← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Sertorius
Thread ID: 19956 | Posts: 30 | Started: 2005-09-02
2005-09-02 16:31 | User Profile
Newsday.com
France May Mobilize Relief From Caribbean By Associated Press
September 1, 2005, 7:51 AM EDT
PARIS -- French humanitarian aid officials met on Thursday to examine ways of providing support for victims of Hurricane Katrina in the United States, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said. France is considering ways of mobilizing relief teams from the French Antilles in the Caribbean, ministry spokesman Denis Simonneau said at a news conference.
"France expresses its readiness to bring this aid based on the needs American authorities express," he said. French authorities were following Katrina's aftermath "with particular attention," he added.
Authorities set up a telephone hotline in France for people to obtain information about relatives or friends who may be missing in the hurricane-ravaged region, Simonneau said.
It was not immediately clear how many French citizens might have been in the region when the hurricane hit.
A day earlier, French President Jacques Chirac sent a message of solidarity to U.S. President George W. Bush, saying France was standing by the victims of the hurricane.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc. [url]http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-france-us-katrina-hk4,0,3158753,print.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines[/url]
2005-09-02 18:46 | User Profile
Oh, what Irony.
I hope all those flag-waving, French haters take note of this.
2005-09-02 18:49 | User Profile
Perhaps Fox News can fill us in on what "our only reliable ally" has done for hurricane victims while our mortal foes from Europe have volunteered money and manpower.
2005-09-02 18:52 | User Profile
I wonder if Limbaugh is going to demand a boycott of French aid?
2005-09-02 18:52 | User Profile
Bruce,
Yeah, that's why I posted it so the lurkers will see it. Later on I'll see if I can find a list of other doners. I know the Canadians have offered help, but are having a problem with "Homeland Security". (sic)
By the way, as of yesterday there wasn't anything about this disaster on the official website of the Israeli embassy. Not even a word of condolence.
2005-09-02 18:54 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius] By the way, as of yesterday there wasn't anything about this disaster on the official website of the Israeli embassy. Not even a word of condolence.[/QUOTE] They must be carefully crafting the wording of the condolence to make sure it doesn't 'minimize the Holocaust.'
2005-09-02 19:25 | User Profile
If anything, the current French government is too friendly to the Bush regime. I bet Le Pen is nauseous over Chirac's groveling about "solidarity with President Bush."
2005-09-02 20:28 | User Profile
[COLOR=Purple][FONT=Arial][B][I] - "If anything, the current French government is too friendly to the Bush regime. I bet Le Pen is nauseous over Chirac's groveling about "solidarity with President Bush."[/I][/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
Hey man, don't help neocons fan this artificial fratricidal hatred between Americans and European Whites.
(and Le Pen should not either)
Petr
2005-09-02 20:31 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Petr][color=Purple][font=Arial] - "If anything, the current French government is too friendly to the Bush regime. I bet Le Pen is nauseous over Chirac's groveling about "solidarity with President Bush."[/font][/color]
Hey man, don't help neocons fan this artificial fratricidal hatred between Americans and European Whites.
(and Le Pen should not either)
Petr[/QUOTE] We're not, just the opposite, the problem is the corrupt Chirac government and not the people of France.
2005-09-02 20:35 | User Profile
[QUOTE]fan this artificial fratricidal hatred between Americans and European Whites.[/QUOTE] And on that, here is a news story from not long ago:
PARIS (Reuters) - Americans seem to be schizophrenic when it comes to their opinion of France.
Arrogant is the best way to describe the French, according to nearly three out of every 10 Americans, but almost as many would call them open, a Le Figaro magazine poll showed on Thursday.
Some two thirds of Americans see France as a land of liberty and human rights in which people can freely practice their religion, and yet almost one third call it an anti-Semitic country.
Relations between the United States and France are expected to improve in the coming years by 36 percent of Americans and to deteriorate by 22 percent.
But the cliches associated with France tend to be more positive than negative -- ask Americans what best symbolizes France and the good things in life come to the fore, with Paris, wine, and gastronomy topping the list, while strikes barely get a mention.
