NEWS: French Tabloid Takes Aim at the U.S.

Muadibb
No, I don't think the people that run that magazine are Chemical or Energy barons. In fact I'm sure of it. If you think Oil for Food is worse than Guns for Terrorists you are wearing an old prescription, but that's beside the point. Rich people, powerful people all over the world are to blame for the current crisis, they are heavily concentrated outside of France at the moment.

Yes I do have an idea why the Black Plague was so deadly, I studied extensively, I'm so glad you mentioned it. The black plague was spread far and wide due to a huge number of factors, mainly but not limited to; bodies being used as catapult ammunition during city sieges during the early crusades, rat infestations resulting from the bodies, flea infestations resulting from the rats, poor knowledge of sanitary food preparation and safe handling procedures, a shortage of traditional foods resulting from wartime conditions in many places worldwide, crowded city conditions with inaddequate sewage systems, and yes, finally, poor hygeine. Wow, you missed a few factors there bucky boy. Nowadays being occasionally unwashed is good for you. Children who grow up around farm animals and play in the dirt are less likely to be asthmatic and have severe allergies when they grow up. Lice and fleas were the primary carriers, being unwashed nowadays has nothing to do with whether or not you have lice and fleas infesting your person.

I'm not going to try and convince you any more, I'll just take comfort in the fact that my descendants probably won't share the earth with yours.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by WyrdeOne]

You have to feel sorry for the French. They are so culturally intolerant that they even have a government bureau for language purity to coin French words for foreign words, mostly English, that find their way into the idiom. It seems that if the French, in general, were so averse to America and non-French culture, they could simply boycott everything that doesn't suit their tastes or sensibilities. The sadder thing is that global pop culture, much of which originates here, is offensive to many, not only the French and even sadder is that the French feel that purging the language of terminology will do anything more that stagnate their language and culture.

One of my college French teachers, a native speaker, said that as much as he loves French, he had to admit that English had gained currency as the international language because of its flexibility and concise nature. You can say in just a few syllables in English what it takes a full line of text to say in French. Observe the packaging or manuals that come with your electronics sometime for a very good example of this.


[edit on 05/2/6 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou

If you voted Bush, then this magazine's joke is on you. Many people in France and around the world don't like you for what your vote did to the planet, your own country, and humanity--and they perceive your rationale as either greed, stupidity, or fundamentalism.

Oh so they dont hate America just the voting majority of it How dare the US not vote for someone the French people wanted running our country.

I know they real problem they are still pissed about Euro Disney. Were sorry we should have known that wouldnt work.

Ill send a apologie e-mail oh wait a "courriel " to france right away

Here's an excellent alternative to L'Anti-Americain: Pave France (the British need more parking)

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
You have to feel sorry for the French. They are so culturally intolerant that they even have a government bureau for language purity to coin French words for foreign words, mostly English, that find their way into the idiom. It seems that if the French, in general, were so averse to America and non-French culture, they could simply boycott everything that doesn't suit their tastes or sensibilities. The sadder thing is that global pop culture, much of which originates here, is offensive to many, not only the French and even sadder is that the French feel that purging the language of terminology will do anything more that stagnate their language and culture.

One of my college French teachers, a native speaker, said that as much as he loves French, he had to admit that English had gained currency as the international language because of its flexibility and concise nature. You say in just a few syllables in English what it takes a full line of text to say in French. Observe the packaging or manuals that come with your electronics sometime for a very good example of this.

[edit on 05/2/6 by GradyPhilpott]

The Academie Francaise, which is this institution you're referring to, doesn't at all function like this. Its true they have the final say over which words and constructions are proper, but its basically just as though the American MLA was funded by the government. America has one too. In practice, the French use tons of words that come from English. And there are no language police to come and get you if you use a word that isn't officially proper either--the language mutates in practice just as much as English (especially with the influx of ethnicities).

