Damn I love the French! Shut the MoFo down! SOS!

[DemoTex]

French civil servants just joined the striking rail workers, according to MSNBC. Other labor groups are joining too. Schools are closed. The government of France is closing down. Trains are not running. Planes will soon be grounded. All in response to the R/W President of the French Republic's planned "labor reform."

In this country, labor usually rolls over and says "take me, without the KY Jelly!" I've seen it too many times in the airline industry. When Eastern Air Lines' IAM and ALPA went on strike, employees at other airlines licked their chops at the prospect of picking up some new customers (and, after EALs liquidation, routes and planes). That is so fucking wrong that it makes my teeth hurt. Bu$h-1 refused to appoint a Presidential Emergency Mediation Board, and EAL became history.

In the end, all airline labor lost. Other Frank Lorenzo wannabees sprang up and airline unions became weaker and weaker. Bu$hco, post-9/11, has been the worst thing to happen to organized labor in this country since the wanton excesses of the Robber Barons and the dark days of the Great Depression. Solidarity is a word and concept that is not even in US labor's lexicon.

The mention of labor reform by a right-wing politician or candidate, should elicit a visceral reaction from all US labor unions. Any attempted implementation of R/W labor reform in this country should be tantamount to a declaration of top-down class warfare, and ALL unionists should immediately: 1. Circle the wagons; 2. Run the bullshit flag high up the pole, and; 3. Consider doing it the French way ... S.O.S., a total SUSPENSION OF SERVICES.

[aquart]

1. Vive La France!

[meegbear]

2. Nobody Riots Like The French!

I saw a picture a few years back showing a closeup at a picket line in Paris. One side was an officer, full riot gear wearing a face guard, and on the other side, screaming in his face ... a pastry chef in his chef uniform!

Damn!

[Neshanic]

9. Agree, they do not fuck around when they protest. They just go nuts.

That new car salesman president of theirs creeps me out.

[Cha]

11. The French Poodle? Yeah,

he's a bushite gusher. Hope he likes hands full with his country's "Labor"!

Wonder if ze French are having any buyer's remorse?

[Pastiche423]

22. This French Poodle?

[chaska]

3. Unfortunately, the average American can't see beyond the tip of his own nose...

Self-centeredness, a natural outgrowth of our every man for himself, dog eat dog, "bootstrap" culture.

Joining together for the common good? Why, it's downright un-American.

[LakeSamish706]

6. That may be what ultimately brings America down as well...

"Self-centeredness". When you have an entire nation that is paralyzed by Self-centeredness you have a nation where everyone works for there own means and not that of the country.... This very well could be the downfall of the US.

[conscious evolution]

21. "Are you better off than

you were four years ago?"

reagon said that.
Amazing how much power ten words can have.Ten simple words.

[T Wolf]

4. American labor used to be formidable, and progressive. Now, it is just

another interest group out for the benefit of the union leadership.

Throw in a couple of obscene contract "requirements" and you get a blueprint for killing any true labor reform. they could not do a better job if they tried - which is almost certainly what their main goal has been.

As with many things, we could learn from the Europeans. How to riot. How to stand up for human rights. How to remove (or at least, protest) a government that is out of control.

[bdamomma]

7. maybe because those European countries were not spared during

WW2, this country has not seen any uprisings (on our own soil) since the Civil War.

[Cha]

12. Maybe..

that's a thought worth thinking about!

[rjones2818]

5. I wonder which Presidential candidate

understands what's going on in France better than anyone else?

[laststeamtrain]

8. Right there's your '60s values. May '68.

Students, workers in the streets.

Almost got there again at the Battle in Seattle.

But then, (insert Dragnet theme), the lock down.

May '68 graffiti: "There's a policeman in all our heads who must be killed."

Someone like DK should be thought of as a mainstream politician.

There's been a failure of imagination somewhere along the line, somewhere about St. Reagan time.

I dig the French. I'm all for those Frenchies. Something to be learned there. They give me hope.

[truedelphi]

26. The knock down dragout sucker punch that the protests put to the WTO

In Seattle accomplished one very tangible thing: they guaranteed that the French and other Europeans would not have to have American produced GMO forced down their gullet.

