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FOREST --- FORGET / FORGETFULNESS
FORGIVENESS --- FORTUNATE
FRANCE --- FRAUD/S

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FOREST

see "NATURE" for related links


If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of
each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer;
but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing
off those woods and making earth bald before her time,
he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut
them down!
--Henry David Thoreau (1817—1862)
American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher.
_Life Without Principle_ [1863]

-----

sylvan [SIL-vuhn], adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to woods or forest regions.
2. Living or located in a wood or forest.
3. Abounding in forests or trees; wooded.
noun:
1. A fabled deity or spirit of the woods.
2. One that lives in or frequents the woods or
forest; a rustic.



FORGET / FORGETFULNESS

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see: "MEMORY"
see: "NOTEBOOKS"
see: "THOUGHT"
see "THE MIND" for other related links


The horror of that moment, the King went on, 'I shall never
forget.' 'You will, though,' the Queen said, 'if you don't make
a memorandum of it.'
--Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832—1898)
English writer and logician.
_Thorough the Looking-Glass_, ch. I [1872]

The three things most difficult are — to keep a secret,
to forget an injury, and to make good use of leisure.
--Chilon (6th cent. B.C.)
One of the Seven Sages of Greece.

Staircase wit.
--Denis Diderot (1713—1784)
French writer and philosopher.
_Paradoxe sur le Comediιn_ [1773—1778]
(Referring to a witty rejoinder remembered after one has left the party.

We forget all too soon the things we
thought we could never forget.
--Joan Didion (1934— )
American journalist and novelist.
In Robert Andrews
_The Routledge Dictionary of Quotations_, p. 190 [1987].

Nobody is forgotten when it is convenient to remember him.
--Benjamin Disraeli (1804—1881)
British Tory statesman, novelist, and
Prime Minister [1868, 1874—1880].
Letter to Lord Stanhope [17 July 1870].

I have forgot much, Cynara! Gone with the wind.
--Ernest Dowson (1867—1900)
English poet.
"Non Sum Qualis Eram" (I am not what I was.) [1896]

Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition
of knowledge you forget something that you knew before.
It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless
facts elbowing out the useful ones.
--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859—1930)
Scottish-born writer of detective fiction.
_A Study in Scarlet_, ch. 2 [1887]

I suppose every old scholar has had the experience of reading something
in a book which was significant to him, but which he could never find again.
Sure he is that he read it there, but no one else ever read it, nor can he
find it again, though he buy the book and ransack every page.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882)
American philosopher and poet.
Entry of 2 July 1867 in _Journals_, [pub. in 10 vols., 1910—1914].

You may forget the one with whom you have laughed,
but never the one with whom you have wept.
--Kahlil Gibran (1883—1931)
Lebanese poet.
_Sand and Foam_ [1926]

A retentive memory is a good thing, but
the ability to forget is the true token
of greatness.
--Elbert Hubbard (1859—1915)
American editor, publisher, and author who
died in the sinking of the "Lusitania."
_The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams_ [1923]

Nobody ever forgets where he
buried a hatchet.
--Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard (1868—1930)
American humorist.
Quoted in Evan Esar _The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations_ [1949].

Your memory is a monster; you forget — it doesn't. It simply
files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from
you — and summons them to your recall with a will of its own.
You think you have a memory; but it has you!
--John Irving [John Wallace Blunt, Jr] (1942— )
American author.
_A Prayer for Owen Meany_ [1989]

Many thoughts wander around in my
head. Some even wander out.
--Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (1909—1966)
Polish writer.

Those who say they will forgive but can't forget,
simply bury the hatchet, but leave the handle
out for immediate use.
--Dwight Lyman Moody (1837—1899)
American evangelist and publisher.
In Martin H. Manser's _The Westminster Collection
of Christian Quotations_, p. 25 [2001], "Bitterness."

Let bygones be bygones.
--Francis Nethersole _Parables_ [1648]

The advantage of a bad memory is that, several times over,
one enjoys the same good things for the first time.
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844—1900)
German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture.
_Human, All Too Human_ [1878], tr. Marion Faber [1984]

It is sometimes expedient to forget what you know.
--Publilius Syrus (85—43 B.C.)
Latin writer of mimes who was originally a slave.
In J. K. Hoyt & Anna L. Ward (eds.)
_The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations_ p. 526 [1881].

Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
--Christina Rossetti [pseud. Ellen Alleyne] (1830—1894)
English poet.
_Goblin Market_ [1862], "Remember"

Women and elephants never forget an injury.
--Saki [Hector Hugh Munro] (1870—1916)
Scottish writer.
_Reginald_ [1904] "Reginald on Besetting Sins"

-

Lady Macbeth:
Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: what's done is done.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_Macbeth_ [1606]


Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_King Henry V_, IV, 3 [1598—1599]

-

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive
and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
--Thomas Szasz (1920— )
American psychiatrist.
_The Second Sin_ [1973] "Personal Conduct"

Teach me not the art of remembering, but the art of forgetting,
for I remember things I do not wish to remember, but I cannot
forget the things I wish to forget.
--Themistocles (524–459 BC)
Athenian politician and general.
In Cicero _De Finibus_, bk. ii, ch.32.

-

There was an old man of Khartoum
Who kept a tame sheep in his room,
'To remind me,' he said,
'Of someone who's dead,
But I never can recollect whom.'
--anon.

---

Three elderly ladies were discussing the trials of getting older.
One said, "Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise
in my hand in front of the refrigerator and can't remember whether
I need to put it away, or start making a sandwich." The second
lady chimed in, "Yes, sometimes I find myself on the landing
of the stairs and can't remember whether I was on my way up
or on my way down. " The third one responded, "Well, I'm glad
I don't have that problem; knock on wood," she raps her knuckles
on the table, then says, "That must be the door, I'll get it."

-----

confabulate (verb) [kκn-‘fζb-yu-leyt]
To chat, converse; (psychology) to fill lapses of memory
with fabrications that one believes are facts.




FORGIVENESS

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see "ACTIONS" for other related links
see "KINDNESS" for other related links


Amnesty, that noble word, the genuine dictate of wisdom.
--Aeschines (c.390—314? B.C.)
Athenian orator.

You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian,
but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their
names to be mentioned in your hearing.
--Jane Austen (1775—1817)
English writer.
_Pride and Prejudice_ [1813]

In taking revenge a man is but even with his
enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior,
for it is a prince's part to pardon.
--Francis Bacon (1561—1626)
English philosopher and essayist.
_Essays_ [1625], "Of Revenge"

The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness;
to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart;
to your child, a good example; to a father,
deference; to your mother, conduct that will make
her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men,
charity.
--Francis Maitland Balfour (1851—1882)
British biologist and younger brother of Arthur James Balfour.

People will always forgive you for being wrong.
What they won't forgive you for is being right.
--Robert L. Bartley (1937—2003)
American journalist and editor
of the Wall Street Journal. Winner of
the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for editorial
writing.

'I can forgive, but I cannot forget,' is only another way
of saying. 'I will not forgive.' — Forgiveness ought to be
like a cancelled note — torn in two and burned up, so
that it never can be shown against one.
--Henry Ward Beecher (1813—1887)
American Congregational minister;
[brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, son of Lyman Beecher.]
In Tryon Edwards _A Dictionary of Thoughts_, p. 182 [1908].

It is a very delicate job to forgive a man, without
lowering him in his estimation, and yours too.
--Josh Billings [Henry Wheeler Shaw] (1818—1885)
American humorist.
Quoted in Clifton Fadiman (ed.) _The American Treasury, 1455-1955_.

Never does the human soul appear so strong as when
it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.
--Edwin Hubbel Chapin (1814—1880)
American clergyman and author.
_Living Words_ [1861]

-

Forgive and forget.
Forgive and forget.
--William Langland (c. 1330—1387)
English poet.
_The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman_ [1377]


& see:

We often forgive those who bore us, but
we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
--Franηois de La Rochefoucauld (1613—1680)
French classical author.
_Maxims_ [1665]

& see:

Receive no satisfaction for premeditated impertinence;
forget it, forgive it, but keep him inexorably at a distance
who offered it.
--Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741—1801)
Swiss writer, Protestant pastor, and founder of physiognomics.
In John Timbs
_Laconics: Or, The Best Words of the Best Authors_ p. 41 [1829].

& see:

The sun should not set upon our anger, neither should he rise
upon our confidence. We should forgive freely, but forget rarely.
I will not be revenged, and this I owe to my enemy; but I will
remember, and this I owe to myself.
--C.C. Colton (1780—1832)
English clergyman and writer.
_Lacon: or, Many Things in Few Words; Addressed to Those Who Think_ [1820]

& see:

We forgive too little, forget too much.
--Madame Swetchine [Sophie Soymanof] (1782—1857)
Russian-born French writer and salon hostess.
Quoted in Tryon Edwards _A Dictionary of Thoughts_, p. 181 [1908].

& see:

'I can forgive, but I cannot forget,' is only another way
of saying. 'I will not forgive.' — Forgiveness ought to be
like a cancelled note — torn in two and burned up, so
that it never can be shown against one.
--Henry Ward Beecher (1813—1887)
American Congregational minister; brother of
Harriet Beecher Stowe, son of Lyman Beecher.
Quoted in Tryon Edwards _A Dictionary of Thoughts_, p. 182 [1908].

& see:

I never forgive but I always forget.
--Arthur James Balfour (1848—1930)
British Conservative statesman and Prime Minister [1920—1925].
Quoted in R. Blake _Conservative Party_ [1970].

& see:

Always forgive your enemies — but never forget their names.
--Robert F. Kennedy (1925—1968)
American Democratic politician.
Quoted in Nancy McPhee _The Second Book of Insults_ [1981].

& see:

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive
and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
--Thomas Szasz (1920— )
American psychiatrist.
_The Second Sin_ "Personal Conduct" [1973]

-

I believe any person who asks for forgiveness
has to be prepared to give it.
--Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton (1946— )
American Democratic statesman and president [1993—2001].
Statement after being acquitted by the Senate [12 Feb. 1999].

Who pardons easily invites offense.
--Pierre Corneille (1606—1684)
French dramatist.

It is easier to forgive an enemy than a friend.
--Madame Dorothιe Deluzy (1747—1830)
French actress.
In Maturin M. Ballou
_Treasury of Thought_ p. 184 [15th ed. 1894].

Once a woman has forgiven her man, she
must not reheat his sins for breakfast.
--Marlene Dietrich [Marie Magdalene Von Losch]
(1901—1992) German-born film actress. Between
1943—1946 she made more than 500 appearances
before Allied troops.
_Marlene Dietrich's ABC_ [1962]

Only a woman will believe in a man who has
once been detected in fraud and falsehood.
--Alexandre Dumas (1802—1870)
French novelist and dramatist.
In Maturin M. Ballou
_Notable Thoughts about Women_ p. 290 [1882].

I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right.
--Bob Dylan [Robert Allen Zimmerman] (1941— )
American singer and songwriter.
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" [1963 song]

His heart was as great as the world, but there
was no room in it to hold a memory of a wrong.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882)
American philosopher and poet.
_Letters and Social Aims: Greatness_
(Said about Abraham Lincoln.)

Beware of meat twice boiled, and an old foe reconciled.
--Benjamin Franklin (1706—1790)
American politician, inventor, and scientist.
_Poor Richard's Almanack_ [September 1733]

It is only necessary to grow old to become more indulgent.
I see no fault committed that I have not committed myself.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749—1832)
German poet, novelist, and playwright.

One should forgive one's enemies,
but not before they are hanged.
--Heinrich Heine (1797—1856)
German poet.

Forgiveness is better than revenge.
--Heraclitus (c.535—475 B.C.)
Greek philosopher.
(Telling the story of Pittacus of Mitylene.)

The offender never pardons.
--George Herbert (1593—1633)
English religious poet.
_Jacula Prudentum_ (Outlandish Proverbs) [1640]

Nobody ever forgets where he buried a hatchet.
--Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard (1868—1930)
American humorist.

It is always a mistake not to close one's eyes,
whether to forgive or to look better into oneself.
--Maurice Maeterlinck (1862—1949)
Belgium poet and playwright.
_Pellιas et Mιlisande_ [1892]

People will sometimes forgive you the
good you have done them, but seldom
the harm they have done you.
--W. Somerset Maugham (1874—1965)
English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer.
_A Writer's Notebook_ [1949]

We read that we ought to forgive our enemies;
but we do not read that we ought to forgive
our friends.
--Cosimo de' Medici (1389—1464)
Italian statesman and patron of the arts.

Our forgiving of others will not procure forgiveness
for ourselves; but our not forgiving others proves
that we ourselves are not forgiven.
--John Owen (1616—1683)
English theologian.

The highest of characters, in my estimation, is his, who is as ready
to pardon the moral errors of mankind, as if he were every day guilty
of some himself; and at the same time as cautious of committing a
fault as if he never forgave one.
--Pliny the Younger or Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (62—c.115)
Roman senator and author of a famous collection of letters.
_Epistles_, VIII, 22

To err is human; to forgive, divine.
--Alexander Pope (1688—1744)
English poet.
_An Essay on Criticism_ [1711]

In general, indulgence for those we know is
rarer than pity for those we know not.
--Antoine de Rivarol (1753—1801)
French man of letters.

The memory and the conscience never did, nor
ever will, agree about forgiving injuries.
--George Savile [Lord Halifax] (1633—1695)
English politicial and essayist.
In Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh
_The complete works of George Savile, first marquess of Halifax [1912].

Lady Macbeth:
Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: what's done is done.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_Macbeth_ [1606]

Beware of the man who does not return your blow:
he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive
yourself.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856—1950)
Irish dramatist and critic.
_Man and Superman_ [1903] "The Revolutionist's Handbook "

There is no torment like the inner torment of an
unforgiving spirit. It refuses to be soothed, it
refuses to be healed, it refuses to forget.
--Charles R. Swindoll (1934— )
American evanegelical Christian pastor.

And blessings on the falling out
That all the more endears,
When we fall out with those we love
And kiss again with tears!
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809—1892)
English poet.
"The Princess" [1847]

'Tis strange what a man may do, and
a woman yet think him an angel.
--William Makepeace Thackeray (1811—1863)
English novelist.
_The History of Henry Esmond_, bk I, ch. 7 [1852]

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
--Oscar Wilde (1854—1900)
Anglo-Irish dramatist and poet.
In Robert Andrews
_The Routledge Dictionary of Quotations_, p. 100 [1987].

-----

venial [VEE-nee-uhl; VEEN-yuhl], adjective:
Capable of being forgiven; not heinous; excusable; pardonable.
Ex.: "Look less severely on a venial error."
--Jean Racine, _Phaedra_
(Translated by Robert Bruce Boswell.)



FORTUNATE

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auspicious [aw-SPISH-uhs], adjective:
1. Giving promise of success, prosperity, or happiness;
predicting good; as, "an auspicious beginning."
2. Prosperous; fortunate; as, "auspicious years."

propitious [pruh-PISH-uhs], adjective:
1. Presenting favorable circumstances or conditions.
2. Favorably inclined; gracious; benevolent.
Ex.: It is hard to imagine a less propitious start to a marriage:
in a single blow Vincent forfeited the trust of his wife, the
respect of her family, and the means of his own support.
--Matthew Sturgis, _Aubrey Beardsley: A Biography_





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FRANCE / THE FRENCH

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see "PLACES" for related links


^^

The following advisory for American travellers heading for France was
compiled from information provided by the U.S. State Department, the
Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Food
and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and some
very expensive spy satellites that the French don't know about. It is
intended as a guide for American travellers only and no guarantee of
accuracy is ensured or intended.

General overview: France is a medium-sized foreign country situated in
the continent of Europe. It is an important member of the world
community, though not nearly as important as it thinks. It is bounded
by Germany, Spain, Switzerland and some smaller nations of no
particular consequence and with not very good shopping.

France is a very old country with many treasures, such as the Louvre
and EuroDisney. Among its contributions to western civilization are
champagne, Camembert cheese and the guillotine.

Although France likes to think of itself as a modern nation, air
conditioning is little used and it is next to impossible to get decent
Mexican food. One continuing exasperation for American visitors is
that the people wilfully persist in speaking French, though many will
speak English if shouted at. As in any foreign country, watch your
change at all times.

The People: France has a population of 54 million people, most of
whom drink and smoke a great deal, drive like lunatics, are
dangerously oversexed, and have no concept of standing
patiently in line. The French people are in general gloomy,
temperamental, proud, arrogant, aloof, and undisciplined; and
those are their good points.

Most French citizens are Roman Catholic, though you would hardly
guess it from their behavior. Many people are communists, and topless
sunbathing is common. Men sometimes have girls' names like Marie,
and they kiss each other when they hand out medals.

American travellers are advised to travel in groups and to wear
baseball caps and colorful trousers for easier mutual recognition.

Safety: In general, France is a safe destination, though travellers
are advised that, from time to time, it is invaded by Germany. By
tradition, the French surrender more or less at once and, apart from
a temporary shortage of Scotch whisky and increased difficulty in
getting baseball scores and stock market prices, life for the visitor
generally goes on much as before. A tunnel connecting France to
Britain beneath the English Channel has been opened in recent years
to make it easier for the Government to flee to London.

