Replace the French Prussick

.

[Mark_B.]

...you can't mean that seriously... but admittedly, it's a good one- I'm still laughing! Freedom Hitch, huh...!

[Crofter]

Our main man Jean Chretien has got two strikes against him, What can we do eh?

Frank

[Ghivelder]

I also thought of quiting using American ropes but decided against it for fear of having Bush sending in the marines...

[treeclimber165]

Originally posted by Ghivelder
I also thought of quiting using American ropes but decided against it for fear of having Bush sending in the marines...

That is a rather silly response. Plese read the following, copied from an English newspaper:

Subject: Fw: Message from England
>
>No matter what your views on President Bush's
>statement of upcoming war, this, from an English
>journalist, is very interesting. Just a word of
>background for those of you who aren't familiar with
>the UK's Daily Mirror. This is a notoriously
>left-wing daily that is normally not supportive of the Colonials across the
>Atlantic.
>
>
>Tony Parsons ... Daily Mirror ... September 11, 2002
>
>One year ago, the world witnessed a unique kind of
>broadcasting -- the mass murder of thousands, live on television. As a
>lesson in the pitiless cruelty of the human race, September 11 was up there
>with Pol Pot's Mountain of Skulls in Cambodia, or the skeletal bodies
>stacked like garbage in the Nazi concentration camps.
>
>An unspeakable act so cruel, so calculated and so
>utterly merciless that surely the world could agree on
>one thing -- nobody deserves this fate. Surely there
>could be consensus: The victims were truly innocent,
>the perpetrators truly evil.
>
>But to the world's eternal shame, 9/11 is increasingly
>seen as America's comeuppance. Incredibly,
>anti-Americanism has increased over the last year.
>
>There has always been a simmering resentment to the
>USA in this country; too loud, too rich, too full of themselves, and so much
>happier than Europeans -- but it has become an epidemic. And it seems
>incredible to me. More than that, it turns my stomach.
>
>America is this country's greatest friend and our
>staunchest ally. We are bonded to the US by culture,
>language and blood. A little over half a century ago,
>around half a million Americans died for our freedoms,
>as well as their own. Have we forgotten so soon? And exactly a year ago,
>thousands of ordinary men, women and children -- not just Americans, but
>from dozens of countries -- were butchered by a small group of religious
>fanatics. Are we so quick to betray them?
>
>What touched the heart about those who died in the
>Twin Towers and on the planes, was that we recognized
>them. Young fathers and mothers, somebody's son and somebody's daughter,
>husbands, wives, and children, some unborn.
>
>And these people brought it on themselves? Their
>nation is to blame for their meticulously planned
>slaughter?
>
>These days you don't have to be some dust-encrusted
>nut job in Kabul or Karachi or Finsbury Park to see
>America as the Great Satan. The anti-American
>alliance is made up of self-loathing liberals who
>blame the Americans for every ill in the Third World,
>and conservatives suffering from power-envy, bitter
>that the world's only superpower can do what it likes
>without having to ask permission.
>
>The truth is that America has behaved with enormous
>restraint since September 11.
>
>Remember ... remember ... remember ... the
>gut-wrenching tapes of weeping men phoning their wives
>to say, "I love you," before they were burned alive.
>
>Remember those people leaping to their deaths from the
>top of burning skyscrapers. Remember the hundreds of
>firemen buried alive.
>
>Remember the smiling face of that beautiful little
>girl who was on one of the planes with her mum.
>
>Remember ... remember ...
>
>And realize that America has never retaliated for 9/11
>in anything like the way it could have.
>
>So a few al-Qaeda tourists got locked up without a
>trial in Camp X-ray? Pass the Kleenex ...
>
>So some Afghan wedding receptions were shot up after
>they merrily fired their semiautomatics in a sky full
>of American planes? A shame, but maybe next time they
>should stick to confetti.
>
>AMERICA could have turned a large chunk of the world
>into a parking lot. That it didn't is a sign of
>strength. American voices are already being raised
>against attacking Iraq -- that's what a democracy is
>for. How many in the Islamic world will have a
>minute's silence for the slaughtered innocents of
>9/11? How many Islamic leaders will have the guts to
>say that the mass murder of 9/11 was an abomination?
>
>When the news of 9/11 broke on the West Bank, those freedom-loving
>Palestinians were dancing in the street. America watched all of that --
>and didn't push the button. We should thank the stars that America is the
>most powerful nation in the world. I still find it incredible that 9/11
>did not provoke all-out war. Not a "war on terrorism." A real war.
>
>The fundamentalist dudes are talking about "opening
>the gates of hell" if America attacks Iraq. Well,
>America could have opened the gates of hell like you
>wouldn't believe.
>
>The US is the most militarily powerful nation that
>ever strode the face of the earth. The campaign in Afghanistan may have
>been less than perfect and the planned war on Iraq may be misconceived.
>
>But don't blame America for not bringing peace and
>light to these wretched countries. How many
>democracies are there in the Middle East, or in the
>Muslim world? You can count them on the fingers of
>one hand -- assuming you haven't had any chopped off
>for minor shoplifting.
>
>I love America, yet America is hated. I guess that
>makes me Bush's poodle.
>
>But I would rather be a dog in New York City than a
>Prince in Riyadh. Above all, America is hated because
>it is what every country wants to be -- rich, free,
>strong, open, optimistic. Not ground down by the
>past, or religion, or some caste system. America is
>the best friend this country ever had and we should
>start remembering that.
>
>Or do you really think the USA is the root of all
>evil? Tell it to the loved ones of the men and women
>who leaped to their death from the burning towers.
>
>Tell it to the nursing mothers whose husbands died on
>one of the hijacked planes, or were ripped apart in a collapsing
>skyscraper. And tell it to the hundreds of young widows whose husbands
>worked for the New York Fire Department.
>
>To our shame, George Bush gets a worse press than
>Saddam Hussein. Once we were told that Saddam gassed
>the Kurds, tortured his own people and set up
>rape-camps in Kuwait. Now we are told he likes
>Quality Street. Save me the orange center, Oh Mighty
>One!
>
>Remember ... remember ... September 11. One of the
>greatest atrocities in human history was committed
>against America. Don't forget.

[Ghivelder]

You forget I'm Brazilian.
I suggest you to study a bit of South American history and find out what was the role of the U.S. in all the continent's dictatorships.
Go beyond appearance. Find out who is gaining profit from the situation.
A silly remark merited a silly response.

Sergio

[Ghivelder]

Originally posted by Down To Earth
I wouldnt put my life on a rope not made in America

It makes me sad to hear these things...

End of report

[xander9727]

Ghivelder,

You shouldn't have to subject yourself to an American arboristsite either. Make a statement! Go and find an Arab, French, Italian, etc. arborist web site to post on.

[ramanujan]

boycotting non-american gear and ropes is childish. refusing to climb on anything but american ropes is equally ridiculous.

do you think that every bit of gear that american soldiers are using was designed and built in america? not likely.

i'm a canadian but i've traveled plenty in the states and the prevailing attitude that i've seen from americans regarding other countries is one of arrogant ignorance.

only a leader as unintelligent as bush foments mindless patriotism in his people. or maybe he has dirty laundry and a dirtier agenda.

before anyone jumps on me for being antiwar let me point out that i am not against the ousting of saddam, i think it's a safe and necessary precaution. what i do have a problem with is the usa making a standalone decision to attack iraq and then whining that no one is helping. there is no reasonable explanation for attacking iraq without UN sanction and without giving diplomacy more of a chance.

when did diplomacy fail? i must have missed that.

[treeclimber165]

Originally posted by ramanujan
there is no reasonable explanation for attacking iraq without UN sanction and without giving diplomacy more of a chance.

when did diplomacy fail? i must have missed that.

Ummm, the U.N. has had sanctions against Iraq for about 10 years now. And try telling us just how effective the 'U.N. weapons inspections' have been.