The survey polled 1,000 people between July 6 and 10.
[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050826/od_nm/americans_france_dc;_ylt=Agi8H0UH7b5Ty9RY0P4eoOztiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050826/od_nm/americans_france_dc;_ylt=Agi8H0UH7b5Ty9RY0P4eoOztiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl[/url]
2005-09-02 20:42 | User Profile
Some two thirds of Americans see France as a land of liberty and human rights in which people can freely practice their religion, and yet almost one third call it an anti-Semitic country.
The first thing that comes to mind to 1/3 of Americans when they hear "France" is "anti-Semitic country?" In other words, in the minds of 1/3 of Americans, the most important if not sole determinant of a nation's worth is its attitude towards Jews? Now, I can certainly understand Jews thinking in these provincial, ethno-centric terms, but what about the other 31% of Americans who think this way? How did "anti-Semitism" become the litmus test for a nation's worth in the eyes of gentile Americans?
Pavlov's dogs, make way for the Fox News fan.
2005-09-02 20:47 | User Profile
[QUOTE=robinder]And on that, here is a news story from not long ago: Just to be as clear as possible, I love France; I just don't like the Chirac government. I'd much rather Front National have power. I wish Chirac were as anti-Bush as the neocons say.
As for 1/3rd of Americans calling France an "anti-Semitic" country, why do they say that like it's a bad thing?
2005-09-02 20:50 | User Profile
[COLOR=RoyalBlue][FONT=Arial][I][B] - "Perhaps Fox News can fill us in on what "our only reliable ally" has done for hurricane victims while our mortal foes from Europe have volunteered money and manpower."[/B][/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
Well, I just checked "Israel Insider":
[COLOR=Orange][SIZE=4]"Sharon offers U.S. immediate Israeli help to Katrina victims"[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[url]http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Diplomacy/6473.htm[/url]
Petr
2005-09-02 23:46 | User Profile
[QUOTE=AntiYuppie] 1/3 of Americans [/QUOTE]
The poll might be a classic glass half-full or half-empty situation.
A third might be a figure high enough to trouble us, but we can take some satisfaction that it is a fairly small number compared to the number who apparently do not consider France "anti-semitic".
I've held that this supposed American-French feud is mostly a media creation, I said that before and I stand by it. There was a similar study earlier this year that stated a solid majority, I think it was a little over 60% espoused favorable views of France.
2005-09-03 00:05 | User Profile
So long as they speak New Orleans slang, as well as French and English, they will potentially be very helpful. Or are they coming to reclaim New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory for the Fourth Republic? Are their helicopters painted black? :dry:
On the bright side, their general aversion to bathing will handicap them less in a town where there is little running water, a logistic boon for them, certainly. :holiday:
All kidding aside, it is nice to see assistance generously offered from our friends from across the pond.
AE
[QUOTE=Bruce]Oh, what Irony.
I hope all those flag-waving, French haters take note of this.[/QUOTE]
2005-09-03 03:21 | User Profile
Hooray for France. I always thought that Chirac was the most corrupt and unimaginative politician in the West. He is a paragon of civic virtue compared to Bush!
2005-09-03 10:03 | User Profile
[QUOTE=AntiYuppie]The first thing that comes to mind to 1/3 of Americans when they hear "France" is "anti-Semitic country?" In other words, in the minds of 1/3 of Americans, the most important if not sole determinant of a nation's worth is its attitude towards Jews? Now, I can certainly understand Jews thinking in these provincial, ethno-centric terms, but what about the other 31% of Americans who think this way? How did "anti-Semitism" become the litmus test for a nation's worth in the eyes of gentile Americans?
Pavlov's dogs, make way for the Fox News fan.[/QUOTE] AntiYuppie,
If this poll is reasonably accurate it not only shows the impact of Fox, but "talk radio" as well. Whenever hacks like Limbaugh and Hannity talk about the UN or France, they always preface their remarks in this fashion: "The UN, (or France) they're antisemitic and anti-american..." in that order, nine out of ten times. This poll reflects classic group think brought about by Israel's cheeleaders and a lack of critical thinking skills
Then again, we could look at the bright side. Perhaps alot of those folks who characterized France in that manner may not see it as such a bad thing.