History: France was discovered by Charlemagne in the Dark Ages.
Other important historical figures are Louis XIV, the Huguenots, Joan
of Arc, Jacques Cousteau and Charles de Gaulle, who was President
for many years and is now an airport.

Government: The French form of government is democratic but noisy.
Elections are held more or less continuously, and always result in a
run-off. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into
regions, departments, districts, municipalities, cantons, communes,
villages, cafes, booths and floor tiles. Parliament consists of two
chambers, the Upper and Lower (though, confusingly, they are both on
the ground floor), whose members are either Gaullists or communists,
neither of whom is to be trusted, frankly. Parliament's principal
preoccupations are setting off atomic bombs in the South Pacific,
and acting indignant when anyone complains.

Culture: The French pride themselves on their culture, though it is
not easy to see why. All their songs sound the same, and they have
hardly ever made a movie that you would want to watch for anything but
the nude scenes. And nothing, of course, is more boring than a French
novel (except, perhaps, an evening with a French family ).

Cuisine: Let's face it, no matter how much garlic you put on it, a
snail is just a slug with a shell on its back. Croissants, on the
other hand, are excellent,though it is impossible for most Americans
to pronounce this word. In general, travellers are advised to stick to
cheeseburgers at leading hotels such as Sheraton and Holiday Inn.

Economy: France has a large and diversified economy, second only to
Germany's in Europe, which is surprising because people hardly work at
all. If they are not spending four hours dawdling over lunch, they
are on strike and blocking the roads with their lorries and
tractors. France's principal exports, in order of importance to the
economy, are wine, nuclear weapons, perfume, guided missiles,
champagne, high-calibre weaponry, grenade launchers, landmines, tanks,
attack aircraft, miscellaneous armaments and cheese.

Public holidays: France has more holidays than any other nation in the
world. Among its 361 national holidays are 197 saints' days, 37
National Liberation Days, 16 Declaration of Republic Days, 54 Return
of Charles de Gaulle in Triumph as if he Won the War Single-Handed
Days, 18 Napoleon Sent into Exile Days, 17 Napoleon Called Back from
Exile Days, and 112 France is Great and the Rest of the World is
Rubbish Days. Other important holidays are National Nuclear Bomb Day
(January 12), the Feast of St Brigitte Bardot Day (March 1), and
National Guillotine Day (November 12).

Conclusion: France enjoys a rich history, a picturesque and varied
landscape, and a temperate climate. In short, it would be a very nice
country if it weren't inhabited by French people.

^^

No more wars for me at any price! Except against
the French. If there's ever a war with them, I'll go
like a shot.
--Edmund Blunden (1896—1974)
English poet, critic, and scholar.
In Robert Graves _Goodbye to All That_ [1929] p.240.

France is the only place where you can make love
in the afternoon without people hammering on your
door.
--Barbara Cartland (1901—2000)
British writer of romantic fiction.
In "Guardian" [24 December 1984].

-

How can anyone govern a nation that has two
hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?
--Charles de Gaulle (1890—1970)
French soldier and statesman, President [1959—1969].
Quoted in Ernest Mignon _Les Mots du Gιnιral_ [1962].

The shortest joke in the French language
is probably FFL [Forces Francaises Libres].
We were 54,873 fighters with De Gaulle.
Let's take into account the internal
resistance: after the war 48,000
Medailles de la Resistance were awarded,
rather generously. So it is with about
100,000 outlaws that we managed to
save a bit of the honour of a country of
30 million people.
--Maurice Druon,
co-author of the Chant des Partisans.

-

The last time I saw Paris
Her heart was warm and gay,
I heard the laughter of her heart
in ev'ry street cafι.
--Oscar Hammerstein II (1895—1960)
American songwriter.
"The Last Time I Saw Paris" [1941]

The difference between the vanity of a
Frenchmen and an Englishman seems
to be this: the one thinks everything
right that is French, the other thinks
everything wrong that is not English.
--William Hazlitt (1778—1830)
English essayist.

-

LOUIS XVI: Is it a revolt?
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD-LIANCOURT: No, Sire, it is a revolution.
La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Franηois-Alexandre-Frιdιric, Duke (1747—1827)
French educator and social reformer.
Upon learning at Versailles of the fall of the Bastille [1789].

(On France)
I would have loved it — without the French.
--D.H. (David Herbert) Lawrence (1885—1930)
English novelist and poet.
Letter to Catherine Carswell [28 May 1920].

When France has a cold, all Europe sneezes.
--attributed to Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (1773—1859)
Austrian politician and statesman

The French are a logical people, which is one
reason the English dislike them so intensely.
The other is that they own France, a country
which we have always judged to be much too
good for them.
--Christopher Morley (1890—1957)
American journalist, novelist, and poet.
_A Musing Morley_ [1974]

You must hate a Frenchman as you do the devil.
--Horatio Nelson (1758—1805)
British naval commander.

-

The next night I called my girlfriend who was back
in the States and, no doubt, happily contemplating
the sterlng silver Elsa Peretti refrigerator magnet
I'd bought her to make up for Christmas. She's
spent a lot of time in Paris.

"Where's a good place for dinner?" I asked.
"There's the Brasserie Lipp on the Avenue St. Germaine."
she said, "or La Coupole in Montmartre."
"Not La Coupole," I said. "I've been there before.
That's the place that's crowded and noisy and smells
bad and everybody's rude as hell, isn't it?"
"I think you just described France," she said.

--P.J. O'Rourke (1947— )
American political satirist.
_Holidays in Hell_ [1989],
"Among the Euro-Weenies"

-

That battle, resounding down history as the first Battle of the
Marne, was won by the Allies, who in four hot, dusty September
days turned almost certain and final defeat into victory. . . .
The defeated Kluck, who had had a poor opinion of the enemy
forces he had pushed back so easily the first weeks, understood
this afterward. 'The reason that transcends all others' for what
happened on the Marne, he said in 1918, 'was the extraordinary
. . . aptitude of the French soldier to recover quickly. That men
will let themselves be killed where they stand — that is well-known
and counted on in every plan of battle. But that men who have
retreated for ten days, sleeping on the ground and half dead with
fatigue, should be able to take up their rifles and attack when the
bugle sounds, is a thing upon which we never counted. It was a
possibility not studied in our war academy.'
--William L. Shirer (1904—1993)
American journalist, historian, and novelist.
_The Collapse of the Third Republic_ [1969]

[Groundskeeper Willie's characterization of the French:]
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys.
"The Simpsons" [30 April 1995]

If the French noblesse had been capable of playing
cricket with their peasants, their chateaux would
never had been burnt.
--G. M. Trevelyan (1876—1962)
English historian.
_English Social History_ [1942]

-

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France
would result in Linoleum Blownapart.


TOPICAL

... "Africa is not ready for democracy," [Chirac] told a group of African
leaders in the early 1990s. On Britain: "The only thing they have ever
done for European agriculture is mad cow disease .... You can't trust
people who cook as badly as that."

On Russia: "For his contribution to friendship between France and
Russia," Chirac decorated Vladimir Putin last year with the highest order
of the Legion d'Honneur, a medal reserved for the closest foreign
friends of France (Churchill, Eisenhower) despite the deterioration of
the Russian president's human rights record.

On Saddam Hussein: "You are my personal friend. Let me assure you
of my esteem, consideration and bond." On Eastern Europe supporting
the United States in the United Nations: "It is not really responsible
behavior. It is not well brought-up behavior. They missed a good
opportunity to shut up."

On Iran's nuclear program: "Having one or perhaps a second bomb a
little later, well, that's not very dangerous." Theoretically, Chirac was
supposed to be negotiating with Iran to give up its nuclear program at
the time.

On hearing a French business executive address a European summit
in English: "deeply shocked," he stormed out of the room.

As I say, it's an important legacy: one of consistent scorn for the Anglo-
American world in general and the English language in particular; of
suspicion of Central Europe and profound disinterest in the wave of
democratic transformation that swept the world in the 1980s and 1990s;
of preference for the Arab and African dictators who had been, and
remained, clients of France.

In his later years, Chirac constantly searched, in almost all international
conflicts, for novel ways of opposing the United States. All along, he did
his best to protect France from the rapidly changing global economy.

[...]

But as he leaves office, the loudest condemnation of his 12 years as
head of state comes not from the outside world but from the French
themselves. Don't listen to me, listen to them: After all, it is they who
have just elected a man who promised to "break with the ideas, the
habits and the behavior of the past."

