Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

There's a group of Francophiles here in San Francisco who protest the war every week, at Cafe de la Presse (restaurant + newsstand), by celebrating "French Friday." Protest involves drinking French wine, eating French cheese on French bread, and consuming other delectable items of French descent. This is a form of protest -- and a tradition -- I can enthusiastically embrace!

Je suis un francophile aussi. I am amazed at all of the righteous posturing we've seen in the last few months. An absurd reaction seems the least I can do.
/s/
Freedom

p.s. I'd rather be enjoying brie, a baguette, and a good cabernet (be it French or Californian).

I cannot take credit for the following observation, it comes from a poem on this subject, an Ode to French Fries, written by one of the students of Wiarton District Highschool and performed at recent reading:

"Freedom may be fun,
but being French will get you laid."

That settles it. I'm changing my name back at once!

Enfin des remarques rafraichissantes d'un peuple ami que nous avons cru, l'espace d'un instant, perdu! Quand tout ceci ne sera plus qu'un mauvais rêve et que W aura été relégué dans les oubliettes de la mauvaise histoire, nous pourrons à nouveau fêter notre amitié centenaire,

Vive l'Amérique!
So long
MD

To me as European the whole "boycott France" thing is unexplicable. I don't tell my friends I want nothing to do with them anymore, when we come upon a thing we seem to have diametrically opposed views upon. I try to figure out where that difference of opinion comes from or in the end agree to disagree.

Not this US administration; the country that played a role in the US gaining their independence is boycotted (France), and the oldest diplomatic contact they have with the first country that recognized the US as a soevereign state (Netherlands) wakes up one morning to the news that the US have actually passed a law that it is OK to invade them if the International Court of Justice in The Hague might ever happen to hold an American citizen in custody. Now that strikes me as odd behaviour from friends, or is it just because I live in Rumsfelds "old Europe" that I think friendship should be worth more than something to throw on the scrapheap as soon as a difference of opinion occurs.

Kind regards,

Ton

stop talking in french if you don't know how to. thanks.

I really like France too. Though some of the French people are not very open to those who speak English. If you want to enjoy your staying there, you need to speak French :))
Mary http://www.all-translations.com

WHO CARES ANYWAY,,THE FRENCH SUCK.
ALL THEY DO IS CRY..I GET MAD EVERYTIME I THINK
HOW MANY U.S. SOLDIERS WERE KILLED TRYING TO
SAVE THERE SORRY ASS'S.
THEY ARE THE CHICKEN'S OF THE WORLD.
WHT WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO FRANCE, UNLESS YOU
WANTED TO SEE WHAT HOW A BUNCH OF DO NOTHING'S
THINK.....

The French have helped the world more than you Americans have ever had.

- The Battle of Tours. The Frankish people under Charles Martel repelled an invasion of the Islamic people. They literally saved Europe, and your precious little Christian religion. A couple dozen thousand men stood off against a horde which could've approached numbers close to half a million soldiers.

- Gave the US 6 million dollars in gold and silver. Without this, your continental dollars were worth less than toilet paper. You issued money during the Revolutionary War, but failed to back it financially. Let me give you an example. It took over 1,600 Continental dollars to buy a god damn barrel of flour. So the French gave you gold which allowed you to support your war.

- The Battle of New Orleans. A group of French pirates manned all of your artillery, and helped you engage the enemy. They fought side by side with General Andrew Jackson in a battle that seemed hopeless.

I could list hundreds more, but I have another thing to talk about.

Furthermore, the French aren't pussies as most Americans claim. They withstood decades of harsh war on their own soil, which literally changed the landscape of their country and leaves behind deadly reminders, such as unexploded shells and mines. If anything, the French are far braver than your soldiers. In World War I, they would charge German trenches, sometimes with bayonets fixed and no ammunition in the rifles.

Finally, I would have to blame current French attitudes on a political ideology called Gaullism, which stressed that France should be more independent, more capable of managing its own affairs.

So in short, French aren't bad, they rock, and de Gaule is the person you should blame. The End.