2005-09-03 13:47 | User Profile
It figures that France would show support for in America's time of need, even after the shithead American neocons had 1/3 of America openly scorn them. For all their problems, France isn't controlled by neocons, therefore they're able to take the moral highground.
And I don't care what one person says about J. Chirac.....after keeping France out of the Disaster of Death in Iraq, the guy looks like a hero and a prophet and he's always carried himself like a gentleman in not telling Bush, "I told you so"....even though G. Dubya deserves his nose rubbed in doodoo.
Let's see if Blowhard O'Reilly tells his yahoo dittoheads it's ok to buy French wine again.
As for me, I'm going out to buy a case of red Bordeaux today, a baguette, and a chunk of Camebert.
Vive la France!
2005-09-03 17:25 | User Profile
XM,
I figured you would get a kick out of this. I did. :yes:
2005-09-03 18:18 | User Profile
September 1, 2005 at 1:39 PM Two dozen nations offer aid Associated Press September 1, 2005 KAT0902.FOREIGN
WASHINGTON ââ¬â In a dramatic turnabout, the United States is now on the receiving end of help from around the world as some two dozen countries offer post-hurricane assistance.
Venezuela, a target of frequent criticism by the Bush administration, offered humanitarian aid and fuel. Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp. pledged a $1 million donation for hurricane aid.
With offers from the four corners of the globe pouring in, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided "no offer that can help alleviate the suffering of the people in the afflicted area will be refused,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.
However, in Moscow, a Russian official said the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had rejected a Russian offer to dispatch rescue teams and other aid.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to President Bush and said Russia was prepared to help if asked.
Boats, aircraft, tents, blankets, generators, cash assistance and medical teams have been offered to the U.S. government in Washington or in embassies overseas.
Offers have been received from Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, Jamaica, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, NATO and the Organization of American States, the spokesman said.
Still, Bush told ABC-TV: "I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn't asked for it. I do expect a lot of sympathy and perhaps some will send cash dollars. But this country's going to rise up and take care of it.''
"You know,'' he said, "we would love help, but we're going to take care of our own business as well, and there's no doubt in my mind we'll succeed. And there's no doubt in my mind, as I sit here talking to you, that New Orleans is going to rise up again as a great city.''
Historically, the United States provides assistance to other countries experiencing earthquakes, floods and other disasters.
Germany, which was rebuilt after World War II largely by the U.S. Marshall Plan, offered its help in a telephone call to Rice.
"The German Government is prepared to do all that is humanly possible,'' the German embassy said. In his call, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer assured Rice of Germany's solidarity with its American friends in a difficult time, the embassy said.
Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon called Wednesday at the State Department to offer condolences and assistance. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid, about $2.2 billion a year. [url]http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5591456.html[/url] =============== [QUOTE]Still, Bush told ABC-TV: "I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn't asked for it.[/QUOTE] Oh, no, that would amount to a loss of face. [QUOTE]I do expect a lot of sympathy and perhaps some will send cash dollars. But this country's going to rise up and take care of it.''[/QUOTE] Yep, they have done such an outstanding job up to this point.
This reminds me of an incident involving the Soviets in the late 1930's. The Bolsheviks and a number of prisoners locked up in the hull of a freighter headed to Magadan and were passing through a strait close to Japan when a fire broke out. Nearby Japanese ships offered assistance. The Soviets, instead of accepting the aid simply solved the problem by locking down the hatches, killing a number of people, while they dealt with the fire. Excessive pride and secrecy were deemed more important.
2005-09-03 18:30 | User Profile
[QUOTE=xmetalhead]It figures that France would show support for in America's time of need, even after the shithead American neocons had 1/3 of America openly scorn them. For all their problems, France isn't controlled by neocons, therefore they're able to take the moral highground.