"The French people have chosen change," Sarkozy declared during
his acceptance speech Sunday night. "I will implement that change."
And what they want, it seems, is a change from Chirac.

--Anne Applebaum
"A fond farewell to Jacques Chirac"
reprinted in the _Las Vegas Review Journal_ 10 May 2007]
(Anne Applebaum is a Washington Post columnist.)

-

Thank you. I've come here to tell you of
the emotion — the emotion of France,
the French people, an emotion which has
no precedent in history before this tragedy,
which does not have a parallel. Indeed, it
is a tragic event, something which is beyond
crime; there are no words to qualify it.

I want to tell President Bush, who is my
friend, that we stand in total solidarity —
we bring you the total solidarity of France
and the French people. It is solidarity of
the heart.

I also wanted to say that we are completely
determined to fight by your side this new
type of evil, of absolute evil, which is
terrorism. And I also wanted to say that
France is prepared and available to discuss
all means to fight and eradicate this evil.

--French President Jacques Chirac,
September 18, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010918-8.html

meanwhile...

The first Iraqi files to emerge documenting
French help for the regime show that Paris
shared with Baghdad the contents of private
transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic
from Washington.

The information, said in the files to have
come partly from "friends of Iraq" at the
French foreign ministry, kept Saddam
abreast of every development in American
planning and may have helped him to
prepare for war. One report warned of
an American "attempt to involve Iraq with
terrorism" as "cover for an attack on Iraq".

Another, dated September 25, 2001 from
Naji Sabri, the Iraqi foreign minister, to
Saddam's palace, was based on a briefing
from the French ambassador in Baghdad
and covered talks between presidents
Jacques Chirac and George W Bush.

--The Times of London
http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=6376_French_Perfidy_Update

-

The Mendacity in France's Ivory Coast Rescue

Glaringly absent from your [WSJ] Oct. 8 [2003] front-
page article "France Offers Model for Intervention With
Ivory Coast " is any discussion of how France, the
most outspoken foe of the U.S. invasion of Iraq,
justifies sending troops to the Ivory Coast (1) without
the benefit of an initial U.N. resolution permitting it
to do so, and (2) in direct contravention of a defense
agreement with its former colony that permits French
incursions "only in cases of external aggression."

This patent duplicity on the part of the French
government -- haranguing the U.S. for its "unilateral"
action in Iraq while seeking praise for its own self-
seeking military presence in the Ivory Coast — is
compounded by repeated allusions to its
"humanitarian" aims there. Though such intentions
would on their own be laudable, France glosses over
its motivation to protect the billions that French
companies have invested in the former colony; at the
same time, it disingenuously downplays the clear
humanitarian implications of ousting Saddam
Hussein and rebuilding Iraq.

Without even the slightest hint of irony, you praise
France for being "a rare example of a Western
nation pouring in considerable resources and taking
political risks to rescue an imploding African
country," and for intervening in areas that could
"easily become breeding grounds for terrorists who
target the West." Why Africa has become some
"special case" in these matters — and why those
who vehemently opposed the invasion of Iraq then
cheered on U.S. intervention in Liberia — is totally
lost on those of us who understand (quite correctly)
that the greatest terrorist threat to the West is
centered in the Middle East, not elsewhere.

Against this backdrop, and keeping in mind France's
track record in "resolving" conflicts in its colonial
strongholds (e.g., Vietnam), the most anyone in the
Ivory Coast can do is hope for the best. Meanwhile,
more responsible nations in the West that have no
imperial wrongs to right will simply have to suffer
French mendacity as they forge ahead to address
the problems that others — on the basis of pious
self-interest — refuse to acknowledge.

--Eric M. Jensen
Louisville, Ky.
in a letter to the Wall Street Journal.

-

It's ironic. If you don't say Islam is a religion of peace,
they will kill you. ... If France just acquiesces to threats
and intimidation while allowing radical Muslims to spread
their message unhindered, it bodes ill not only for their
society, but for the West.
--Robert Spencer, on the death threats that led to
the cancellation of the French edition of his book,
_Islam Unveiled_, in "France's Rushdie Affair."
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10931

-

Although an estimated 8% or so of the country's [France] 60 million people
are Muslims, the French-Arab and French-African communities boast no
representatives in the national Parliament, no ambassadors and no heads
of major companies.
--_The Wall Street Journal_ [27 August 2004]
"An Arab Comic Stirs Up France"

-

"French police face 'permanent intifada'"
by Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Writer
[October 22, 2006]

EPINAY-SUR-SEINE, France - On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized, and no arrests made.

The recent ambush was emblematic of what some officers say has become a near-perpetual and increasingly violent conflict between police and gangs in tough, largely immigrant French neighborhoods that were the scene of a three-week paroxysm of rioting last year.

One small police union claims officers are facing a "permanent intifada." Police injuries have risen in the year since the wave of violence.

National police reported 2,458 cases of violence against officers in the first six months of the year, on pace to top the 4,246 cases recorded for all of 2005 and the 3,842 in 2004. Firefighters and rescue workers have also been targeted — and some now receive police escorts in such areas.

On Sunday, a band of about 30 youths, some wearing masks, forced passengers out of a bus in a southern Paris suburb in broad daylight Sunday, set it on fire, then stoned firefighters who came to the rescue, police said. No one was injured. Two people were arrested, one of them a 13-year-old, according to LCI television.

More broadly, worsening violence in France testifies to Europe's growing struggle to integrate its ethnic minorities. Some mainstream European politicians — adopting positions previously confined largely to far-right fringes — are suggesting that the minorities themselves are not doing enough to adapt to European mores. [ . . . ]

In France, a high school teacher received death threats, forcing him into hiding, after he wrote a newspaper editorial in September saying Muslim fundamentalists are trying to muzzle Europe's democratic liberties. [ . . . ]

Michel Thooris, head of the small Action Police union, claims that the new violence is taking on an Islamic fundamentalist tinge.

"Many youths, many arsonists, many vandals behind the violence do it to cries of 'Allah Akbar' (God is Great) when our police cars are stoned," he said in an interview. [ . . . ]

"First, it was a rock here or there. Then it was rocks by the dozen. Now, they're leading operations of an almost military sort to trap us," said Loic Lecouplier, a police union official in the Seine-Saint-Denis region north of Paris. "These are acts of war."

Associated Press Writer Elaine Ganley contributed to this report from Paris.



Click picture to ZOOM
FRAUD/S

.
.

see "DECEPTION" for related links


What fairer cloak than courtesy for fraud?
--Sir William Alexander (c. 1576—1640)
Scottish courtier, statesman, and poet.

The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self.
--Philip James Bailey (1816—1902)
English poet.
_Festus_ [1839]

The more gross the fraud, the more glibly will it
go down, and the more greedily will it be swallowed,
since folly will always find faith wherever impostors
will find impudence.
--Christian Nestell Bovee (1820—1904)
American writer.

The devil's most devilish when respectable.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806—1861)
English poet.
"Aurora Leigh" [1857]

Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and
duplicity than straigthforward and simple integrity in another.
A knave would rather quarrel with a brother knave than with a
fool, but he would rather avoid a quarrel with one honest man
than with both. He can combat a fool by management and
address, and he can conquer a knave by temptations. But
the honest man is neither to be bamboozled nor bribed.
--C.C. Colton (1780—1832)
English clergyman and writer.

Knaves imagine nothing can be done without Knavery.
--Thomas Fuller (1654—1734)
English writer and physician.
Comp., _Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs_, 3135 [1732]

Though fraud in all other actions be odious, yet in matters
of war it is laudable and glorious, and he who overcomes
his enemies by stratagem is as much to be praised as he
who overcomes them by force.
--Niccolς Machiavelli (1469—1527)
Florentine statesman and political philosopher.
_The Discourses_ [1517] iii. ch. 40.

All men are frauds. The only difference between them
is that some admit it. I myself deny it.
--H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken (1880—1956)
American journalist and literary critic.

Whoever is detected in a shameful fraud is ever
after not believed even if they speak the truth.
--Gaius Julius Phaedrus (c. 15 B.C.— c. 50 A.D.)
The versifier of Aesop's Fables in Latin.

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_The Merchant of Venice_ [1596—1598], act. I, sc. 3. l. 96

----

supposititious [suh-poz-uh-TISH-uhs], adjective:
1. Fraudulently substituted for something else; not being what
is purports to be; not genuine; spurious; counterfeit.
2. Hypothetical; supposed.
Ex.: He has threatened to write a small treatise exposing my
stones as supposititious -- I should say, his stones, fashioned
and fraudulently made by his hand.
--Stephen Jay Gould, "The lying stones of Wurzburg and Marrakech,"
_Natural History_ [April 1998]


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