, it would be an improvement over what the French have now.
| News Article wrote: | | However, this year's show, which French President Jacques Chirac and Alliot-Marie visited Saturday, is a scaled-back affair, with no U.S. flyovers and the number of attending U.S. aircraft reduced from 11 to six. |
It would be nice if that number were zero.
| News Article wrote: | | The Pentagon's decision to trim its presence was widely seen as a snub of France because of its opposition to the U.S.-led war to remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. |
Notice the negative words used when describing actions by the United States. The U.S. snubs France, but the French would presumably only avoid an event out of caution and a fear of offending or something. Only the U.S. is rude -- or so say journalists.
| News Article wrote: | | The French minister voiced concern over U.S. industrial might and tactics she said were akin to "economic war." She called on Europeans to "regroup" to better withstand the competition. |
Isn't this the second or third time this has been said during the course of this article? Not exactly content-rich, is it? "Oh no! The U.S. is cheating! They're trying to sell goods and services for lower prices than French companies do! There ought to be a law against that!"
| News Article wrote: | | "American industry is in a logic of economic war," she said in Le Monde. "This attitude is not connected to the Iraqi episode. European industry must regroup to be in a position to resist them." |
Doesn't this sound a little overly repeated?
| News Article wrote: | | Alliot-Marie said she was "truly concerned" by efforts of some American companies to "take over the capital" of defense-related European enterprises and said she has asked for a study of the situation. She was not more specific. |
Afraid that French companies may lose their grip on the military equipment market? The "cold, dead hands" of those industries have already been pried open: you know all those Iraqi tanks we plowed right through? Made in France. Those planes we destroyed before they got off the runway? You guessed it: French. Those Iraqi missiles that strayed way off course, requiring us to shoot them down before they entered a whole different country than the one targeted? I'll give you one guess as to their country of origin. The French military brand is dead.
| News Article wrote: | | "We must be vigilant and better foresee risks and dependencies ...," the minister said. |
They're going to foresee things? As in, see risks that lie ahead? They don't even recognize risks that have recently been eliminated!
To paraphrase the words of Ronald Reagan: there they go again. |
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Felicity Carden
Seasoned Veteran Member
Joined: 09 Dec 2002
Posts: 609
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| But that's why Kane and RVD are fighting La Resistance at Bad Blood tomorrow! GO USA!!! |
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Felicity Carden
Seasoned Veteran Member
Joined: 09 Dec 2002
Posts: 609
Location: California
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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| and Kane and RVD lost badly... *eats a huge mound of ice cream* so depressing... |
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