Second, you're absolutely right about the packaging. I've worked a bit as a professional translator and can tell you that French will always be 140 percent the length of English. However, does this make it an inferior language? Should we translate French poetry the most concise way possible so we can read it quickly? The bulkiness of the language makes people more subtle communicators in French. Why do poets always use French when they find their native language insufficient?

Kinda like playing at a dump with all the old cars and stuff helped me to NEVER get sick until my spleen was removed, a part of digestive and immune system.

Anyways, again, none of the European exchange students smelled, were unshaven(especially the one french chick, yummy), or anything like that. Some may have needed some dental work, but so do most Americans who don't bleach the teeth in their mouth so they can blind people when they smile.

Also, it against a guy who can't speak english, in a english speaking country, after going to some of the best schools in the world. This guy is out spoken by 4 year olds on a daily basis. We make fun of him to. And the world fears him more then a poor arab with a m16 cause Bush has something no one else does in the Middle East, no matter how many lies they use, NUKES!(except Israel, but they not arab, so according to the republicans rules they not terrorists) Also, the voting majority? I still wanna know how many illegals, dead people, and fictional people "voted" for Bush. Never gonna find out cause Bush&Co are in power, the truth is dead.

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou
As an American living in Paris, I could resist the respond button.

First, though the name is "Anti-American" there was a joke in the magazine offering refugee status to "our democrat friends". Its safe to think of the magazine as "Anti-Bush", I'd say. The only comments I've received since Bush's re-election here in France were concern and fear for the future of the world.

So i guess your friends don't see Islamic extremism as a problem....

Let me ask you something... What do your friends, or you, think about the French troops who shoot unarmed children, women and men at the Ivory Coast?, and what do they think, or what are they doing about the forceful presence of French forces, under the UN, at the Ivory Coast when the people there keep saying they will go to a civil war if the French stay there?..... Do they have any comment about that at all?...no?....

Ok, how about the involvement of France, among other European countries which are part of the UN in the Food For Oil scandal?....where many countries, including France sold illegal weaponry for oil to Iraq instead of actually sending food?... Do they say anything about this?....no?

i would continue to ask questions but there is no point is there?....according to you and others of like mind, the US is the "real evil country under the orders of the evil president".....

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou
That said, the thing is called the Anti-Americain, so I thought I would try to break down this grudge the French have against Americans. First, its not a grudge against Americans at all; its a problem with the importation of American style corporatism. From Mickey Mouse to Ronald McDonald to CocaCola, and its going to get worse: currently in politics, Chirac (who's politics are moderate right wing) has some unpopular reforms that are further "Americanizing" the nation's education system and social security. As a student in both systems and a social security holder in both systems, I agree with the socialists this time: America isn't anyone to take lessons from on these issues.

Wouldn't itirritate most Americans if all those products were imported from (and profitted) say, France? Then let's listen to their music? Then our kids will dress up like their celebrities, then let's make our school system more like their failing one?!

First of all, this hatred for the US because of it's products and way of life has been going on at least since the 80s, when I was living in Europe, it is nothing new. I see that they keep having the same resentment towards the US, but still...europeans keep using American products, music etc....

I wonder who is truly stupid here...the American people for following the American way of life, or the Europeans who keep blaming the US even thou many Europeans are the ones who willingly keep using American products and keep trying to emulate the American way of life in some ways.....

I see that Europeans still don't take responsibility for their own actions....

I mean, are American troops pointing a gun to the French people and making them listen to American music and emulate our way of life?.....

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou
If anyone over here is laughing about Bush, its nervously ... most of my French friends are just hoping he doesn't start a worldwide conflict.

We didn't start a worldwide conflict, Islamic extremists did and are still doing it, and just in case you didn't know evidence came out from Spain that the original plan which had been underway for a couple of years, that Islamic extremists were going to attack France instead of Spain in 3/11....but they changed plans to try to change the outcome of the elections. Islamic terrorists seem to be planning other attacks on France, even though the French people are against the war on terror....

PARIS, France (CNN) -- Two senior al Qaeda figures helped train the people now suspected of planning chemical and biological attacks in France and the United Kingdom, European intelligence and judicial sources tell CNN.

The information comes after a recent wave of arrests in France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain that investigators say helped uncover several cells of Islamic terrorists who had the material to make chemical and biological weapons. And, investigators say, the terrorists were apparently ready to use them. (France, Italy, Spain)

Excerpted from.
www.cnn.com...

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou
If you voted Bush, then this magazine's joke is on you. Many people in France and around the world don't like you for what your vote did to the planet, your own country, and humanity--and they perceive your rationale as either greed, stupidity, or fundamentalism.

No, the joke is on you, on people who think like you, and every other european that keeps saying the war on terror is a sham, even thou Islamic terrorists keep looking for ways to attack everyone and anyone, including those europeans that are against the war on terror....

---Edited for errors and to add comments---

[edit on 6-2-2005 by Muaddib]

Originally posted by WyrdeOne

I'm not going to try and convince you any more, I'll just take comfort in the fact that my descendants probably won't share the earth with yours.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by WyrdeOne]

Oh boy, i am hurt now.... *snif*.....or....... could it be that my descendants won't share the earth around yours because of the smell of your descendants?.....

Ok...enough jokes... unless you want to continue....instead of discussing the topic at hand...


[edit on 6-2-2005 by Muaddib]

Originally posted by PeaceBeWithYou
Second, you're absolutely right about the packaging. I've worked a bit as a professional translator and can tell you that French will always be 140 percent the length of English. However, does this make it an inferior language?

I never said that French is an inferior language, however, it might be diagnosed as such, I guess, when compared to the things that have made English nearly universal. I certainly don't think the language should be abandoned, but I recognize that what has made English so useful is it's practicality in absorbing words from other languages and other factors that just make the world prefer it for business purposes. No one makes the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) use English as it's official language, but the dozen or so nations who participate agree that it is the language to use on the racetrack.

That is really my point, besides the fact that, to an American, having a government bureaucracy to oversee language usage seems, well, odd.

btw.. before you go off about school systems America has far and away the best Universities and Colleges in the entire world. And then the seperation grows with Graduate Schools. Now, the French have no right to act the way they do to us as yes they did help us with the American Revolution, but we helped them with 2 wars. Okay, that isn't enough, who backed out of Vietnam and left the other country high and dry? I think they OWE us.. Got news for you France, just because you are caught doing something illegal doesn't give you the right to hate us. Stop doing illegal things is the moral of this story. Man, i kinda hope but not at all due to the fact that people would die but if they wouldn't die i hope that france would get into trouble again via wwii and then come calling for the US to help them. Although we would, so it would end up being pointless, unless they were fighting a cooler country, like England or Canada.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Here's an excellent alternative to L'Anti-Americain: Pave France (the British need more parking)

And also: France Watcher.

Germany and Canada both don't support the war in Iraq - we don't boycott their goods, there isn't nearly as much bad blood between us and them. As said by others this "division" between the two nations has been around long before George W. Bush or the second Iraq war. When I was a kid, this was like 15 years ago, I lived in wayyy upstate New York by the St. Lawrence River. Ontario was across it, Quebec was 25 minutes away. A lot of Canadians came across to take advantage of the the lower taxes. I was in the mall one day and some Quebecois kid, about my age, gave me the finger and said "**** you homeboy". I still remember this because my mom was so aghast. The sad thing is, that wasn't an isolated occurence. That kid didn't pick up that it's okay to go to America and flip off American's because he doesn't agree with our policies, you get my drift? He learned that from somewhere. The Ontarians that I encountered were almost always friendly. And I understand that Quebec and France are different nations, but they often follow the same trends, beliefs and ideals. What exactly do French people tell their Children about the US?

There's just a big difference between the way American's and French view the world. Nothing's going to change that. Certainly there's not any reason for me to be angry for the French being anti-American, that's their choice. I find it funny that it's not only okay but absolutely acceptable for French to be anti-American; but extremely ignorant of Americans to have the same feelings about France.

France is quite lucky they have us to deflect attention away from all their international shenanigans. See France Watcher above. And it wasn't that long ago that the Eco-friendly French government bombed Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior. That's another reason American's get worked up over the French - they're often very hypocritical. Corruption and blood on your hands is a bad thing no matter how much it is.

You have to admire the French. They are more American than Americans are! Practicing a liberty, freedom, and independence that our founding fathers envisioned for us Americans. Unfortunately with our current government (doing things like making billions of dollar from the 'oil for food' program), we will never enjoy a life based on the principles our country was founded on, unlike other countries, like France.

Whatever curme! I imagine this is another rant about the Patriot act and Guantanamo.

France has tougher laws than the U.S. on terror. They can lock up anyone for three years just on suspicion of terrorism.

Not so in France, where four prisoners from the U.S. naval base were arrested as soon as they arrived home in July, and haven't been heard from since. Under French law, they could remain locked up for as long as three years while authorities decide whether to put them on trial -- a legal limbo that their attorneys charge is not much different than what they faced at Guantanamo.

In a 2003 anti-terrorism raid near Paris, police escort handcuffed women from the offices of an Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujaheddin. (Jacques Brinon -- AP)

Armed with some of the strictest anti-terrorism laws and policies in Europe, the French government has aggressively targeted Islamic radicals and other people deemed a potential terrorist threat. While other Western countries debate the proper balance between security and individual rights, France has experienced scant public dissent over tactics that would be controversial, if not illegal, in the United States and some other countries.

Source: Washington Post

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
bp
You commented on the world wars, and asked why France wasn't more grateful? Probably they were very grateful at the time, and in any case we owe our very existence as a country to the French. If not for their assistance during the Revolutionary war, we would be a very different place today. Our flags are the same color, they gave us the Statue of Liberty. Maybe they're just dissapointed this great revolutionary nation let itself be so easily usurped by a bunch of chemical and energy barons.

Lots of Europeans don't shower as often as Americans, but there is a plus side. They get sick less often because their bodies have to learn to live with the microorganisms around them. Showering too often, frequent washing of hands, constant anti-biotics, these things wear down the immune system through a process of atrophy. Don't get on your high horse because you smell pretty, you're more prone to deadly infections.

[edit on 6-2-2005 by WyrdeOne]

I was getting ready to blast you for not reading a previous post about American/French cooperation then I realized I was in a different thread at the time.

I did comment about the appreciation (in a different thread) and the humility the US held for the French because of the help we received from the French in the Revolutionary War, as well as our thanks for the Statue of Liberty. Its funny how they give us a Statue to honor the symbolism of the US, then chastise us for continuing to uphold our beliefs of freedom.

The thing is that with all the resentment held on both sides that if another Hitler were to come along and lay siege to Europe the US would be the first to jump in and help drive off the attacker.

I also believe if the roles were reversed and the US were attacked and needed help ..... never mind.

As far as the no washing theory, then why did average life expectancy double after sanitation was emphasized?

Even Nostradamus preached clean sanitary conditions would help stop the plaque. (SP?)

[edit on 6-2-2005 by bpletcj]

[edit on 6-2-2005 by bpletcj]

I have not seen ti myself, but I will ask my brother in la to buy it and send it to me. I suppose we will see how strong the anti_Americanism is by how well the magazine does.

If you manage to get your hands on the magazine, please will you put the article on adobe reader? So we can download it. Then we can debate about it better.

So the French are finally responding to the hate that's been pouring out from some (and before I get crucified, I did say SOME) American commentators and whatnot. I say, good for them. The thing that some Americans need to understand is that - surprise! - other countries have national pride too! I know... shocking, isn't it?

I agree with you this has gotten too far for too long, for the way some of our so called “American patriots” looks with disdain to the world with a mentality that “The rest of Europe should be for ever great full to the US” or they will be call names if they don’t, to me it sounds childish.

We in the US have our own set of clowns in the media that has been denigrating any country out there that disapproved the present administration policies.

So what is the big deal, other countries have their right to do so too, this is not the only country that had freedom of speech.

Oh look, yet another post of Americans blasting France...

So we have had the not bathing stereotype, then the 'We saved you in WW2' nonsense as well... the French never asked for help, and i'm sure if they knew Americans would say things like this 60 years down the line the would have told the Americans not to bother.

And then we have had, Europeans ( yes, not just the French now, all of us ) don't agree with the war on terror... more nonsense again.

And we have had 'England' instead of UK again, more ignorance.

I'm going to keep an eye on this post just to keep myself amused with all the stupid child-like comments that are coming out of it.

Come on people get real, you all know yourselfs that it doesn't matter what racial/cultural background we are from. If you had a mate who was french you wouldn't have the same stereotypes about them, you would just be going out for a few pints together and laugh at all the silly people posting silly comments on this website.

So less of the 'We are the US, we save everyone and they should be grateful' nonsense, if the UK was attacked right now and i knew you lot had that attitude i would give you all the finger and die trying, rather than having silly people help me who look upon themselves as knights in shining armour.



[edit on 6-2-2005 by Snoopdopey]

Originally posted by Seekerof

If what you say is true and they are just against the Bush Administration, then why not name the paper: L'Anti-Bush....helllooooo?! seekerof

[edit on 5-2-2005 by Seekerof]

Well, I've been to France and they're pretty Pro-Bush.

Just not George Bush, so I think you can perhaps understand WHY they didn't call it The Anti-Bush, otherwise Larry Flynt would carry it stateside.

Originally posted by Snoopdopey
Oh look, yet another post of Americans blasting France...

So we have had the not bathing stereotype, then the 'We saved you in WW2' nonsense as well... the French never asked for help, and I'm sure if they knew Americans would say things like this 60 years down the line the would have told the Americans not to bother.

Your probably right, if they knew we would be talking about this 60 years later they would have said no thanks to our help, of course they would be saying it to us in German, not French but they would still say it.

Just kidding. The US joined the war not just to help out the French (and the rest of Europe) we joined because if Germany was succesfull in conquering Europe theres no way we could have stopped him later by ourselves.

Remember it to the collective strength of the Allies (even the French were apart of the Allies) to stop the Axis powers.

Otherwise the entire world would be Blond hair Blue eyed German speaking people.

So lets agree to disagree on some of this stuff. No one side 100% correct no matter how long we talk about it, it comes down to both sides stereo typing each other.

ahh it'll be a good laugh especially how the way the right wing americans have been going on about the treacherous french and demonizing them at every turn.

"freedom fries" i love it!

PistolPete - Actually, French Canadians and France French aren't as much alike as people tend to think... true, we both speak French and fiercely defend our culture (for French Canadians, it's somewhat more important to do so, since we're 9 million in an ocean of 320 million English speakers).

We also tend to be more on the liberal side of things, although not for the same reasons. In France, it's because of the general European tradition re liberal/social-democrat thought, not to mention the French mythos of liberty, equality and fraternity inherited from the Revolution.

In Québec, it's in reaction to the fact that before 1960, the Catholic Church and clergy reigned supreme - hospitals and schools were run by nuns and priests, the Index still existed and was actively enforced, and economically the Québécois were second-class citizens working for companies owned by les Anglais. So after 1960, the reflex was to nationalize and put Québec on a more progressive course.

But I digress. On another side on things, we French Canadians are very North American and have grown quite different from our French cousins. They're sticklers for protocol, while we tend to be more informal; like the Germans and the British, they like orderly things (you should see how regularly trees are planted on the sides of the roads) while we prefer wilderness.

And most of all... we sometimes find them cocky and insufferably superior... somewhat like Americans. Maybe that's why Americans and French can't get along?