Miquelon.org – The Fighting French

by Laurie Meunier Graves – Wolf Moon Press

In the 1991 movie Europa, Europa, Salomon Perel, a Jewish boy, becomes separated from his family. The setting, of course, is Europe during World War II, and young Salomon (Solly) must survive by pretending he is not a Jew. Based on a true story, the movie follows Solly on his journey for survival as he passes himself off as a German orphan and eventually becomes a member of Hitler Youth. One day during class, a teacher instructs the students on how to identify Jews by their looks, by the size and shape of their heads as well as other physical characteristics. Solly squirms in his seat but manages yet again to escape detection when his teacher concludes that Solly has all the characteristics of a good Aryan boy. Read the rest of this entry »

Enough already with French bashing!

Dennis Miller shows how ignorant he is and dangerously naive to think he can surf on the anti-French wave in order to increase his popularity.

The French are very active in the war against terrorism and for one good reason: they had a head start on the USA. They have foiled many terrorist attacks and have tried to warn us about Moussaoui (the alleged 20th 9/11 hijacker) after his capture.

Dennis Miller continues to bring up the same old cliches on the French. His jokes are a show of pure bad taste and of total ignorance of historical facts.

The Americans know and the French know what each owes to the other: Freedom. And freedom of speech has pretty much no legal limits in America, but one has to realize at one point that racist comments on prime time television only gives a bad example to others.

Hate speech against not only the French but all other groups can only be encouraged by Dennis Miller’s attitude.

Yes, it is as bad to bash the French the way Dennis Miller does is as it is to bash the African-Americans, the Poles, the Jews or the Muslims.

Mister Miller definitely proves to be even worse an editorialist than a football commentator.

N. Verhaeghe

I have been to Paris and one of the things I loved was the culture of small coffee shops and bistros on every other street, so people could take time out of their day to sit and converse over coffee.

I’m pleased to hear that STARBUCKS has moved into PARIS about the same amount that I am pleased to hear that MacDonald’s exists in the poorest countries in Africa and South America.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to both Mickey D’s and STARBUCKS. I love coffee. I even buy STARBUCKS coffee cards and use them as stocking stuffers at Xmas!

But, the article from USA Today “Starbucks Tries Its Special Ambiance On Paris” bothers me enough to write to your web site.

To suggest that STARBUCKS in Paris might serve as a symbol that America embraces the French and this will help “bridge the gap” and be a “turning point” between America and France is well, in a word, LUDICROUS! Which, if I’m not mistaken is both French and English for STUPID!

The only reason that STARBUCKS is in any country, including FRANCE, is to make money, and also because North American tourists travel to Europe. And when they travel they want their comforts of the homeland. What’s next, a Krispy Kreme kiosks so a North American tourist can have their Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles, with their Grande Double Decaf Non-Fat Soy No-Whip Mocha on a 500-year-old street in Paris known for some historically significant moment that hardly anyone in North America learned about in school? YUCK!

This article is an insult to the very real tension that was brought to the people and government of France for not endorsing the American and British led war in Iraq. The Bush administration doesn’t like anyone who says “No Thanks Shrub”. When France said, “No Thanks” to Dubyah’s invasion on Iraq, people all over America acted just as irrationally to the French [and to anything with a French name] as they did to “brown” people after 9/11.

The article just should have said, “Hey tourists, now there’s a STARBUCKS in Paris! Oh, and by the way don’t forget to check out the Rodin museum for a spot of culture on your way down the street with your steaming hot cup of sock juice!”

Keep up the good work Monsieur/Madame Miquelon!
S.K. – New York NY