Working Man said:
I think the tension between the two countries is caused by having very similar high opinions of themselves, and their culture.
I think the other guy who said Italians have the best culture is most correct.
Them damn Italian cookies do it for me every time!!! Pavarotti gets the young chicks even though he is as big as a VW Bettle. The God Father is watched every Christmas, and Easter by more people than any other movie, even by non Italians as a holiday tradition. "Forgettaboutit" is an international saying and EVERYONE knows, and loves, Tony Soprano.
Manja Anthony!!
)
Well, as romantic as the Italian Mafia may be they are simply well organized theives and killers who are leeches and parasites on the honest worker.
I had a friend in Russia who opened a new business and found himself visited by the Russian mafia, pattern off the Italian fascist structure of leadership, and he was beaten and so was the women in the office with him. And they agreed to a regular series of payoffs from that point on, barely less than their profits and ... so we can be thankfull the entire crop of thugs in America are now snuffed out since the 90's, more or less.
As for the French, they are a people with no hope of achieving a reality consistent with their own image.
They refuse to compete for cultural dominance in the world market, and instead wall off their society off in a manner where the state television and media regulates all production of domestic media with strict standards against foreign influence. And so popular or not, they pay to ensure the continuing French state media is ran as their government deems fit. Which to me explains why they are full of shit all the time about 9-11 conspiracies and internatinal Zionist banks who run our world. They are dupes of Pravda ala Francais.
And since they flirt with communism more than any in Europe, their way down on the list and barely in the top 10 anymore... next year Italy should beat them in total GDP, and that's got to be humuliating. They make almost half of what the Irish take home per capita... who would ever think Ireland is richer than almost all in Europe, considering the early 20th century.
As they mire in socialist stagnation and refuse to deal with their hellishly problematic Muslim minorities, all which are growing to become the majority in perhaps a decade or two, it's like watching a society in total helpless denial.
And in that state, all the stale hallmarks of their former society, from fine dining to fine wines, and from being once a great empires to also claiming great diplomacy, all of those things are only mere remnants of reality, with their culture almost now wiped clean by McDonalds, Starbucks, and US music and media, fashion, technology, etc....
Once great, France is gasping for it's last vestiges of things that seem important but are meaningless now.
It's once powerfull economy is almost now behind Italy.
It's unable to even field a fraction of a division overseas.
It's proven to be a failed ally among Arab states.
The once respected permanent security council veto at the UN rendered meaningless.
It's challenge against American resolve empty and self-defeating.
To illustrate the melt down of France, both tragic and ridiculous, you need to detail a few storys to really understand... so:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2798627.stm
Chef 'suicide' after critics' attack
Loiseau was regarded as one of France's greatest chefs
One of France's most celebrated chefs has apparently committed suicide after his flagship restaurant was downgraded in a top restaurant guide.
Bernard Loiseau was found dead at his country home, a hunting rifle by his side.
His death came a week after the renowned GaultMillau restaurant guide cut its rating for his Cote d'Or restaurant in Burgundy.
Now the critics themselves are facing the criticism - accused of exercising too much power, toying with the establishments they assess and ultimately pushing Loiseau over the edge.
"I think GaultMillau killed him. When you are leader of the pack and all of a sudden they cut you down, it's hard to understand, it hit him hard," restaurateur and friend Paul Bocuse said.
Both sad and silly, no?
http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/2003127.asp
How NOT to Build an Aircraft Carrier
by James Dunnigan
December 7, 2003
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
France is considering joining with Britain to buy a new carrier of British design. Actually, the French had planned to built a second nuclear powered carrier, but they are having so many problems with the first one that they are quite reluctant about building a second like the troubled "Charles de Gaulle". Britain is building two 50,000 ton conventionally powered carriers, at a cost of $2.5 billion each. Under the proposed plan, France would order a third of this class, and bring down the cost of all three a bit. This project might not come off, because France wants a lot of the work to be done in French shipyards.
The new French nuclear carrier "Charles de Gaulle" has suffered from a seemingly endless string of problems since it was first conceived in 1986. The 40,000 ton ship has cost over four billion dollars so far and is slower than the steam powered carrier it replaced. Flaws in the "de Gaulle" have led it to using the propellers from it predecessor, the "Foch," because the ones built for "de Gaulle" never worked right and the propeller manufacturer went out of business in 1999. Worse, the nuclear reactor installation was done poorly, exposing the engine crew to five times the allowable annual dose of radiation. There were also problems with the design of the deck, making it impossible to operate the E-2 radar aircraft that are essential to defending the ship and controlling offensive operations. Many other key components of the ship did not work correctly, including several key electronic systems. The carrier has been under constant repair and modification. The "de Gaulle" took eleven years to build (1988-99) and was not ready for service until late 2000. It's been downhill ever since. The de Gaulle is undergoing still more repairs and modifications. The government is being sued for exposing crew members to dangerous levels of radiation.
The cause of the problems can be traced to the decision to install nuclear reactors designed for French submarines, instead of spending more money and designing reactors specifically for the carrier. Construction started and stopped several times because to cuts to the defense budget and when construction did resume, there was enormous pressure on the builders to get on with it quickly, and cheaply, before the project was killed. The result was a carrier with a lot of expensive problems.
So the plan is to buy into the new British carrier building program and keep the "de Gaulle" in port and out of trouble as much as possible. The British have a lot more experience building carriers, and if there are any problems with the British designed ship, the French can blame the British.
And yet after humuliation time and again like this, the mask of arrogance is going to break, and it's only a matter of time. And when they break it's going to be a complete collapse, and we'll probably feel sorry for the French and help them out, because we are like that. And it's going to look like this:
