As if I would buy a Chrysler anyway with their reputation for bad transmissions, but now they are going to start importing Chinese cars for sale here.
7-Eleven has announced that it will no longer use Citgo as a gas supplier, severing a 20-year relationship:
7-Eleven officials said Wednesday that the decision was partly motivated by politics.
Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere.
I'm thinking, "Great! I'll drive miles out of my way just to go to a 7-Eleven."
And I'm thinking that 7-Eleven will become the Gas King of Middle America because there's a whole lot of people that would feel the same way.
But no, 7-Eleven was quick to put a knife through the heart of any perception that a business decision has anything to do with keeping Americans from funding anti-American regimes or protecting Americans from terrorist-friendly, hate-spewing madmen:
The company's decision appeared to represent a broadening of U.S.-Venezuela tensions, which previously had been little more than a war of words between Chavez and the Bush administration, but 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told Reuters that was not the case.
The decision to drop Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA, was made well before the speech, she said, and based on 7-Eleven's desire to sell its own branded gasoline.
"People are making it out to be more than it is," Chabris said.
Further, 7-Eleven's official position is that Americans should keep funding anti-American socialist regimes:
The 7-Eleven statement said it was not calling for a boycott of Citgo, which employs 4,000 people in the United States, and supplies 14,000 US retailers.
"Americans with no substantive connection to Venezuela would be economically harmed by boycotts," the statement said.
In other words, 7-Eleven believes that a boycott that harms one thousandth of one percent of Americans is a bad thing. But giving millions billions of dollars every year to a nation that harbors Arab terrorists, openly declares support for Syria and cozies up to China is just fine.
I'll not be stopping at a 7-Eleven again. Ever.
Two musical brothers calling themselves The Right Brothers have a great little single out called Bush Was Right, the video of which can be seen in its entirety at YouTube.
Wizbang! finds their music derivative and I must agree. Much of it sounds just like every song on our "new rock" station. But I like these words better, so I don't care.
I liked it so much that I immediately jumped over to their site and ordered their entire collection. Too bad their latest release, What About the Issues?, isn't on CD — it's a free download.
I declare an AlphaPatriot Buycott on The Right Brothers. Go forth, purchase, and enjoy. I plan to trick a liberal into riding in my big SUV and playing Bush Was Right repeatedly.
HT to non-blogging Advised by Wolves.
Americans bought more cars, clothing and electronics last month, factory assembly lines kept humming, and home construction accelerated, as the U.S. economy roared into 2006, economists said before government reports this week.Across the western pond, Japan is experiencing an even better recovery as the economy grew at three times the rate of the U.S. and Europe. And Australia's economy is running at near-capacity.
Indeed, the global economic forecast is rosy for 2006. Except for France, perhaps, as the French economy slowed more than than expected in the fourth quarter and industrial production was down.
Meanwhile, Muslims the world over continue to try and ruin brave little Denmark's economy because of the silly cartoon flap, but the Buy Danish campaign*
is more than offsetting the effects. At least that is the opinion of Børsen, thoughtfully translated by Samizdata [HT to Michelle Malkin]. In part:
"It just might give a good effect. Normally there is a greater effect the other way around, when you signal disgust and irritation through a boycott. But the present situation is completely unusual, and many dislikes the Muslim boycott and the extremists reactions to the drawings. It is expressed through the buying of Danish goods", says Dominique Bouchet. ...E-nough! publishes an excellent dissertation explaining exactly why the Muslim riots in reaction to the cartoons is ludicrous and hypocritical.A simple search on Google gives more than 100.000 "buy Danish" pages."**
EU Referendum has a must-see post explaining why the Muslims should lighten up (the Lego illustration is hilarious, but the Coke graphic is the one that made me chuckle out loud).
Finally, Deja vu informs us that even the respected Financial Times appears to be biased in reporting this matter.
* HT to Rantings of a Sandmonkey for the buycott graphic.
** A Google search for Buy Danish now yields 8.5 million hits and this website is the 280th in the hit list. A similar Yahoo search yields 9.5 million in which AlphaPatriot appears 263rd.
