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Ken HPoJ
Supreme Potentate
USA
1530 Posts |
 Posted - 03/24/2006 : 4:06:42 PM
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I don't think there is one paragraph of this that doesn't contain something funny:
The Times [of London] March 24, 2006
Chirac flees summit in a fury over use of English
By Anthony Browne
PRESIDENT CHIRAC stormed out of the first session of a European Union summit dominated by a row over French nationalism because a fellow Frenchman insisted on speaking English.
President Chirac and three of his ministers walked out of the room when Ernest-Antoine Seilličre, the leader of the European business lobby UNICE, punctured Gallic pride by insisting on speaking the language of Shakespeare rather than that of Moličre.
When M Seilličre, who is an English-educated steel baron, started a presentation to all 25 EU leaders, President Chirac interrupted to ask why he was speaking in English. M Seilličre explained: “I’m going to speak in English because that is the language of business.”
Without saying another word, President Chirac, who lived in the US as a student and speaks fluent English, walked out, followed by his Foreign, Finance and Europe ministers, leaving the 24 other European leaders stunned. They returned only after M Seiličre had finished speaking.
The meeting was furnished with full interpretation services, and anyone in the room could speak or listen in any of the 20 official EU languages. Embarrassed French diplomats tried to explain away the walk-out, saying that their ministers all needed a toilet break at the same time.
In the absence of his President, M Seilličre gave warning about the dangers of the “economic nationalism” being pursued by the French Government. The summit, aimed at restoring confidence in the future of the EU, has been overshadowed by a row over the tide of protectionism sweeping the continent, with Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, cautioning about the danger of raising barriers to foreign competition.
President Chirac, who recently denounced British food as the worst in the world after Finnish, has led an increasingly eccentric campaign to try to turn back the growing dominance of English in the EU and across the world. French and English are equal official languages in the EU, but the enlargement of the Union has entrenched the dominance of English.
Jacques Delors, the former President of the European Commission, used to ban journalists from posing questions in English in the press room.
When President Chirac had a one-to-one dinner last year with President Bush, he insisted on speaking his mother tongue the whole time, even though the US President could understand him only through an interpreter.
At one UN summit where there was no translation, President Chirac pretended not to understand questions in English and demanded that Tony Blair, who speaks French, act as his interpreter.
President Chirac has announced plans to start a French version of CNN to promote culture. He was furious when its managers disclosed that most of the output would be in English because otherwise few would understand it.
PEGGY: I don't see how having a girl on the team would ruin it. Did a woman judge ruin the Supreme Court?
HANK: Yes, and that woman's name was Earl Warren.
--King of the Hill |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2006 : 5:19:31 PM
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quote:
Embarrassed French diplomats tried to explain away the walk-out, saying that their ministers all needed a toilet break at the same time.
When I read that, I needed a toilet break.
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://henrybrennan.blogspot.com/ |
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hentai_wolf
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
139 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2006 : 8:12:30 PM
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| Perhaps he stepped out to have some freedom fries. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2006 : 8:16:33 PM
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Priceless!!
quote:
President Chirac, who recently denounced British food as the worst in the world after Finnish,
That sound like the beginning of something Douglas Adams would write. Bring forth the British Food Appreciation Chairs. And don't you love when things get denounced?? It's so totalitarian.
Well don't worry Jacques. Yours will always be the language of love. And of having your ass handed to you. Hey, we kid. *g* |
Edited by - Sardu on 03/24/2006 8:21:52 PM |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2006 : 8:50:42 PM
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Until I read that sentence it never dawned on me that the Finnish even had their own personal cuisine. You never hear about Finnish cuisine anywhere.
Seriously though, nothing in that article surprises me. Chirac and his administration have been wanting to fill the superpower void left by dissolution of the Soviet Union and I'm sure in their minds it's hard to be considered an equal to the US when people speak the English language instead of French. I'm surprised nobody reported smoke coming out of Chirac's ears when he was told that “English is the language of business.”
