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August 27, 2004

An Arrogant Nation Finds Itself Isolated, Losing Influence Among "Allies"

And I'm sure you're all crushed to hear the arrogant nation in question is France:

British bureaucrats are racking up one success after another in securing coveted posts in the new European Commission to the chagrin of the French, who have traditionally dominated it.

...

The quiet summer coup by the British has set off a fresh bout of soul-searching in Paris, where angst over lost influence at the heart of the European Union has become a part of daily discourse.

Jean-Pierre Chevènement, the former interior minister, said this week that France had been brushed aside with the dud job of transport commissioner while the Anglo-Saxon camp had walked off with all the prizes. "It's undeniable that the free-marketeers and Atlanticists have taken the lion's share in this commission," he told Le Figaro.

With job selection barely beginning for the next five-year term, the British have netted the powerful cabinet jobs in the external relations, budget and trade directorates.

The French are trailing so far with only one senior appointment: competition policy. It is a poor showing for a country that has always regarded the commission as a branch of its own civil service.

The British-led "counter-revolution" in Brussels has been gathering pace with the arrival of the Austrians, Swedes and Finns over the past decade, but it has now shifted into a higher gear after the "Big Bang" enlargement of the former communist states in Eastern Europe.

Michel Barnier, the foreign minister, tacitly acknowledged yesterday that France had paid a price for its high-handed treatment of the new EU states and failure to grasp that Paris no longer had the clout to impose diktats on Brussels.

"France is not great when it is arrogant. It is not strong if it is alone," he told senior French ambassadors. "France certainly has to conduct its own diplomatic action without shrinking back, but it increasingly has need of others. And the first reflex, I say bluntly, must be European."

Let me be more blunt: France's first reflex must be non-cocksucking. It's second reflex can be "European," but honestly, the big problem here is the cocksucking. It's the cocksucker-tendencies that really irk.

posted by Ace at 01:39 AM

Comments

Frogistan is in decline. It warms my heart.

The ex-soviet bloc members of the EU are getting slow revenge on them.

It will be complete when Chirac begs them for some contracts, and someone, ohhh Poland maybe, replies "Now would be a good time for you to shut the fuck up."

Fuck France

Posted by: krakatoa on August 27, 2004 07:01 AM

It is a poor showing for a country that has always regarded the commission as a branch of its own civil service.

Now *that* is a revealing statement. As much B.S. as internationalists spread about the Brotherhood of Man and "one world," it's still all the same old nationalism. They just don't have the power to assert themselves militarily any longer so they settle for bureaucratic bitch-slapping contests in the E.U.

Posted by: Smack on August 27, 2004 09:36 AM

Schadenfreude, almost feels better than sex.

Posted by: Golden Boy on August 27, 2004 10:23 AM

Pointing out when other nations miss a good chance to shut-up didn't win France any friends?

