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Chirac spitting his dummy


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[quote user="Dicksmith"]Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away a young Jedi thought it would be a life-affirming experience to go forth and teach English to the masses, so he did a linguistics course (Development of the English Language since 1400). It was so good that he added history and then the time came to go to a school [/quote]

Young Jedi Dick did all this before the age of 5.   Dick, you deserve a really big box of Smarties for that! [:D] 

 

 

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Surely, isn't part of this, at the moment about Americanisation?

As we know, the USA is not presently flavour of the month in Europe.

US capital markets are champing at the bit to privatise EDF-GDF etc., only, of course, due to the instant profit opportunities they can see for Investment Bankers, Lawyers, Accountants etc, in other words all the normal greedy suspects waiting in the wings for someone else's economy to ruin as they have ruined their own! Hang the consumer! Centrica, amongst others have recently demonstrated how they now hold the UK to ransom, both business and public, which, with the total absence of a sensible national energy policy, they are able to do. Once Putin finishes tightening his screws on the energy oligarchs of Boris Yeltsen's era, his pricing structure for gas could prove interesting to Europe!

Tne USA couldn't give a fig for the people of France: or indeed, any other nation state (even their own!) when it comes to profit and exploitation, thus IMHO, France is right to resist rapid decisions on much of its future.

OK, so I am old fuddy duddy who rather likes good English: when people talk to me about things such as 24/7, I look them in the eye and say, "What's three and three sevenths have to do with this conversation, please?" or 7/7. "Do you mean one?"

The pervasive nature of the mass media means that the latest inane expression is over-used overnight.

One I particularly hate is starting every sentence with "But I mean....................."

What the hell do they mean?[*-)]

De Gaulle was an early protector of French culture, of course, trying to ban expressions like "le Football", "le Weekend", etc: and Chirac is apparently a De Gaulle acolyte.

Apparently, English and German have overtaken French as the most widely used second languages in Europe.[H]

 

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I am not sure that Gluestick is right about Americanisation. I think that it is internationalism.

In the UK we have opened ourselves to The Free Market. In a sort of clueless “play the game chaps” way, we have let so many of our companies taken over. The fund managers who are happy to get good prices for selling the stock (as it will help with their annual bonus) can only see short term. And show me the private shareholder who will hold on to BAA or Associated British Ports rather than accept the bid prices.

So not only do we need to import industrial and domestic gas but the companies importing, let alone the infrastructure are probably not UK owned. So in a crisis whose interests will these companies have at heart?

With Parliment full of lawers and university lecturers and a civil service empty of anybody who has ever worked for anything other than HM Government it is not a surprise that we have got into this situation.When was the last time we had a minister in charge of the DTI who had actually run a business?

EU retoric apart that is not the way things happen in the rest of Europe. Whilst I deplore their lack of “playing the game chaps” I understand the French desire to keep important French companies under French control. I also understand the French wanting to hold on to their language and culture but Chirac’s clowning will not achieve that.

Likewise the Americans do not like their ports being potentially owned by folk from Dubai.

On the one hand I believe in the free market (as the alternatives always turn out to be wrong) but I am worried that somehow Britain has lost the plot.

Regarding 9/11 - since I heard Ali G refer to it as ‘seven eleven’ I am worried that I will say the wrong thing in my dyslexic way, so I refer to that tradedgy as the Twin Towers terrorist outrage.
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I do agree with much of what you say, Renaud. However, without wishing to be contentious:[6]

Surely, in this main sense "Internationalism" or to give it the current buzz title, "Globalisation" in a real sense equates to "Americanisation"?

I say this, as the most pervasive attempts to forcibly change culture tends to be American?

Most of the bigger movers and shakers in the global capital world are US corporations. Yes, Japanese Korean and now Chinese companies are making significant impact, but they do seem to take a softer route. For example going into joint venture.

Asian companies do seem to have made significant efforts to understand the markets and the cultural differences. Which is why their products are so successful.

I have never been comfortable with the expression "Free Market", since in reality, there aint no such animal! Most major activities are sewn up by the few: e.g. oil and gas and they tend to be very much contrived markets, operated by cosy cabals.

The concept of Open Markets is perhaps nearer the original vision: yet there is little real reciprocity.For example, when BT was floated, Japanese investors bought large chunks of the equity: as they did again with gas. When Japan's Nippon Telegraph and telephone was floated, foreign investors were purposefuly excluded!

Totally agree about the UK.

The French, despite the EC and later EU, have operated a sort of hidden agenda right from the word go: post the Mastricht Treaty on Open Markets they have never actually been so. Good luck to France, is my opinion; France is for the French: and, of course, those who really wish to adopt their culture and appreciate it, as has been since the late 1800s.

But don't go there and try and tell them how to run their affairs!

BTW has anyone read the late Sir James Goldsmith's book, The Trap? Worth looking at, on some of these issues, despite his earlier incarnation as a globalist, extreme capitalist and billionaire.

Interesting thoughts, though and we will all have widely disparate perspectives.

Vive la difference! [;)]

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On a visit to my notaire one day. She told me that of course English people should learn French but at the same time French people should make an effort to learn English. After all we all now live in Europe and it doesn't really matter which language is used for things european as they are both quoted on most European documentation

I personally make an effort to speak French whenever I can when in France but lets be realistic. There is no way your average English person (me included)  is going to be able to master French legalese no matter how good their French may be. It's difficult enough trying to understand English legalese.

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[quote user="Renaud"]

Worrying, there is someone on Living France with whom I am in agreement.

[/quote]

Oh dear! [:$]

I'd hate to think I might drive anyone to vallium, Gus.

Perhaps we could start a flame war to make you feel better?[6]

Easy to do: we could pick a subject which neither of us knows anything about and thereafter argue black is blue for umpteen pages, using the AI forum model![:D][:D]

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