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The obvious problem is there was no UN resolution to oust Saddam.

[FBerkel]

When 44% of US citizens think that Sadam was "behind" Sept. 11, Ingnorant is an apt characterization, I am sad to say.

[TimberMcPherson]

Hey you have to go the whole hog, why just boycott products from those 3? You have at least 160 countries that have either not shown support or had the balls to tell Bush that what he is doing is wrong.
How many of those nations are supporting the usa primariliy because they have been given a pretty good bribe or been blackmailed (ie "if you dont tow the line we are going to make your nations life alot more differcut in the future")?
Nations whose finances are going to be badly effect by saying no to the US are still saying no. Not because they are cowards, not because they have vested interests in Iraq but because these 160 nations see what the US is doing is wrong.
Saddam is evil, but 2 wrongs dont make a right.

If you had been bombed and had loved ones killed by distant enemies, had your nation financially crippled by their sanctions against you and then have them invade your resource rich country, would you not fight?

If your going to boycott things you better get used to doing without, I dont see sweden in the list on the website you detailed, looks like no husky or stihl for the true patriots.

[Stumper]

DTE, What kind of flyfisherman are you?--opening this can of worms!

I 've been wrestling with this personally. Brian and others have convinced me that a Pantin would be a real help in my climbing. It is made by Petzl-a french company. My view is not that that the french "are following their conscience". Rather, I think that the french government has deliberately tried to embarrass the United States. The economic ties between the french and Saddam Hussein's government are well established. Without doubt their are plenty of U.S. connections to Iraqui interests as well, but I do believe that the french government has been influenced by their economic links to the Butcher of Baghdad.
My problem with the french is not solely their opposition to our government's policy toward Iraq. The french (and others) have chosen a course of moral ambiguity. ( They are like bad parents-"Do as I say or else......nothing, I'll just say it again and continue to DO nothing.")
So here I sit, wanting a product which no one else manufactures. Wanting to punish the french economically for being a bunch of meally-mouthed, arrogant, self absorbed, egomaniacal, world-power wannabes. I vacillate between wanting to take a stand and feeling stupid for punishing MYSELF economically by not buying a tool to make me more productive. I wonder where the opinions of the Petzl management fall.? Their workers? What about the U.S. importers who would get a chunk of the $? I HATE BOYCOTTS! I'm also more than a little put out with our so-called ally! Oh well, the french have been 'Gaul ling' everyone around them since the days of the Roman empire.

I still don't know where to land on the boycott but I do recognize the difference between 'leaders' who make decisions based on political expediency/popularity and those who DO something based on convictions about right and wrong. The Bush bashers will pooh-pooh the idea that he is acting based upon deep convictions but I am convinced. Ditto for Tony Blair. I know that a lot of people (including several on this site) are very opposed to this war. I respect their convictions but I believe they are wrong. The real problem with this conflict has been the 12 year intermission! When Hussein renigged on his ceasefire agreement a couple of weeks after he made it ,we should have finished the job.-20/20 hindsight.

[Thilo B.]

I` am angry and shocked about what I have to read here!

You who call himself an Patriot, you dont have a bloody idea what an true Patriot is! People who are able to be critical about there homecountry and who have the balls to stand up against there own goverment and risk their own carrier for what they stand for because they truely love there homecountry are the real Patriots. "Bowling for Columbine" themes to be everywhere in the US. I have tryed to understand this way of thinking many times but I guess I never will. I have never been confronted with this thick kind of patriotism in any other country as in the US. In the same time I`am very happy that I know many US citizen who are not that brainwashed as some people themes to be.
I`ve been a couple of times in the US and some of my best friends are americans but I know these people are ashamed of people like your president and these so called "Patriots".
I`am angry, I`am scarred and I`am sad about what I have to read!
People like you "Mr. Patriot" and Mr. Bush are the real threat for the world freedom. You have never been overseas, You have not the slightest idea about politics, history and humanity.
SHAME ON YOU!