Posted by: rdbrewer on August 27, 2004 11:26 AM

HOW TO COOK A FRENCHMAN

First you must catch one of the greasy rascals and this can be harder than it sounds. Your average Frenchie is extremely cagey, wiry, and wily as he has many years of experience in escaping, running and hiding. From dodging jealous husbands to slipping out on checks, the Frenchman is without rival! In fact the Frenchies are experts at hiding from the many years of doing so ever since Napoleon schitt his shorts at Waterloo. As a nation, they are so accustomed to this activity that they have attempted to hide behind a wall even in modern warfare. The Frenchman refuses to be pinned down .....not physically .....nor verbally ......and certainly not politically. Therefore, you must work with a team. Arm 4 or 5 man with with nets, bags, and clubs and have them cover all exits and sides, while you go into a bordello with a bar of soap to flush out your prey. When he smells the Lysol coming after his ass, he will hightail it out the closest window faster than the speed of sound. At the first sighting of the unwashed, the sighter must call out for aid while throwing his net. As the team converges on the slippery frog, they must throw their nets as well to prevent him from his habit of weaseling out. Now, while the frog thrashes, you must tie a bag over his head and cram one in his venomous mouth, lest you be forced to continue to endure his insulting and pitiful cries. Repeated clubbing of the Frenchman at this point is highly recommended for relieving stress in the hunters and for tenderizing the frog's meat as otherwise it tends to be rather stringy. Cleaning and dressing a dead Frenchman is much easier than with a live one as he will not struggle during cleaning and you won't have any arguments during the dressing. Removing the guts from a Frenchie is also an easy procedure as he has very few and is neccessary for removing the LARGE gland that produces so much bile throughout his natural life. After butchering, you should soak your frog in salt water for 24 hours to remove excess dirt, alcohol, perfume, and cosmetics as well as for adding some normal flavor to the meat. Before roasting rub you Frenchie down with garlic, beat him with a bundle of herbs, and truss him up like a hog. At this point he should look and smell much as he did just before you scared him out of the whorehouse, only appetizing. Place your frog on a wire mesh large enough to wrap around him, after covering the mesh with leeks, mustard leaves, calf's ears, snails, whole carrots, and multicolored peppercorns. Arrange embers around the edges of a firepit about the size of a queensize bed in piles about 8 inches deep and place a large drip pan in the center. Your Frenchman will be ready for the table when his tongue falls out - BELIEVE ME YOU NEVER WANT TO BRING A FRENCHMAN TO YOUR TABLE WITH A FUNCTIONAL TONGUE - you would be lucky to live to regret it! Baste the Frenchie with wine frequently during cooking or he will shrivel away to nothing; reserve the juices in the drip pan to make a reduction sauce by adding brandy and more red wine, plenty of butter and reducing over medium heat to halve the volume of the reserved juices. It is essential to serve your Frenchman with a wine sauce to prevent the meat from leaping off the plate. Garnish each plate with a beret and a pack of cigarettes to complete your presentation. Encourage your guests to curse during the meal and wash it down with more wine than you can handle.

Bon apetite!

Posted by: The Moose on August 27, 2004 11:51 AM

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Top Headlines

"It's f**king f**ked."
-- reportedly a genuine comment offered by a "senior Labour source"
Correction: I wrote that Labour is losing 88% (now 87%) of the seats it is "defending." I think that's wrong. The right way to say it is the seats they are contesting -- that is, they don't necessarily already hold these seats, but they have put up a candidate to run for the seat. It's still very bad but not as bad as losing 87% of the seats they already held.

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

🚨ED MILIBAND [a Minister in Starmer's government] SAYS KEIR STARMER WILL RESIGN AS PRIME MINISTER

He has reportedly reassured Labour MP's that Starmer will be resigning following the disastrous results tonight

It's over

"The end of the two party system in the UK" as first the Fake Conservatives and now Labour chooses political suicide rather than simply STOPPING THE INVASION
Incidentally, the only reason this didn't already happen in the US is because of the Very Bad Orange Man (who is right on 85% of all policy calls and extremely, existentially right on 15% of them)

No political party that is NOT also a doomsday religious cult would EVER choose a cataclysmic loss -- and possible extinction as a party -- to support a toxically unpopular favoritism of NON-CITIZEN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS over actual citizen voters.

Only a cult does this.

Now they've lost 84%.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg
@zatzi
If this continues Labour loses 2,148 seats tonight.

That is much worse than the worst case predictions I’ve seen.

Cataclysmic

Update: They've now lost 88% of the seats they're defending. As I mentioned earlier, I think I heard that London will not bail them out, as many of those Labour seats will probably flip to "Muslim Independent" or Green. Detroit's 5am vote will not save them.

Yup, Labour is losing 80% of its seats...

The British Patriot
@TheBritLad

🚨 BREAKING: Labour have lost 80% of all seats contested as of 2:25 AM.<
br> If this continues, Keir Starmer will be out of office next week.

Reform has surged and projected to pick up between 1700-2100 seats.

Wow, up to 1700-2100 seats. It's not incredible that this is happening. It's incredible that the Davos crowd is so absolutely determined to privilege Muslim "migrants" over the actual native population who elects them, no matter how loudly the natives scream that they want to be prioritized, that they will gladly self-extinguish as a party rather than simply representing the interests of their own voters. Astonishing.
Remember, when they call other people "cultists" -- they are the ones so imprisoned in their social reinforcement and discipline bubbles that they will choose political death rather than dare upset the Karen Enforcement Officers of their cult.
Update: Now they've lost 83% of the seats they were defending.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges

Reform are basically wiping Labour out in the North. It's not a defeat. It's not even a rout. Labour are simply ceasing to exist.