Now Playing in Foyeurism at Schlocktoberfest.Com:
2 TURBO 2 TEEN - Turbo Teen returns one last time!
Plus: B-WARE THE BLOG is alive at http://www.livejournal.com/users/foywonder |
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Prankster
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
727 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2006 : 03:02:16 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by TheFoywonder
Until I read that sentence it never dawned on me that the Finnish even had their own personal cuisine. You never hear about Finnish cuisine anywhere.
You mean you haven't sampled the delicacy that is LUTEFISK?!?
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Check out my online comics at [URL]http://www.phantasmictales.com[/URL]! |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2006 : 04:30:23 AM
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| Damn! I learned the wrong language. |
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Asta Kask
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Sweden
263 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2006 : 12:11:50 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Prankster
quote:
Originally posted by TheFoywonder
Until I read that sentence it never dawned on me that the Finnish even had their own personal cuisine. You never hear about Finnish cuisine anywhere.
You mean you haven't sampled the delicacy that is LUTEFISK?!?
Lutfisk is Swedish and Norwegian. The quintessential Finnish delicacy is Kallakukko (lit. fish-rooster), which is sort of a rhye bread containing flesh, fish and rooster. It is so fat that your arteries congeal just by looking at it, but it was good food for the lumberjacks...
- Who is John Galt? - |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2006 : 5:32:14 PM
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The french are just mad that English squeezed out French as the universal language of nations.
"There was a time when French was the international language of diplomacy. The Little Empire That Couldn’t is still quite bitter that their native tongue became irrelevant long ago. Not only is English the modern language of diplomacy and business, thanks to Hollywood it is also the language of popular culture. Bureaucrats in Paris and Montreal scramble to pass legislation forbidding American words from slipping into their beloved Franciasse. They should relax and accept the improvement. English is clearly the more pleasant language ? filled with words completely unknown to our Gallic brethren — words like courtesy, gratuity, and deodorant. "
Tim Slagle, comedian
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nshumate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
464 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2006 : 07:32:38 AM
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quote:
Until I read that sentence it never dawned on me that the Finnish even had their own personal cuisine. You never hear about Finnish cuisine anywhere.
Sure you do, in any house with children and vegetables.
"I told you to Finnish your broccoli!"
Nathan Shumate
http://www.coldfusionvideo.com |
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2006 : 12:34:20 PM
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I bet there is a fortune waiting to be made with a English/Finnish fusion cousine restaurant.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2006 : 3:31:29 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Nemo
English is clearly the more pleasant language ? filled with words completely unknown to our Gallic brethren — words like courtesy, gratuity, and deodorant. "
Don't forget "grits", "goon", "lowrider" and "pin-up".
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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John Doe
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
91 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2006 : 5:24:29 PM
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Didn't they pass a law against the word "e-mail" a year or so ago?
my eyes!! the goggles do nothing!! |
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CDiehl
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2006 : 7:14:24 PM
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Didn't they pass a law against the word "e-mail" a year or so ago?
I guess freedom of speech is just what happens in other countries, huh France? Can we laugh at how pathetic and inconsequential France is now, since they have to ban words to feel like they matter?
You know Grand Funk, don't you? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The ... adequate drumwork of Don Brewer? |
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Meagen
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
Poland
93 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2006 : 2:53:46 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by John Doe
Didn't they pass a law against the word "e-mail" a year or so ago?
They didn't pass an actual *law*, it was more like an attempt to create a new language rule (sort of like the bans against splitting infinitives or ending sentences with prepositions in English). |
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John Doe
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
91 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2006 : 5:19:26 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Meagen
quote:
Originally posted by John Doe
Didn't they pass a law against the word "e-mail" a year or so ago?
They didn't pass an actual *law*, it was more like an attempt to create a new language rule (sort of like the bans against splitting infinitives or ending sentences with prepositions in English).
my eyes!! the goggles do nothing!! |
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