Technorati Tags: Buy Danish, Boycott, Buycott, Mohammed Cartoons, Arab Street, Muslim Riots, Economics, Economy, U.S. Economy, World Economy.
The economy of the single-currency eurozone is five times larger than China's and per capita income is more than 20 times higher. U.S. exports to the larger European Union (EU) region, at $193 billion in 2004, were more than five times greater than to China but have grown a measly 3 percent since 2000. Imports from the European Union last year, $321 billion, were more than 60 percent higher than from China. U.S. foreign direct investment into Europe last year was $97 billion compared to just $4.2 billion into China. By virtually any measure, Western Europe is the most important trading partner, investment partner and strategic partner in the world for the United States. And the European economy is floundering.I boycott China to the greatest extent possible because of human rights violations and their military threat. And I will continue to boycott France and Germany because of their leader's and media anti-American rhetoric. However, I will continue to buy U.K., Italian, Polish and "new Europe" goods whenever possible — they are good allies.
BTW, Donald Rumsfeld has boycotted China for the last four years as well.
Update: American Thinker outlines Bill Clinton's abetting of the Chinese military program:
China is fighting a new Cold War, borne up by trade surplus dollars, which it fully intends to win. This time however, the administration of President Bill Clinton played the same role as did the Rosenbergs in the last one. Just as the infamous couple delivered critical nuclear technology to the Soviets in the late 1940’s, the Clintons allowed the sale of critical missile technology to the Communist Chinese in return for campaign contributions, the dubious nature of which vastly eclipses any accusation against Delay from even his most wild-eyed critics.Counting on the technical ignorance of the X-Box generation, Clinton dismissed the strategic technology transfers as merely benefiting “commercial satellite technology.” But as any marginally savvy space enthusiast knows, the technology required to orbit a satellite is identical to that necessary to hurl a Chinese nuclear warhead into the American heartland.
Two years after relations between the US and France soured over the Iraq war, French-bashing in America appears alive and well in light of a recent ad campaign by a fast-food chain linking France and cowardice.The ad by the Subway chain touted a cordon bleu chicken sandwich with the words "France and chicken, somehow it just goes together". A photo of a chicken dressed like Napoleon accompanied the advertisement.
Subway ran the ads in about 10 US states for nearly a month and pulled them in September following an outcry by members of the French expatriate community and other customers offended by the racist undertone.
But some were offended because, of course, there is more than a little grain of truth in putting a French uniform on a chicken. But the AFP article makes a big deal about the acceptability of French-bashing in America.
Of course there's no mention that Subway has stores in 81 countries, including France.
Nor is there any mention of the much more offensive advertising found in about 100 German Subways last year.
Like the image at the left that was featured on a Subway tray in Germany:
The trayliner asks "Why are the Amis {Americans} ("Amis" - a derogatory term for Americans) so fat?" and includes a caricature of the Statue of Liberty as an obese woman holding fries and a hamburger.The tray liner was part of an advertising campaign for Morgon Spurlock's hack documentary (hackumentary?) "Supersize Me" in which Spurlock claims to gain 24 pounds in 30 days by eating exclusively at McDonalds three times a day. If asked if he would like the meal "supersized" he always accepted and consumed everything, even if it meant gorging to the point of vomiting later. And he made it a point to not exercise
There is, of course, no mention of Soso Whaley's follow-up documentary in which she at nothing but McDonalds for 30 days but chose things like salads, but still ate fries with chocolate shakes and even Big Macs. She lost 10 pounds in 30 days. And another 8 pounds the next 30 days. In fact, she stayed on the plan for 90 days and lost almost 30 pounds. [It amazes me that a hack like Spurlock gets so much attention, even after his work has been thoroughly debunked.]
But I digress: back to Subway's horrible display of anti-Americanism, because it didn't stop at the tray liner.
After a large American outcry, the (American) company removed the offensive advertisements from their German stores.
But within days 
the image of a giant cheeseburger crashing into two skyscrapers appeared in a nutritional guide. Figures running from the towers include a man in a cowboy hat (gee, I wonder who that's supposed to be?).
The company tried to defend this image:
Les Winograd, another spokesman for the sandwich company, said Subway headquarters in the United States contacted the German stores, which claim "they've never even seen it (the press kit/nourishment diary)."Yeah, right.Selbert confirmed that information in an interview with CNSNews.com.
"Those were for journalists and they were never made available at the Subway stores," she said. But she could not explain how a customer at a Munich Subway obtained one.
Selbert said her company was surprised to see images from the press kit popping up on Internet sites.
Still, I've decided not to boycott Subway. They are not clearly anti-American: they offend everyone in pursuit of sales. A fine capitalist tradition.
And dressing a chicken in Nepoleon's uniform is a stroke of genius. After all, isn't it about time we got back to hating the French? [link is to a 2 MB download of an SNL sketch]
The once-great name has once again made a mistake of staggering proportions. It settled a lawsuit in which the parents of a boy who was shot in the face by another boy sued the gun maker (not the parents of the 15 y.o. shooter, who were also the morons that owned the gun and left it loaded and within reach).
The plaintiffs contend that the manufacturer was liable because they produced a product that should have been child proofed. Smith & Wesson contend that their product was not defective (then why did you settle!).
"The settlement marks the first time a gun manufacturer has paid to settle a claim for failing to childproof a gun," said a statement by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C.Thanks to S&W, it won't be the last.
The design changes demanded by the plaintiffs include:
And the shooter? Oh, he was convicted of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm in July 1998 and placed in Juvenile Justice Authority custody.
Time to boycott Smith & Wesson again.
Update: Clayton Cramer has an interesting idea:
Wouldn't it be entertaining to turn the tables, and file suit for injuries caused by gun control laws? We can't sue governments for disarming victims; they enjoy sovereign immunity for actions that are within the normal scope of governmental activity--and unfortunately, passing stupid and counterproductive laws is definitely within the normal scope of governmental activity. But wouldn't it be entertaining to file suit against the gun control groups that have lobbied for these laws?Read it all. Heh.
Said Ollila [chief executive of Nokia], sharing his concerns that the world is living in "an era of selfishness" unlike his childhood days, when family values were of prime importance: "What I'm worried about is that if this disintegration of values continues and develops further, we'll get a conservative counter-reaction precisely like what has actually happened in the USA.I think Motorola makes damn fine phones, and I think I'll be using them or other alternative from now on."This ultraconservatism, coupled with the elements of the church ... which, as we well know, has also supported the current (U.S.) administration, is a powerful counter-reaction to a longtime vacuum of values in society.''
Translation from Finnish to English: Conservatives are amoral. Religious leaders, too.
"I view the inauguration of Bush as a black Thursday for this country," Livingstone says. "We've tried marching in the streets to stop the war, we tried writing letters, we tried initiatives on the Web, but Bush doesn't listen. It seems to us the only thing Bush and the Republicans will listen to is money."This guy urges everyone to avoid spending any money on that day even to the point of brown-bagging it so as to not spend money on lunch.
Several problems are going unrecognized by this lefty looney.
First, gross economic figures are not collected on a day-by-day basis. He would have to get a large group of people to boycott for a week or even two in order to make a big enough blip to show up. These people will be filling up their tanks, going to grocery stores, and shopping on the internet the day before the boycott -- just so they don't get caught short. End result: nobody notices.
Second, Democrats own business too (believe it or not). Any broad boycott would hurt their own. Of course, they have that covered:
If people don't want to boycott all business, the groups suggest buying from just those that support Democrats.Which will, of course, completely eliminates even the remotist possibility of the boycott getting noticed in economic terms.
Of course they have that covered too:
The protesters say they'll measure success not in economic terms, but by whether people know about the boycott and if it sparks future activism.Which brings up the third point: Republicans are the ones with jobs. You know, the things that result in the distribution of money from a source other than the government? The thing that drives the economy?
So in celebration of Inauguration Day, January 20th, I will be spending my wallet out! I will lunch with my friends, fill up my SUV with gas, make large purchases over the internet, perhaps even dine with my wife.
Show your support for the president and join the Bush Buycott!
Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. is pulling its advertising from news programming on Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. television stations, saying the decision was fueled in part by e-mails from customers angry at what they consider to be the broadcaster's right-wing bias in news and commentary. ...Both aforementioned bloggers suggest a few emails from right-minded folk might be in order. CQ offers a link to a Staples feedback page while Dissecting Leftism suggests emailing Staple's Public Relations Manager Owen Davis. I did both.Yesterday, Media Matters took partial credit for the Staples decision, but said it never intended to launch a boycott. Instead, its effort was meant to inform advertisers of the nature of the news and commentary on Sinclair stations, the group said.
I am very disappointed to hear that you have taken the side of Media Matters for America and pulled advertising from news programs on Sinclair Broadcasting channels.Update: Amy Ridenour has the best post on this subject that I've seen.There are a lot of us who are tired of the left-wing control of the media and were supportive of Sinclair's courageous editorials.
I will follow your lead and pull my financial support from all Staples stores until your policy of squashing free speech has been changed.
Please stop all email solicitations to my address as I will be turning to Office Depot and Office Max for my office supplies. Both are slightly less conveniently located for me but that is a price I am willing to pay.
OK, so I rarely fly anyway. They look at me funny when I have a holster on my belt even though there's no gun. Still, Marine Corps Moms posts a letter to the editor that you should definitely read, especially if you fly and most especially if you fly Delta.
Hat tip to Donald Sensing.
Winding up her summer tour across Europe, Bonnie Raitt drew thunderous applause at the Stockholm Jazz Festival for dedicating a classic to President George Bush.Not that this affects me much -- I don't listen to her anyway."We're gonna sing this for George Bush because he's out of here, people!" Raitt crowed Tuesday night before she launched into the opening licks of "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," a cover that was featured on her 1979 album, "The Glow."
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer and owner of Sam's Club warehouse stores, gives more money to Republican candidates than any other company. Its top three managers, including Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott, donated the individual maximum $2,000 to President George W. Bush, and Jay Allen, vice president for corporate affairs, raised at least $100,000 to re-elect the president, earning him the Bush campaign's designation of ``Pioneer.''...Costco CEO Jim Sinegal, 68, is a Democrat who says Bush's $1.7 trillion in tax cuts unfairly benefit the wealthy. He opposed the Iraq war and supports Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts for president. And he's the only chief executive of a company in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to donate money to independent political groups formed to oust Bush, Internal Revenue Service records show....
IRS disclosure records show that Sinegal and Costco Chairman Jeffrey Brotman each gave $95,000 last December to the fund- raising arm of America Coming Together, a group organizing voters against Bush, and the Media Fund, which is running anti-Bush advertisements. The two Washington-based groups, known as ``527'' organizations after the tax-code provision under which they were created, report to the IRS, not the Federal Election Commission.Wal-Mart's political action committee, the biggest company PAC, gave Republicans 81 percent of its $1.3 million in donations in the past two years, a higher proportion than any of the top 25 corporate PACs, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan, Washington-based group that tracks campaign-finance disclosures....
Sixty-seven percent of Wal-Mart's stores are in the 30 states that voted for Bush and Cheney in 2000, according to a comparison of store-location figures in the Wal-Mart 2003 annual report and election results. Costco's stores are mostly located on either coast, with 208 of its 321 stores in the higher-wage, more union-friendly 20 states that voted for Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
Investors have profited more from Wal-Mart than Costco. Wal- Mart shares, with dividends reinvested, returned about 11 percent during the past five years, or 2.1 percent a year, compared with a 1.3 percent annual loss for Costco in the same period.
Sam's Club, the Wal-Mart unit that directly competes with Costco, had an operating profit of $1.1 billion on U.S. sales of $34.5 billion in the year to January 2004. Costco's operating profit in the year to August 2003, including international operations, was $1.2 billion on sales of $42.5 billion. Its U.S. sales were $35.2 billion last year....
Kerry supports a bill in Congress that would allow unions to represent workers after a majority of employees sign cards asking them to join. Under current law, unions can only represent workers after an election, which can take weeks to arrange and be influenced by consultants brought in by the company to oppose the measure, said Marco Trbovich, 62, Kerry's director of labor policy.
The company said it is sending nine truck trailers to the military, filled with 100,000 tools and materials, including shovels, table saws, concrete mixers, safety scaffolding, power generators, light bulbs and jackhammers. The donated goods left San Diego on Thursday.Earlier this year, the company also donated $1 million, as well as a million volunteer hours by its employees, to help military families repair and maintain their homes while a family member is deployed. The company said it has more than 1,800 employees currently serving in the military effort. It has about 300,000 employees nationwide.
We all know Reagan's legacy, from the Iran-Contra affair to the funding of the Nicaraguan military in which over 200,000 people died. The groundwork for the move steadily to the right happened with the Reagan administration. People want to elevate him to some mythic level; they have their own reason for doing that.Ronald Reagan was loved and revered by many. To use your position to utter such unkind words at this moment in time is more than just thoughtless or unkind; Glover seeks to denigrate the man and sully his memory, which is the kind of repugnant behavior that we have come to expect from radical liberals.
Glover might think to wait for a few days so as not to interject his politics into the lives of grieving family and friends. But compassion such as that is beyond the realm of a zealot such as he.
However, this did get me to thinking: what will be my reaction when Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter die? In order to not intrude at an inopportune moment, I just want to say here and now:
"Most of the other manufacturers have abandoned the low, entry level of the price market," said Rams [CEO of China Motors of Texas], noting: "Chinese car makers are committed to becoming a world force."With prices between 7 and 11 thousand dollars, becoming a world force may be possible.
The Geely sports sedan, called Solo, will cost $10,888 fully equipped with leather seats, power windows, a remote control entry system, CD player and wood trim. A fully-equipped Solo sedan is $8,888.The Geely pickup truck has a one liter engine that uses 6.2 liters per 100 kilometers, which is nearly 38 miles to the gallon and a top speed of 98 km/h (60 miles per hour).Some pickup trucks sell for $7,900, and subcompacts cost $6,900. The prices for the SUVs have not been announced.
Geely offers 3-cylinder and 4-cylinder engines, made in China, as well as a V-6.
Pictured is the "Beauty Leopard" which the website describes with this verbiage:
It is an urban sport car. Its pure ardor appears before you boldly. With perfect and smooth lines, it looks wild and sexy. The decorating tail wing and the integrated crystal headlamp, all match your enthusiasm and ardor. Dancing and exciting air contains your romantic disposition, your wisdom and your elegance.The infinite vital force and the excellent driving feeling heats up your endless enthusiasm in your blood vessels. It adopts MR479QA inline four-cylinder engine, manual 5-shift transmission, as well as hydraulic power steering unit, letting you enjoy quicker acceleration and accurate steering.
We make every effort to create the fine product, and what you need to do is to feel it with your heart. The double-color luxury instrument panel, adjustable genuine leather power seat, high quality sound system, beautiful dance and wonderful music will accompany you while you are driving on the road.
We integrate the freedom and security in the sport car. The braking system is composed of front braking discs and rear braking drums. It also has ABS system to make brake more quick and stable with good effect. Safety airbag is in front of the driver; the reverse radar and side bumpers let you demonstrate your individuality easily.
Michael Moore’s controversial documentary may get Disney boycotted after all.Personally, I've been boycotting Disney for years because of chairman Michael Eisner's virulent anti-gun activities. I may have to change my position if the liberal boycott takes place.Conservatives threatened to boycott the Mouse House last year when it was revealed that the movie company’s subsidiary Miramax was funding the Bush-bashing film, “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Now that Disney is refusing to let Miramax distribute the Palm D’or winning flick, liberals are organizing a boycott against it.
“You are censoring one of the most important filmmakers in America,” reads a petition being circulated by Democrats.com and signed by more than 20,000 people. “This is unacceptable in a democracy. As consumers, we are not powerless. We will protest with our wallets — by boycotting Disney products until you agree to distribute Fahrenheit 9/11.” They’re saying they won’t buy anything produced by Disney, including its films, theme parks, toys, and TV networks.
A few years ago I heard that liberals had organized a boycott of Exxon-Mobile. It seems that Mobile had very relaxed rules for benefits for same-sex partners and when Exxon merged with bought Mobile, they went with Exxon's rules which said that they would follow the laws in whatever state the couple resided in. Not that I'm against benefits for same-sex couples. In fact, I'm actually for them (and yes, I am a Republican). But this was a case of an organization following existing policy that reflected the local laws. I think that if you want to change the behavior, then change the law. I didn't see anything wrong with Exxon's decision and have been buying Exxon gas ever since -- my own little buycott to offset some of the boycott.
Personally, I quit giving to United Way long ago, not only because of the theft of funds but also because of the way they disburse their funds. Refusal to support the Boy Scouts, for instance, and for sitting on funds raised for 9/11 victims.
It seems that I'm not the only one:
Despite changes in leadership, the controversy over Suer's case has hurt the capital-area United Way. After collecting $45 million in pledges in 2001, the charity is headed for a third straight year of raising less than half that amount.Good!
The Hollywood reception alone attracted 1,500 people, twice the number originally expected. They each paid $1,000 for a ticket, and then made a donation, typically of $2,000.But Hollywood is going much further, insidiously weaving anti-Bush rhetoric into their scripts:
Some producers said they were simply raising important questions as part of a larger national debate. Dick Wolf, executive producer of the troika of "Law & Order" series, said his characters' critiques of Bush were in his programs' long tradition of equal-opportunity provocation. "Virtually everyone who lives in the lower 48 states at one time or another has been offended by 'Law & Order'," he said in a statement. But other producers are more pointed in their questioning than others.The problem is that they don't "debate issues". To encourage debate you must present both sides. By weaving attacks on the administration into scripts you are engaging in propaganda, pure and simple."Why does it have to become unpatriotic to do something that is our inherent right, which is to debate issues?" said Tom Fontana, the creator "Oz" and "Homicide."
As the Union Leader put it:
And that’s why this kind of campaigning is so despicable. To sell the audience art but give them political propaganda instead is to steal their money. These Hollywood lefties are pulling the old bait and switch on America, and they see nothing wrong with it. If they were being honest about it, that would be fine. But they aren’t, and one can see why. As last week’s debut of Air America, the left-wing talk radio network, showed, when liberals honestly sell their political opinions over the airwaves, there are few takers.In case you're interested, here are some of the stars you support that attended the fundraiser hosted by Larry David:
| John Williams (film score composer) Barbra Streisand James Brolin Ted Danson Mary Steenburgen Jason Alexander Leonardo DiCaprio Helen Hunt Lucy Liu Don Henley Ed Harris Dave Grohl Richard Lewis | Christina Applegate Oliver Stone Dustin Hoffman Danny DeVito Rhea Perlman Larry David Sharon Stone Ben Stiller Warren Beatty Ben Affleck Steven Spielberg Meg Ryan Martin Short Daryl Hannah | Tom Ford (designer and film wannabe) Anjelica Huston Tobey Maguire Quincy Jones Brad Pitt Jennifer Aniston Kevin Costner Jamie Lee Curtis David Spade James Taylor Mary Steenburgen Tom Arnold Jon Lovitz |
Forbes recommends Q Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 from Argentina for serving on Thanksgiving:
It's a sumptuous, lush, velvety cab brimming with ripe fruit, especially strawberries and cherries. There are hints of intriguing spiciness, with leathery, peppery undercurrents to give it personality.A nice complement to the meal for about $20.There's also enough good acidity to provide backbone, keep it honest and make it eminently food-friendly.
Everyone's always complaining about global warming as if it's a bad thing, but from the Department of Silver Linings:
Global warming may become a worldwide catastrophe, but at least the wine should be good.Researchers from three universities have found that vintages improved as temperatures rose over the past 50 years, especially in areas with cooler climates.
Analysts attribute that reversal of fortune to the U.S. consumer's growing view of Australian wines as unpretentious and affordable. They are, in short, very un-French.The trend has been helped by patriotic Americans showing appreciation for Australia for backing the invasion of Iraq, while shying away from products from nations like France, which opposed the war.
In terms of volume, Australia already had bounced France from second place among foreign wine suppliers to the U.S. market in the first quarter of 2003.
Now Australian vintners are also on track over the next year or so to make more money from U.S. sales than their often haughty and higher-priced French rivals, trailing only California wines in popularity, said Rich Cartiere, publisher of the Wine Market Report.
"France is in second place now because its 2000 Bordeaux vintage has got rave reviews, so its value has surged through the roof, but it's an aberration," Cartiere said. "The Australians only have to continue with their normal growth to overtake the French by value."
This decision is based solely on our reaction to seeing the final film, not the controversy that erupted around a draft of the script.Yeah, sure, whatever you want to believe.
Congratulations has to go out to Michael Paranzino, the man who got the Boycott CBS website up so quickly and appeared on so many TV and radio programs. He was, to a very large extent, the force behind the movement. He details his experience in an article called 15 4 the Gipper (hat tip to Advised by Wolves).
What is not mentioned in the press release is any decision regarding the airing of the program on Showtime. Hopefully they will drop it altogether, but then how would they pay Bab's hubby?
Update: Sure enough, the mini-series will be shown on Showtime.
Today, it was revealed that they are keeping jobs from Americans here at home.
Hundreds of workers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations across the country were arrested on immigration charges in an investigation into contractor cleaning crews, and some company executives knew about the alleged illegal hirings, U.S. officials said on Thursday. ...Federal law enforcement officials said some Wal-Mart executives had direct knowledge of the alleged scheme, based on recorded conversations, surveillance and monitoring.
Ford abhors liberal US gun laws."Liberal" gun laws. Compared to Euroweenies, maybe. Compared to what the founders intended the Second Amendment to be - puleeze!"I'm very troubled by the proliferation of arms, at the fact so many people in the United States carry guns. It obviously contributes greatly to the crime problems we have. I'm sure gun laws should be strengthened in the United States. I just don't know the correct mechanism."
"The enlargement of the European Union will not be sufficient to guarantee parity with the United States," says the report from the prestigious French Institute of International Relations. "The EU will weigh less heavily on the process of globalization and a slow but inexorable movement onto history's 'exit ramp' can be foreseen."I knew that my switching from French to Australian wine would have an impact!
Addendum: The Germans have very possibly lost a contract to coat the exterior of the Pentagon. As Rep. Steven LaTourette (an Ohio Republican) said, "It is especially galling that this German firm was chosen for work at the Pentagon when America is at war and Germany has snubbed its nose at the U.S."
Suddenly it was "French entrepreneurs ... are today clearly united with those who are pleased by the liberation of Iraq." This, in spite of the fact that 70 percent of Frenchmen and women surveyed said they approved of French President Jacques Chirac's performance in defying the U.S. effort to free Iraq. Perhaps only 30% of the French are entrepreneurs, and hence the people who make the wheels of commerce turn in France are united in their disapproval of Chirac? I doubt it.
Now the French are saying that this anti-French sentiment isn't helping anyone and it's time to "move on". Never mind that European politicians (at least those in "old Europe") get elected by fanning the flames of anti-Americanism. And never mind that Europeans openly display their antisemitism when they call on their governments to boycott Israeli products. Hypocrisy, thy home is a Frenchman's mouth! Or, as Mark Twain once said, "There is nothing lower than the human race except the French."
Next, of course, is Canada. In light of the Canadian PM Jean Chretien's position on Iraq, and a string of rather blatantly anti-American behavior by a number of Canadian officials, Canada is a prime candidate for a boycott. But how do you tell a normal Canadian product from a French Canadian product?