Howdy!
Damit man auch ja nicht vergisst *wie* damisch sie sein k�nnen,
habens die Amis mal wieder den verr�terischen Franzosen so richtig
gezeigt :-) Aus der NY Times:
An Order of Fries, Please, but Do Hold the French
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
ASHINGTON, March 11 � The French may have Champagne, Brie,
croissants and even kisses. Americans, at least in the cafeterias of
the House of Representatives, now have freedom fries and freedom
toast.
With frustration rising in the Capitol over French opposition to
President Bush's policy on Iraq, Representative Bob Ney, the Ohio
Republican who is chairman of the House Administration Committee,
which is responsible for House operations, ordered the word "French"
stricken from all House menus. The action was unilateral. No vote
was required.
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"It's a symbolic gesture," said Mr. Ney, who is of French
descent and speaks French fluently. "Not to slap the French around,
but people are not hot on the French government right now. This is
just to send a message to the troops to say that here in the Capitol,
we are not happy."
But one man's symbolism can be another man's silliness. In a city
where the prospect of war looms like a foreboding cloud, where
lawmakers keep "go bags" packed in their offices in case of
biological or chemical attack � and where Democrats and
Republicans find little to agree on in any event � some in the
minority party were quick to condemn Mr. Ney's action as, well, small
potatoes.
"Making Congress look even sillier than it sometimes looks would not
be high on my priority list," said Representative Barney Frank,
Democrat of Massachusetts.
"There's a potential war going on. There's a lot of debate about is
Congress being actively involved in foreign policy. It's bad enough not
to be able to do anything, but I think self-caricature is a poor
substitute for thoughtful discussion."
Of Russia, China and France, the three nations threatening to veto a
United Nations resolution urging war with Iraq, France has been the
most unequivocal in its opposition, which is why the French have
aroused the ire of House Republicans.
"They have isolated themselves pretty well," said Representative
Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas and the majority leader.
But as the great French fry debate raged in the House, Senator
Robert C. Byrd, the West Virginia Democrat who has long bemoaned
his colleagues' lack of serious debate on the war, took to the Senate
floor. Through a spokesman, Mr. Byrd declined to comment on the
French fry/freedom fry uproar. But his speech made clear he did not
view a fight with the French, over fries or otherwise, as sound foreign
policy.
"The day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America, the French
newspaper Le Monde proclaimed, `We are all Americans!' " he said.
"Eighteen months later, the United States and France are hurling
insults at each other, and the French are leading the opposition to the
war against Iraq. In country after country, the United States has seen
the outpouring of compassion and support that followed Sept. 11
dissolve into anger and resentment at this administration's heavy-
handed attempts to railroad the world into supporting a questionable
war with Iraq."
By the time Mr. Byrd delivered his speech, the lunchtime offerings on
the House side of the Capitol complex had already been changed. A
sign in the food court in the House Longworth Office Building �
which, for the record, also serves tacos, vegetable lasagna, Greek
salad and Chinese lo mein � announced: "Update: Now serving in
all House office buildings. Freedom fries."
A highly unscientific survey of cafeteria patrons found opinion to be
either neutral, or anti-French. "There ain't a whole lot of need for the
French," said Roger Todd, an official with the Albany, Ga., chapter of
the Communications Workers of America, who was in town on a
lobbying trip. "I would just as soon call them freedom fries, even
though I'm a Democrat."
Noting that French fries originated in Belgium, a French Embassy
spokeswoman did not seem amused. "I wonder if it's worth a
comment," the spokeswoman, Nathalie Loiseau, said. "Honestly. We
are working these days on very, very serious issues of war and
peace, life or death. We are not working on potatoes."
There is, apparently, some historical precedent for the switch, which
was proposed by Representative Walter B. Jones, Republican of
North Carolina. Mr. Jones, whose district includes three military
bases, was inspired by Cubbie's, a restaurant in Beaufort, N.C. Neal
Rowland, the owner of Cubbie's, said he began serving freedom fries
after a local history teacher reminded him that during World War I,
anti-German sentiment prompted Americans to begin calling
sauerkraut liberty cabbage and frankfurters hot dogs.
"We bought little stickers, stuck it over French and put a couple of
posters in the window," Mr. Rowland said. "Next thing you know, we
were receiving phone calls from London, Ireland, Australia and all
over the continental United States."
By this afternoon, some calls were being directed to Mr. Jones, who
said he did not eat fries, no matter what they were called. (At 60, he
is watching his cholesterol.) He did a string of interviews, two with
British television. "I thanked Tony Blair on both," he said of the British
prime minister, a firm ally of Mr. Bush.
While Mr. Jones said he viewed the name change as a "lighthearted
gesture," some in Congress wondered what would come next.
"If China vetoes it," Mr. Frank said of the United Nations resolution,
"what are we going to call Chinese checkers?"
Yours truly out of the brie,
Bernd
A bureaucracy is like a computer program. Usually, the question is
how to arrange it so that what you want is composed of operations
that the
bureaucracy supports. In addition, in any bureaucracy, there is
always
*someone* whose job is to approve violations of the rules.
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