Thank you very much for all your nice messages yesterday. I did appreciate them a lot and I'm sure my father did too ;-) Now back to a Paris monument. I already posted a pretty similar photo some time ago but here is a new one for, pretty soon, France will give up its European Presidency (and pass it on to the Czech Republic). The system is such that each member of the EU has the right to a 6 month presidency every 12 years or so! My opinion is that it's about time we all agree on an elected European President...
Oooh political. Red white and blue too Eric, very patriotic. Love the photo, though it's not a patch on your dear Dad.
ReplyDeletehe he .... giggle! I made it. Yay. My crown will have little photos of Monsieur Tenin Snr hanging from it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Lynn! Lynn for president of the EU!
ReplyDeleteOh wait, no Brits allowed. Maybe Queen then.
Eric, it does seem like 6 months is too short a time to mean much. What does the EU Presidency mean exactly?
Never mind. I'll look it up.
lol Petrea. Queen Lynn does have a certain ring to it...;)
ReplyDeleteWell, everybody knows that Sarkozy doesn't want to leave the EU presidency! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not really kidding. The law is clear: 6 months of presidency, but since the Czech President (the next to be the EU President) is not pro-Europe and the Sweden (Presidency planned for the next July) is not part of the Euro Zone, Sarkozy seems to be reluctant to abandon the post...
"My opinion is that it's about time we all agree on an elected European President"...When the Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty, they also rejected this possibility. If they adopt it in the next few months, it will possible to have an elected European President, but if they don't, it won't happen. That's another debate!
Petrea, I liked to provide links today LOL. About the Sarkozy Presidency and about the EU Presidency in general.
ReplyDeleteBTW Eric, that's funny to see almost the same picture. One for the beginning, one for the end of the presidency, it was a smart way to speak about it.
ReplyDelete(Sorry for the 1st comment, I didn't correct my mistakes before posting!)
Merci Guille, very informative.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Petrea that 6 months doesn't allow for much policy direction. But maybe it isn't meant to. On a related note, big news from the US:
ReplyDeleteImportant Supreme Court judgment changes everything.
Me again, I swear, after this unbelievable video, I'm off to bed!
ReplyDeleteUSelaine: LOOOOOOL! Would have been SO nice. 8 years ago. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt pains me that The Isle Of Man is not a member of the EU. Love the tricolour effect and how did you get such an empty scene.
ReplyDeleteBlue, white and red! Certainly catches the eye. Merci Eric, and merci Guille for the links and your insight. I happen to agree...6 months is a bit ridiculous. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteUSelaine...don't you just love the Onion! Great eye. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteI missed a big day here at PDP yesterday. Happy birthday to your dear father Eric! I'm not surprised your Dad has a kind disposition, just like you. & he is quite the looker too I must say.
ReplyDeleteThanks for todays delightful photo & everyone's informative comments as well.
I just checked PDP for the past two days. I apologize for being tardy, M. Eric, but all my best wishes to ton pere: bon anniversaire.
ReplyDeleteGuille: I was watching tv and started flipping through the channels. I could not believe the shoe film. Amazing. I was shocked, then, I admit, I laughed like hell. The guy's aim was pretty good, but Howdy Doody was too quick. Absolutely amazing. We have films of Reagan being shot, Ford being shot at, but I think this made history. The CNN headline was: President Dodges Shoes. I am not kidding.
"My opinion is that it's about time we all agree on an elected European President..."
ReplyDeleteFor the first time Eric, we agree !… unless you want Sarko to do the job ! LOL
I laughed so hard at the Onion that I completely forgot what I wanted to say about this post, which is probably OK unless you wanted to hear another smart @ss comment out of me ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, you guys know about the shoe story alrady ;) Good! :)
(Not sure it's quite as good as the Bill Gates' pie in the face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSyAZO2v8kY
and frankly, small consolation for the last 8 years, but I guess it'll have to do! ;)
Glad you posted that Guille, about the shoes, I was going to! Well Bush said afterwards "So he threw his shoes at me, so what?" making light of it. Of course, had the shoes hit him, it could have hurt, but it was the gesture itself which was important. In the Middle East the showing of soles of the feet or shoes is the utmost insult. Bush seemed to think it was a way of the Iraqi journalist getting attention and did not seem to know of the local, extreme insult. Security was very slow to react I thought? Bush ducked it well, but really he was on his own.
ReplyDeleteNatsy GG "unless you want Sarko to do the job".. Let him do, he will leave us alone!! Yeaaah.
ReplyDeleteNasty GG again, about the Bill Gates' pie video, the difference is that Gates is NOT a dickhead! Bush deserved these shoes!! Maigre consolation après ces 8 années.
Lovely photo, Eric! Every day your photos allow me a little visit to Paris, merci!
ReplyDeleteAbout the shoe thing - I, too, thought that those assigned to protect the president were slow to react. Aren't they supposed to shield him with their bodies? The guy had time to get off another "shot"!
It is embarassing that we have a president who gets shoes thrown at him. One news source said that the "thrower" was shouting, "This is for the widows and orphans!" It is easy to understand that sentiment, isn't it?
Even though I do not admire Bush, it is shocking and shameful that the President of the United States is the target of such a public insult. Yikes. The hatred and disrespect, Bush's lack of comprehension of the insult, and the fact that the Secret Service was asleep (for the second shoe)--each one of these is a bad sign, but all of them together in one episode really is embarassing, from any perspective. It is so symbolic of so many things. The comedians will eat for weeks on this.
ReplyDeleteIf Sarkozy wants to retain the EU presidency, tell him to beware of chasseures! (Or is it sabos?!)
Very interesting discussion, and another great photo, Eric. I wonder if the short term of president of the EU is so that they can't make any major and lasting policy changes that would benefit their own country more than the others; a way of making it more equal for all?
ReplyDeleteSomething to wonder about for the future, I guess.
Guille, the video of Bill Gates, that was me. As to whether or not Bill Gates is a dickhead, well, we could have a really good debate about that I'm sure (yeah, he's done some great thing, but he's also done some evil things), but OK, that is clearly a debate for another time ;)
ReplyDeleteI thought the exact same thing: after the last 8 years, a couple of shoes thrown at the President is pretty small retribution in comparison to the damage done.
Guille, yes les Tomates et les GG communient aussi dans la nastyness mais beware ! Every Tomate is not a GG nor vice versa !
ReplyDeletehello everyone....a couple of things...
ReplyDeleteeric - i missed yesterday's post...what a handsome gentleman - feliz cumpleanos Senor Tenin.
today's foto is very colorful and dramatic.
as for the shoe....embarassing in so many ways for the US - I can't wait until January 20th. CHANGE IS COMING!
I say again, and thought about it again today, that Bush's making light of the shoe-throwing was the worst aspect, in many ways. 1. He didn't appear to understand the significance as I pointed out yesterday and 2. If he did realise the insult in Middle Eastern terms, then he has trivialised it completely, saying more or less 'well it's not what we do in America so I don't care what it means'. Not good for international relations and understanding of culture, whichever way you look at it.
ReplyDeleteThe whole episode has been picked up today in Iraq with demonstrations and support of the journalist who threw the shoes. He now has a large following.
LOL Nasty GG! ;)
ReplyDeleteEric you're making strange friends (or foes?) as they case may be ?!! ;)
ReplyDeleteErrr Tomate, this is really odd. It looks like a comment that has been posted on some other blog! I think I'll erase it.
ReplyDeleteLOL on the shoe happening! It's everywhere in the news - and Guille found it first! - bravo ;)
ReplyDelete