h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

<< anyone who wants to act as a human shield is by definition a nutter >>

I beg to differ

In my opinion, human history has been enriched by many brave people prepared to make a personal sacrifice as part of their refusal to renounce their principles

Furthermore, a debate that focuses on the faults of one regime/culture at the exclusion of all others is futile

I'm still subscribed, in the hope that this thread matures with age

Why blame the French for what happens in Carcasonne? They're Catalan there.
It's a bit like blaming the Brits for what goes on in Northern Ireland.

Seamus

at the suspected ETA=>France connection...

Have you any idea what the aims of ETA actually are?

Have you any idea just how popular the French are in the Basque region of France???
I spent a lovely holiday there about 4 years ago... treated like a king, a new friend in every single bar/hotel/restaurant I went into... Why? Because I was a Brit... driving an english registered car... Driving a French car through the same region, unless it had local number plates, is an open invitation to get your tyres slashed...


Yet again... I'd ask you a more important question, that I've asked a dozen times it seems, but you have yet to come up with an answer...

What's wrong with the French THAT ISN'T WRONG WITH 99% OF THE 'CIVILIZED' WESTERN WORLD...

let me repeat :

anyone who WANTS to act as a human SHIELD is by definition a nutter.

if you're uncomfortable with 'a nutter', read 'exceptional'

Human history has indeed been enriched by many brave people willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by refusing to renounce their principles.

(For a better account of being a more effective thorn in the side of the fr*nch authorities trying to set a bomb off in the Pacific, i encourage everyone to read Mr. Ingrams excellent book ).

Debate??? When did THAT start?

Focusing on the faults of one regime/culture ? :Check title of thread.

Threads maturing with age?? That'll be a first.
Don't hold your breath 6x7

alec.

...hold on whiz, i'm getting to you.

Seamus...
a)
1. take out yer atlas.

2. find Carcassone.

3. tell me what country it is in.

b)
Funnily enough i've heard a lot of people blaming the 'Brits' for what goes on in Northern Ireland.
Personally i blame William of Orange


...hmmmm.....hang on a minute....Wasnt he FR*NCH ???


alec.

s too, but briefly...
Whisky :
I know full well the 'aims' of ETA. I lived in Espana for 10 years.

ETA are a bunch of cowardly terrorists, who 'train' together with the IRA/ RealIRA / NewimprovedIRAwithaddedSemtex in the algerian desert.
Then they come back to the Spanish mainland and KILL PEOPLE.

but i digress...

What's wrong with the Fr*nch that isn't wrong with 99% of the rest of etc.??....that is what this thread is about mon ami.

by the way...i'd watch out for that eagle chap...he says that he likes effeminate frenchmen

alec.

William of Orange, I am pretty sure was Dutch, he was offered it because he was a protestant monarch. I could just see parliament of the time offering the reigns of power to the catholic monarch of the ancient enemy. Please check facts before allowing them into a thread. Thank you, this has been a public service announcement....
BCNU - Crescent

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=676&e=4&u=/usatoday/20030220/ts_usatoday/4883521

Alec,

I like other people in general, if I can.

Alec, to answer your points


a)Yes it is part of France but the PEOPLE are Catalan... "Since the French occupation the Catalan territories beyond the Pyrenees, are known by the people as the North of Catalonia. The people from the counties of Rosselló, Vallespir, Capcir and Conflent, together with half the Cerdanya, are called and are Catalans, and it was considered an injury to call them French or Catalan-French. Those counties are part of our land, and some day will belong again to our nation, in a Catalan country, unified, free and independent."

Taken from


http://www.freecatalonia.com/main.asp?opc=3&idi=eng



b) Apparently not French...The Man who shaped the frontier
Dutch prince William of Orange (1650-1702) spent his life fighting French king Louis XIV's plans to capture most of the crumbling Spanish empire in the Netherlands. But for William's opposition, northern France might have included most of Belgium and Luxembourg...
As "stadholder" - chosen ruler of the Dutch republic - he organised and led their army to make it an effective fighting force against the French - saving Holland's hard-won independence (finally recognised in 1648 after 80 years of fighting)


Seamus

Hi Croissant...

'The small principality of Orange, now included in the french 'departement' of Vaucluse traces back its history as an independent sovereignty to the time of Charlemagne.'

Philibert,Prince of Orange-Chalons (1502-1530) was awarded considerable properties in NL for services to Emperor Charles V.

William II,who was the son of Louise de Coligny(F) and Frederick Henry(NL?), Prince of Orange, married princess Mary of England in 1641 (he was 15, she was 9 ) however smallpox got him in 1650.

His son, William III, was born one week later.
Louis XIV conquered the principality of Orange and our Will III
rode over to Ireland and started bonking the peasants on the head from the height of his horse...and the rest is history.

Now there's a FRENCH CONNECTION if ever there was one.

thanks for making me look that up Crescent

alec.

hi eagle

if this thread descends to the level of jay leno, i will be the first to unsubscribe.

i like people too, the fact of the matter is that some of my best friends and colleagues are fr*nch and a week does not go by without me having a serious conversation with them in that language.

sorry to point out your grammatical error, but it was a common mistake. Should be "J'aime La France" or J'aime LES Francais
(or francaises depending on your persuasion)

alec.

A French connection would be when England was overrun by them about 1000 years ago. They were never kicked out, so we are French, so maybe the question should be what is wrong with us? Hmmmm, where to start? Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

seamus...
a)
when exactly ARE the Catalan people going to rise up and throw off the yoke of their opressors...?

I'll go fight for them, i could become the Orwell/Lee/Hemingway of my time....nah, too old already.

b)
someone might like to remind M. Chirac that Luxembourg and Belg*um
do NOT belong to Fr*nce...come to think of it, someone might like to remind the belg*ans and the people from the Royal Duchy of that fact too.

alec.

So you're not keen on the Belgians and the Luxembourgeois either then Alec. Funny that. Why don't you try this website for more well reasoned arguments supporting your thesis?

www.thesun.co.uk

Sprout

gosh sprout...you don't read that trash do you?

i was a waiter at the hotel Stella Maris in Oostende for quite some time, and one of the loves of my life is from Zonnebeke.

nuff said.

last time i was in Luxembourg the lights were green and i nearly missed it.

alec.

alec

a)The date's a secret

b)Isn't this thread what's wrong with the french, not what's wrong with Chirac? You won't even find many french who'll support Chirac.

Seamus

seamus...

have them send me a coded message then, i'll come over and slash a few michelins for them.

alec.

Wasn't the campaign to get Chirac elected along the lines of 'Vote for the crook, not for the Nazi'?