Because of that, we actually have independent scientists who are testing and analyzing the GMO health risks. Although I would prefer it was done here rather than over in the European nations,
it is better there than nowhere.

[Cha]

10. I read about that "labor reform" on

DU a month or so ago..I can't remember details but it seemed they were out to screw with their Labor. And now Labor is rebeling!

I hope the Labor forces in the US are taking heart and notes.

Viva Labor!

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. (nt)

[earth mom]

14. Vive la France!

:applause:

So how 'bout it America?

[Maat]

15. To the French people!

:toast:

I've continually said for years now, as has Howard Zinn, basically, that we have to model our behavior after them. What Zinn said, basically, is that we have to focus on social MOVEMENTS, not faith in politicians.

[Hand]

16. As the French said in "Sicko"...

"The government here is afraid of the people. That's why we get free medical care, university tuition, and in-home child care." Nobody hits the streets like the French--and it works!



VIVE LA FRANCE!

[Whisp]

17. I love the French people too. They seem to 'get' it

way better than we do here.
they are so civil in many ways, and so riotous in others.

[nealmhughes]

19. Mais oui, dogs get a silver bowl of chow and water when they dine with their parents at restaurants.

TVG, Airbus, Citroen, Brie, Viognier, Carcassonne, Orange, Paris, Lyons, Montpelier, Nice, Pau, etc. ad infin. Voltaire, Montaigne, Montesquieu, Piaf, and Paris empty of Parisians in August. What is not to love?

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. And they're on the Euro.

[Hamlette]

20. Check out this priceless image from the protest

What's up with THAT uniform? Really. Makes the Swiss Guards look sophisticated. And the look on his face? Priceless.

[BornagainDUer]

23. This is fantastic. Fuck the goddamn fascists bastards trying to Americanize

that country.

[Chovexani]

24. How do you say "solidarity" in French?

I love France. My cousin moved there to go to Le Cordon Bleu and never came back.

It's a wonderful country and the people are cool. Were it not for my video game addiction, I could easily live there (Europe sucks for gamers, with the whole PAL thing).

[JanMichael]

25. Damned straight! They don't buckle nearly as fast as those of us in the...

..."land of the free and home of the brave".

Not even close. They are much more inclined to think of the WE rather than the selfish loser I.

[Joe Chi Minh]

27. How about this then!

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=13595

Just look at the litany of workers. Including lawyers and ballet dancers!

[kelligesq]

28. It should be remembered, when ze French get zick ov zer govt, zay roll out ze guillotine

not a bad idea.

[malaise]

29. Bravo French workers

Share the love! :yourock:

[never cry wolf]

30. Here's a story about the Danish, great explanation of Europran social structure

One thing American workers could learn from all this is: if they really united like the Danish (or most other European) workers, they could in the same fashion obtain a full blown cradle-to-grave welfare state with 5 weeks paid vacations and all medical care and education, child care etc. for free. All it takes is a full blown nationwide strike every fifteen years to get the employers to give in.

Once people have lived in and enjoyed the fruits and the security of the welfare state, they will never give it up (just as Americans today will never give up the little welfare state they have: social security and unemployment compensation - although the latter is very short term by European standards).

Over here you get 70-90 % of your ordinary salary for years if you have no job or have just finished education and not yet found a job in your field, not to mention 3 years of pregnancy leaves for either parent with full pay (with the other spouse getting 2 weeks off) and one year long sabbaticals at 80% of regular salary.

The one year sabbaticals became law on a temporary basis in the 1980’s when unemployment was very high in order through job rotation to bring more people into the labor market.

People loved it and took off for year long round the world trips financed by their 80% regular salary. And now when we have almost full employment again people are not about to give up their new rights, so no government now dares to roll back the law about paid one year sabbaticals.

I am myself constantly discovering new aspects of the welfare state - such as a couple of months ago when my son turned 18 and automatically started receiving a monthly check from the government of 230$. Why? Because he is in his second year of high school and anybody going to any form of school is being paid a salary.

http://www.american-pictures.com/english/racism/articles/welfare.htm

[Joanne98]

31. They're kicking the French poodles butt!

[Triana]

32. The French are not afraid of their gov't...

...at least according to M. Moore in SiCKO, it's quite the other way around at times.

Should be that way HERE too. After all they DO work for us and WE DO pay their fat salaries.