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Yeah the United States never does anything outside its jurisdiction that anyone else finds annoying. That said, the level of institutionalized corruption in Fr
by Tloewald 13y ago
Yeah the United States never does anything outside its jurisdiction that anyone else finds annoying.
That said, the level of institutionalized corruption in France is pretty outrageous. If I recall correctly, the president of France receives a truck load of cash every year which can be used with zero accountability (and that's legal). Of course the French (and pretty much any democratic country) can look at our electoral system and laugh.
- cobrausn 13y agoYeah the United States never does anything outside its jurisdiction that anyone else finds annoying. Except we aren't talking about the US right now, we are talking about one particularly boneheaded action by France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
- fizz_and_buzz 13y agoWell to be fair, the parent comment brought up the US not the one you are quoting.
- cobrausn 13y agoHe only brought it up to show the absurdity of it - the poster is probably from the US. Any other nation's constitution / body of laws could have been used as the example.
- Tloewald 13y agoThis is what appears to me to be an American (or USian to be more precise) complaining about France fining a US Blogger, so a direct comparison of the US to France is highly apropos.
- PhasmaFelis 13y agoExcept that Mike Shedlock is not personally America and has no control of the actions of the American government. Also, there's only one nation in the world called "America," so it's plenty precise. The continents are "North America" and "South America," or jointly "the Americas." Posturing aside, I don't believe that a reasonable person is likely to confuse them.
- Tloewald 13y agoI was responding to someone who was cheerfully making anti-French statements because a US citizen was mistreated by some piece of the French government. This is no different (except in degree) from an Pakistani citizen (say) being killed by the US government, also outside its legal jurisdiction.
- jlgreco 13y agoBoth are bad (although obviously there is a discrepancy in seriousness here). We should not fail to criticize one because the other also happens.
- Tloewald 13y agoYes but to make sweeping complaints about the French as an American is absurd. (And note that I myself pointed out that France has a serious problem with institutionalized corruption, not that the US has anything to crow about.)
- cobrausn 13y agoNobody you were replying to made any sweeping complaints about the French. And pointing it out as a citizen of the U.S. doesn't count as crowing unless you get defensive and interpret it that way.
- lsaferite 13y agoI don't see where gnu8 made any statement and/or attack about France. Would you kindly point this out for me so I can read it?
- jlgreco 13y ago> "Yes but to make sweeping complaints about the French as an American is absurd." I'll repeat what I've said elsewhere in this dicussion: "Insane laws in one place do not make laws in another place any less insane. If we universalized your attitude towards criticism, then only those blessed to live in utopias would have the privilege of leveling complaints at other systems." Americans do get to criticize the French government. Americans get to criticize the American government. French get to criticize the French government. French get to criticize the American government. Zimbabweans get to criticize the Portuguese government. The Portuguese get to criticize the the Swiss government. Everybody gets to criticize any government they please, no matter what government happens to lay stake to the place that they live. It is absurd to think otherwise.
- astrobe_ 13y agoYou are probably referring to this: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonds_sp%C3%A9ciaux http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonds_sp%C3%A9ciaux quick translation: before 2001 the President and its ministers used to receive "secret funding" that they could use for whatever they wanted. The money came from Banque de France (public money, not money from a private bank). This has been mostly suppressed in 2001 (the amounts are now public information), except for secret services funding (for obvious reasons). So your example is a bit inaccurate and a bit outdated. That said, we certainly have our share of nepotism and collusion.