Nick Lowles
@lowles_nick

Tonight’s results are calamitous for Labour. Not just for Keir Starmer's leadership, but for the very future of the party

STARMERGEDDON: In early returns, Reform gains 135 seats, Labour loses 90, the Fake Conservatives lose 36 (and I didn't even know they could fall any further), the Lib Dems lose 4, and the Greens gain 6. Note that the only other party gaining seats is the Greens and they're only gaining a handful of seats.
Update: Reform now up 145, Labour down 98.
Labour projected to lose Wales -- where they've ruled for 27 years.
Fulton County Georgia just discovered 400 boxes of ballots for Labour
Update: REF +156, LAB -107, CON -45
Brutal: In four out of five council seats where Labour is defending, they've lost. 80%.
I'm sure it's not this simple, but Reform is straight taking Labour's and the "Conservatives'" seats. They've lost almost exactly what Reform gained. If understand this right (and warning, I probably don't), all of London's council seats are up for election, and Labour might lose hugely there, as their old voters abandon them for Reform, Muslim Indenpendents, and the Greens.
REF +190, LAB -134, CON -56.

Updates on the Labour collapse in council elections -- which wags are calling #Starmergeddon -- from Beege Welborne. There are about 5000 seats up for grabs, Labour is expected to lose 1,800, Reform will probably gain 1,580, up from... zero. So this would be more than that.
People claim that while Labour has adopted the Sharia Agenda to appeal to the million Muslims it allowed to migrate to the country, those voters are ditching Labour to vote for the Muslim Independent Party or the Greens. Delicious. This shadenfreude is going straight to my thighs.
Oh, and if Starmer loses about as badly as expected, Labour will toss him out of a window Braveheart style and replace him. He will announce he is resigning to spend more time with his Gay Ukrainian Male Prostitutes.

Media bias and senationalism are as old as, well, the media:

That was written by Denny O'Neill and illustrated by, get this, Frank Miller. Editor to the Stars Jim Shooter was in charge at the time.
I always thought the gag was original to the comic book, but in fact the "Threat or Menace" headline was a satirical joke about media bias and sensationalism for a long while. The Harvard Lampoon used it in a parody of Life magazine: "Flying Saucers: Threat or Menace?"

Hamas is Humiliating Trump's 'Board of Peace'
[Hat Tip: TC] [CBD]

Tucker Carlson is pretty sure Trump is a wizard

Ted Turner Dies At 87 [CBD]

Podcast: Starting a new season, CBD and Sefton discuss their personal journeys to conservative principles, is Nick Shirley the beginning of a trend?, Iran trying to reignite the war, the Left attacks itself, even on "Best Guitarist" lists, and more!

TJM definitively ranks the films of Billy Wilder, like Some Like It Hot

TJM talks about Billy Wilder

Democrat Congresswoman Sara Jacobs cites Me-Again Kelly, Cavernous Nostrils, Alex Jones and Tuq'r Qarlson as proof that concerns about Trump's mental health are "bipartisan"
As Bonchie from Red State says: Know the op when you see it.

Leftists who have been drawing Frankendistricts for decades are suddenly upset about Republican line-drawing
Socialist usurper Obama cut commercials urging Virginians to vote for the bizarre "lobster" gerrymander -- but now says gerrymanders are so racist you guys
Obama is complaining about the new Louisiana map -- but here's the thing, the new map has much more compact and rational borders than the old racial gerrymander map
Pete Bootyjudge is whining too. But here's the Illinois gerrymander he supports.

Big Bonus! Under the new Florida congressional map, Debbie Wasserman Schultz will probably lose her seat
And she can't even go on The View because she's ugly a clump of stranger's hair in the bath-drain

Podcast: CBD and Sefton Charge the Democrats with fomenting violence against the nation with their rhetoric, Virginia redistricting going down the tubes? Trump's bully pulpit is not censorship, Lee Zeldin is a star, J.B. Pritzker is an idiot, and more!