And I don't care what one person says about J. Chirac.....after keeping France out of the Disaster of Death in Iraq, the guy looks like a hero and a prophet and he's always carried himself like a gentleman in not telling Bush, "I told you so"....even though G. Dubya deserves his nose rubbed in doodoo.
Let's see if Blowhard O'Reilly tells his yahoo dittoheads it's ok to buy French wine again.
As for me, I'm going out to buy a case of red Bordeaux today, a baguette, and a chunk of Camebert.
Vive la France![/QUOTE] I agree. I went to Paris in May and the people were awesome. I even told them I was from Texas and we had a great time. A Frenchman I met in a cafe said that the French love Americans and that the keep hearing Americans don't like them. I told them that that was crap propoganda and that if it were true I wouldn't be there. He then said to me , "You have an idiot for president, we have an idiot for president. We are in the same boat." And indeed we are in the same boat. The French, as with the rest of Europe, is being over run with third worlders. Everywhere I went there were Africans. Earlier this summer there were reports that a shop owner in France locked Oprah Winfrey out of the store because she was black. The shop owners have to keep their doors locked to keep hudlums out, and those hudlums are overwhelmingly African. Viva la France indeed.
2005-09-03 18:35 | User Profile
BlueBonnet, was Paris (or France in general) really so overrun by Muslims and other third-worlders as neocons are letting us believe?
Petr
2005-09-03 18:43 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Petr]BlueBonnet, was Paris (or France in general) really so overrun by Muslims and other third-worlders as neocons are letting us believe? Petr[/QUOTE] I think I see more muslims here in Dallas than I did there in Paris. I don't know about the rest of France but in Paris it was totally what I did and didn't expect. It is as I expected a big cosmopolitan city with people from all over. I met folks from other parts of Europe, Japan, Brazil, and even a lot of other Americans who live and work there. Paris is a gorgeous city and the French are proud to be French. As they should be. I have heard my whole life that the people of Paris are rude, but folks from the rest of France are like us. Well maybe I'm rude and don't know it, but everyone of the French people I encountered were friendly, polite, and helpful. Very much like home. What I didn't expect were all of the Africans. Not just North Africans as the Neo cons imply, but black Africans. On the tour of Versailles before we exited the bus the tour guide said, "welcome to Africa" As we exited we had to push our way through a crowd of "Basketball player " sized Africans begging, selling trinkits, and just being black. But once inside the gates everything was ok. The French are having to deal with these folks like we are dealing with the illegals from Mexico. One thing that I noticed though is that the French are French no matter what their heritage is. You are either French or you are not. Not like here where we are hyphenated Americans. I think that perhaps folks are seeing the French as "rude" because they don't exhault multicultrilism.
2005-09-03 18:43 | User Profile
[QUOTE=BlueBonnet] "You have an idiot for president, we have an idiot for president. We are in the same boat." [/QUOTE] Bingo, that was my point. True, Chirac is less of an idiot than Bush, but that isn't exactly difficult. I can't forgive the way he treated Le Pen, cozying up to bolsheviks and screeching about FN's "antisemitism" and "racism". He's just a corrupt NWO politico of another breed.
The problem is not France or America. Our sellout leaders are the problem. There are lots of French and Americans who oppose immigration. Le Pen got almost 20% of the vote. There are loads of rank-and-file Republicans (and even some dissident congressmen like Tancredo, etc.) who are anti-immigration. You can still even find all sorts of anti-immigration folks on Free Republic. Even after all the purges. If RimJob banned them all, he'd have almost no forum left.
Both in France and America the people don't want immigration, and eventually real leaders are going to have to step up. Or there will be hell to pay. The French have Le Pen, Americans have Tancredo, for starters. One of the parties is going to have to start standing up for Middle America, either that, or there will be mass defections to a Third Party.
Viva la France, Long Live America! Down with Bush, Chirac and other corrupt cronyist traitors!
2005-09-03 18:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]This reminds me of an incident involving the Soviets in the late 1930's. The Bolsheviks and a number of prisoners locked up in the hull of a freighter headed to Magadan and were passing through a strait close to Japan when a fire broke out. Nearby Japanese ships offered assistance. [/QUOTE] I don't know, this might be a kneejerk racist assumption on my part, but the Japanese offered assistance? Japanese? Out of the goodness of their hearts? Are you sure it wasn't a trick? I might be wrong, but in my experience that kind of charity seems to be mostly a Western thing.
2005-09-03 18:50 | User Profile
Ditto. We need real leaders instead of the sell out trash we have today.
2005-09-03 18:54 | User Profile
Hamilton,
The Japanese were naval personel and this was prior to WW II. (1938) The story is recounted in Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. I can't imagine what they would want an old rust bucket of a freighter for.
2005-09-03 18:56 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Hamilton,
The Japanese were naval personel and this was prior to WW II. (1938) The story is recounted in Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. I can't imagine what they would want an old rust bucket of a freighter for.[/QUOTE] Good point. Solzhenitsyn is a trustworthy source.
2005-09-03 19:19 | User Profile
USA TODAY
France, Cuba, Venezuela among those offering aid WASHINGTON (AP) ââ¬â In an accelerating drive, more than 50 countries have pledged money or other assistance to help Americans recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Cuba and Venezuela have offered to help despite differences with Washington. Oil giant Saudi Arabia and small countries like Sri Lanka and Dominica are among the nations making pledges.
"I hope that will remind Americans that we are all part of the same community," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday as offers kept pouring in. (Related story: Oil reserves tapped)
None has been turned down, Rice said at a news conference, disputing a report from Moscow that a Russian offer had been rejected. However, she said some offers were being taken up immediately and others "somewhat later," depending on the needs on the ground.
But Cuban President Fidel Castro said he hoped an offer made Tuesday to send 1,100 Cuban doctors would be accepted "immediately so as not to lose another minute." Castro said in a live broadcast in Havana Friday night that he had just sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. mission in Havana to make the offer a second time.
In her news conference, Rice singled out Sri Lanka for praise for making a contribution even as it struggles to recover from the tsunami and earthquake disaster of last December.
And she said contributions from poor countries were being accepted because "it is very valuable for people being able to give to each other and to be able to do so without a sense of means."
Australia announced a donation of $8 million to the American Red Cross.
"The United States is so often at the forefront of international aid efforts to help less fortunate nations," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said. "So it is only fitting that Australia should contribute to the daunting task of helping the thousands of American citizens whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by this unprecedented disaster."
France, "determined to show its solidarity with the United States," offered a range of aircraft and two ships, with helicopters and planes capable of airlifting tons of supplies, a disaster unit with 20 soldiers, a civil defense detachment of 35 people and an airborne emergency unit, the French Embassy said.
Canada is loading three warships and a coast guard vessel in Halifax with emergency supplies and food, and will dispatch them to Louisiana next Tuesday, Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew, said in an interview.
Up to 1,000 divers, engineers and reconstruction experts will be aboard, McTeague said.
Prime Minister Paul Martin has announced the release of 30,000 barrels of gasoline and oil for U.S. use.
Japan said it would contribute $200,000 to the American Red Cross for its relief operations. Upon request, Japan is prepared to provide up to $300,000 worth of tents, blankets, power generators, portable water tanks and other equipment, the Japanese Embassy said.
The United States historically has aided victims of disasters, but it is not universally recognized as providing the level of aid expected of a rich nation.
In July, President Bush resisted British Prime Minister Tony Blair's ambitious goals for assisting Africa, though Bush took steps to double U.S. aid to more than $8.6 billion by 2010.
The United States, which has the world's largest economy, lags behind other rich nations in the percentage of its giving to nations in Africa, the world's poorest continent.
By Friday, offers had been received from Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Britain, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. [url]http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-02-katrinaworldhelps_x.htm[/url]
2005-09-04 03:11 | User Profile
May God Bless and prosper our French Cousins!
They were our Republic's first friends and allies during our War of Independence from the Brits--and despite the smears and vituperation of modern FReaker/Faux bores, France remains a greater ally to America than Israel, Wall Street and Rupert Murdoch combined... :thumbsup: