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French Raise Terror Alert


AP and UPI reported that the French government announced yesterday
that it has raised its terror alert level from "run" to "hide."
The only two higher levels in France are "surrender" and "collaborate."

The raise was precipitated by the recent fire which destroyed one of
France's white flag factories, disabling their military.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Anti-American, a teacher, a liberal, and some frenchy-frenchy blood in your pathetic veins. You are a prime example of Sheople that the evil side of the world will silently move in on and take over. You are already taking the first step by allowing your gun rights to be comprimised.But guess what, you got a big guard dog to the south, and you can spout your anti-american views right up until the time we pull your azzes out of whatever mess you might get into.We are the only country in the history of the world that fought wars to only serve others, protect ourselves, or promote peace in the world. We could easily put our bootheels on the necks of any country we want, and take what we want,but we don't. Why?? some would ask?? Because it is not the right thing to do(Christian)George Bush is trying to do the right things, it isn't easy, but someday I hope there will be more peace, and safety for everyone,Canada included. Our hypocracy will save more lives than will ever be lost. Merry fricken Christmas, thanks for pissing me off BCBRIAN.

Re: French support for the USA. During the Civil War, the French were poised to recognize the South. When the Kearsarge sank the Alabama it was in sight of the French coast and a large contingent of cheerleaders for the Alabama was present. Semmes took refuge in France after his tub was unk, France opted out of supproting the Confederacy after that.

I feel pretty bad about how things have turned out in Iraq. IMO the whole bloody region isn't worth 1000 American boys dead. George Bush has also spent all his moral and military capital so that real problems like Nuclear poised countries like Iran and North Korea may be impossible to deal with under his administration.

As for Sadam...what was he going to attack the USA with..a squadron of rabid camels? As for him being a brutal dictator..duh..look around the world. Whay start with Sadam? Also I hate to say it but when dealing with a population with a high percentage of crazy bastards maybe a bit of brutality and fear goes a long way. If you want stability in Iraq now the next leader better be a bastard himself or he won't live long. I am not sure the population is ready for or deserves a democracy. Sort of like Germany after WWI and we know how that turned out.

To my sorrow I think you Americans are going down the wrong road. I hope I am wrong but I don't see where Mr. Bush has advanced your self interests and at a minimum this is what war should do.

To bad Kerry was such a ditz and I am no Liberal Democrat.

Good luck and God Bless.

Takujualuk,

It appears you have the situation figured quite well. Old George even has more than a few convinced that not only is this "heavy lifting" but it's actually a mission from God.

Got's to tell you a story. Back in the early 1980's, I rode my bicycle down the coast of the US one fall. I was curious about the Vietnam War, since I was meeting so many draft dodgers in Canada in the years previous. Whenever I got a chance on my trip, I asked the US boys why they decided to go fight for such a cause. Three answers prevailed:
1. The government made me.
2. It looked like it would be an adventure and life was boring.
3. If I fought, I'd get a loan, an education, etc.

I stopped in at San Francisco for a few days and got to drinking in a bar near the hostel. The regulars were mostly vets, including a great old guy by the name of Sonny who had plenty of old holes in his hide from two tours of duty.

One night, Sonny and I had a few too many while shooting pool as partners, and I related my little survey to him, including reasons 1, 2, and 3. I told him I couldn't help but observe that the government of the US appeared to have its citizens a bit brainwashed, since as far as I could see, they were convinced to go fight communism by methods that mainly smacked of socialist practices, eg: reasons 1 and 3. Sonny gave me a Clint squint and looked quite angry at me. He just stared at me for a minute and then bust out laughing. He laughed hard enough he had a coughing fit and when he looked up he had tears in his eyes. When he caught his breath, his answer was, "Kid, you ain't so stupid." He looked like he was going to cry. He left his pool cue and stumbled out into the night. I rattled off people to go after him but he was gone. Never saw him again but I still remember the look in his eyes vividly.

There will be cowards in every decade. miles

I wish you'd quit sending alll those G... D.... Liberals up here. Send Conservative gun cranks instead.

I'm not trying to be obnoxious (maybe it comes easily), but there sure are a lot of Canadians who would like to tell us how to run our country. I don't see Americans getting so involved in Canadian politics. Now I like Canadians, and I think in general they are a pretty good people.

