Denys wrote, in part :

> To which I answer, how you must hate Nicolas.

I don't hate President Sarkozy. In fact, though voting is supposed to be
secret, I admit I voted for him. No regrets. He's got 4 years left (or
right, depending which side you're looking from) to produce results. His
tenure is not, and has never been, by his own words, supposed to be a speed
race, but long-distance. After all, it took Mrs Thatcher 10-plus years to
put Britain back on its feet, with some significant pain in the process.

> Especially now that he will make France will rejoin NATO under US
> dominance of the alliance.

1) This is not technically correct. France NEVER, I repeat NEVER, left NATO,
and has been a consistent and dedicated member of the Alliance since its
inception in 1949. But, in 1966, France left the Integrated Military
Command, while still being a politically active member of the Alliance. My
best guess is, precisely, that, at the time, President de Gaulle did not
want French troops under US command. By the way, France has already walked
at least half the way back into the Military Command since 1995, by
accepting, under President Chirac, to provide troops, equipment and support
services for various operations. Kosovo and Afghanistan come to my mind. Of
course, that has been considerably eased by abandoning the draft and
switching to a professional army (also a Chirac decision). Oh, BTW, that was
already advocated by then-colonel de Gaulle, back in ... 1934 !

2) Denys, are you implying that, because NATO is, as you more or less
correctly put it, under US dominance, I should hate it ? Or hate my
country's President ? Do you imply that I hate the US ? Should I ? For what
reason ? What's your point, please ? Could you clarify this ? I fail to
understand what you have in mind.

As I see it, President Sarkozy is already planning the after-Bush period. I
think that's a wise move, if not especially shrewd, because everyone knows
that Bush won't stay on after Jan. 20th. So better plan what comes next
right now. Especially since Sarkozy will hold the rotating EU Presidency for
6 months starting July 1st, which happens to include Nov. 4th, US Election
Day.

> BTW, I see where France still represses free speech; what it has done to
> Brigitte is unbelievable in a so-called Western country.

If France really repressed free speech, there's a lot of things I wrote,
including a few on this list, that would have landed me in court, if not
outright in jail. It never happened. And I can assure you I don't fear a
knock on my door, like it happened at darker times in our history.

Speaking of Brigitte Bardot (I guess that's the one you're referring to,
most likely not my former boss at HP, nor my second-degree cousin, who both
go by that same first name), I admit that, since I'm absolutely not
interested in that person, I did not bother to gather specific information.
So, in a nutshell, I don't know what happened to her, if anything. The only
thing I'm aware of is that she recently got some limited media attention,
but I just did not bother to ask why.

Christian

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