The French, however, are arrogant (with virtually nothing to be arrogant about) and corrupt. As said above, they were making ton of money off Saddam's regime and that is the reason they opposed our intervention. That and the UN Secretary General's son was running the oil for food program for Iraq and making a fortune off the corrupt diversion of funds. Getting rid of Saddam meant eliminating the gravy train.

Here is a link to an MSNBC article on the "Oil for Food Scandal." I think the French and UN Officials will be implicated, and the reasons for their support of Saddam and opposition to the US action will become evident.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6729467/

Actually California when it comes to issues like gun control, taxation policies, and democracy I wouldn't mind a little more American influence in this poor little country of ours. I guess no one wants to be told what to do by an outsider though and I understand your sentiment.

Believe me I hope I prove to be wrong.

350Mag, go look at a map of the last presidental election in the US. I beg to inform you, you sure got a lousy test area as San Francisco and most of the coastal area is laden with Hippies, and liberals. Just what did you expect those loosers to tell you. I joined the Army during the Veitnam war because I believe in God and Country, and I believed in the spread of freedom. And frankly, we would have succedded in SE Asia had our sorry [email]A@@[/email] liberal media not given the enemy the gift they needed. You should consider yourself lucky Sonny didnt kick your [email]A@@[/email] all the way back to Canada. That's why he walked out the bar........................

BCBrian,
Here's why we Americans hate the Froggies so much. You, being a history teacher, probably know that the NAZI's just walked over France in the Second World War. The United States later in the war came in and basically beat the NAZI's into the ground, never to rise in force again. Today, 60 years later, the French aren't helping us with our war, in fact they are "un-helping" us by telling the rest of the world that our war is pointless.

The French don't care what happens to the US because they've gotten everything they can out of us. What you said about the French helping us in American Revolution is strange. The French and Brittish have been at odds as long as both contries have existed, and this was their way of fighting the Brits with help. That's all. They were being selfish.
About 150 years later the French got walked over by the NAZI's. The US started fighting with the French because we had a common enemy, and because of our love of freedom. Point is, we helped the French because they were being occupied, but when the Froggies helped us it was because they wanted a fellow country to fight the British with.

By the way, What era in History do you teach?

I think the problems we see today are a result of ego more than anything else, but also idealogy I suppose. I've trotted around France on occassion and been subject to the love-hate feelings of the French. They hate having to admit that America pulled their butts out of the fire in WW2. They hate having to admit they're own irrelevance today. They hate having to need our business, our trade, and our influence, while no one seems to need them.

The last time I was there on an Army Reserve tour to Germany (1995), two of our soldiers in our unit were badly beaten up simply because they were Americans and walked into the wrong little pub in a small French town. On that same trip, on a tour of Paris, a friend of mine and my self were yelled at and debased because he took a picture of the Paris Flea market from the sidewalk and told "You Americans don't own everything". No amount of apologies would satisfy the guy and his side-kick. I finally laid into him with the comment that they had liked us a lot when Hitler had them under his thumb. That did not make them happy, believe me, but it did shut them up. It is even more sad when you realize it was they're own fault.

The very thing about America (and by extention, Americans) that they can't stand, our uniqueness and willingness to go it alone, is the very thing that makes us great. The belief in the individual's rights and the freedom to take action on the things we believe enable us, but also make us hated and referred to as arrogant and bullies.

There are some great French people, but they need to get a grip on they're government, and come back to the real world.

As to your comment on America not entering the war until we were attacked, well, as a history buff I would think you would know better than to say that. The times were different then. There was a great sense of isolationalism, but at the same time we supported the efforts by massive amounts of aid. Europe didn't bother to try and stop the threat until it had nearly overwhelmed them. They should have stopped Hitler (and Italy) when they could instead of appeasing him time after time. Many Americans felt, perhaps rightly, that it was something that was none of our business. We didn't want to be the world's police force then any more than we do now. We'd much rather spend all of that money on something else. But if we don't, who will? And if no one does, what would happen then? We have many examples in history of what would happen, and the French haven't helped solve any problem in the world for over 75 years.

I for one am tired of their whining. If they can come up with a better idea, then they should. If not, then they need to get out of the way.

A great American, Abraham Lincoln, once commented when asked about a sermon he had heard. He said (and I'm paraphrasing to the best of my memory) that the preacher spoke well and with vigor, but had failed to ask the listeners to accomplish something great. That is my issue with the French today. They fail to either do or ask the world to do anything that will accomplish something great. Until then they will continue to be the brunt of sad jokes like: "For sale, French rifle. Never fired, only dropped once", and "How many men does it take to defend Paris? No one knows. It's never been done".

To add one thing to the idea that France helped the Continental Army out, besides what has already been said about their motives it is worth noting that they wouldn't help until they were pretty sure we were going to win. Their help was important, but in the end we would have won, and the French knew it. There were a large number of comparisons between the British war in America and the US war in Viet Nam. It was very unpopular back in England....which pleased France to no end.

"George Bush has also spent all his moral and military capital so that real problems like Nuclear poised countries like Iran and North Korea may be impossible to deal with under his administration."

Give that man a cigar. So you propose to wait unti Saddam became a nuclear threat also? Same goes for Iran, it just can't be allowed, they have a track record that can't be ignored.

Another thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread was back in the eighties when Kadafy was making all of his threats, as well as supporting terroism. Reagan wanted to send him a personal message, and the French fought us on that too. Our pilots had to fly 1100 miles out of their way around French airspace. I don't think anybody can argue that Momar didn't get the message, and changed his ways afterward. Of course if the French had their way he would still be rattleing his saber.

There is some very good writing in this thread. You guys make me proud to say that I'm an American.

To my Canadian brethren, your opinions seem to reflect the differences between those of the breadth of this great land and visiting a foreign country, as you still are.

Hey Mark, you just reminded me of that. The French not letting us fly over their airspace to put Momar in his place. Johnny Carson made a joke about that and said" Americans should remember that this coming vacation season and not fly over French airspace" it got a very loud applause. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

As an aside, the last I knew the French could still own personal firearms, unlioke the Germans, where it is very hard for the average citizen to own a weapon, and England, where handguns are once again ugly. (They sure liked the ones we sent in wwII, though). Does anyone know the French take on the UN's attempt on a world wide gun ban?

[quote]"George Bush has also spent all his moral and military capital so that real problems like Nuclear poised countries like Iran and North Korea may be impossible to deal with under his administration."

Give that man a cigar. So you propose to wait unti Saddam became a nuclear threat also? Same goes for Iran, it just can't be allowed, they have a track record that can't be ignored.


I'll gladly accept your cigar. My point is there are more eminent threats and you have pinned enprmous resources down in a country that seems to have been less of a threat. Sadam was a vicious bastard but one who followed his old fashioned self interest of power wealth and greed. As such he seemed far more predictable than the religious zealots of Iran or that crazed mo-fo in North Korea.

America has also exhausted an enormous amount of moral capital in making a case to the world that proved to be overstated. You floated a soft ball to the America Bashers of the world and they are hitting it out of the park.

Trying to take on Iraq and North Korea now will be exponentially more difficult. They are much closer to nuclear capability than Iraq.

Unlike a lot of my country men I expect and want America to follow the path of it's best interest. I don't think your present course meets this criterian.

I am allowed an opinion because your country is so powerful that every burp and misfire in your white house blows back on me and my family as well. I want you to succeed and be prosperous and safe. I want the same for my family.

I hope I am wrong but your present course seems out of whack with it's stated goals. I do hope the Iraq elections work out and you can wrest a success from this experience.

Takujualuk,

"I am allowed an opinion because your country is so powerful that every burp and misfire in your white house blows back on me and my family as well"


It's a two way street. The Millineum bombers were coming out of Canada and into the U.S. How about keeping your own house in order as well.

Shreck,

To rebut what you just said would be effortless, but can't we stick to a discussion of issues rather than heading into "mine's better than yours" land? This whole Canada / US banter began when a Canuck came on and expressed dismay that the US seems to hate the french so much.

Make the effort. I was responding to being told by someone in another country they have some sort of say in our internal politics and made a snidly, "every fart in our white house" crack while failing to capitalize White House, which is now looking like insult piled upon insult. I simply pointed out that actions by his own state might get me killed. It is indeed a two way street.
The US and Canada share a very open border. If terrorists cross from Canada that will surely change, to the worsening of things for both sides. It's not a pissing contest, it's a war that we did not start <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />