Does the US administration owe an apology to the French ?

[Smurf]

I think he's referring to the period just after the revolution called La Grande Terreur when Robbespierre had some fuses blowing in his brain and became totally paranoia, chopping heads off all over the place... until they chopped his head off.

Oh. Okay. Being completely ignorant is better than being a bigot at least.

Now, it is probably not the best translation to translate "La Grande Terreur" into the Big Terrorist :-)

Yeah, and the word Terreur wasn't invented at that time, or later to describe that time. Besides, it was 16th century French so most likely had a rather different meaning and/or spelling, ect.

 

[Smurf]

Ah yes that would be right also you could have aid derived from terrour the french or terrere

Yes, they got terrorism from the French word for dirt. I think if that's what he was thinking I'm going back to bigot, no human is that stupid unless they want to be.

Besides, the Latin word probably existed before the French word by only about a millenium.

 

[Art]

What currently existing government is older than the US government? To my understanding there is none...so unless I am incorrect (which I could be and would appreciate being properly informed if that is in fact the case) then in so far as a country is its government the United States of America is the oldest country in the world.

Of course we are young if you are to consider a country the same country even though they may have drastically different governments. To me once a government is abolished that country is dead and from whatever government forms at that point, it becomes a new nation. France may have the same name as it did 200 years ago but it is not the same country where as the US has had the same government since westners populated this land.

I'm catching up on this thread a little late but in case nobody has answered you yet, how about Britain. Their gov't is called the mother of all parliaments because ... Yes, you've guessed it! It's the oldest still existing parliamentary gov't in the world. That is what the US gov't is modeled on.

 

[NewScientist]

Did you also know the UK has no constitution! Interesting fact I think!

And townsend I would like to ask you - did the Dutch or French have the same government as modern day US? For they were the first settlers, along with the British.

 

[Smurf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_constitution

Wiki is your friend.

 

[Townsend]

Did you also know the UK has no constitution! Interesting fact I think!

And townsend I would like to ask you - did the Dutch or French have the same government as modern day US? For they were the first settlers, along with the British.

This is old...it has already been hashed out...


What I was talking about, in case anyone still wants to know, is http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=283 ...

Which I was using to justify my position... however I was wrong to say the US has the oldest government in a strict sense.

Ok?

 

[NewScientist]

The only bones I would pick with your argument is that, like america, computing began from a simple electronic background that has not changed, wire are still used etc, but they have been improved over time and now the product is a million miles from where it all began. America too has moved on a long way - think of the census part of your laws that state that the population of America shall be determined by adding the whole number of free persons, and three fifths of all other persons (black people and slaves) - is that the correct attitude today, has America not changed?

 

[Townsend]

has America not changed?

The constitution is for the living

My point is that the US government was designed to allow for change to happen and so the fact that it is different means it is still the same.

 

[Art]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_constitution

Wiki is your friend.

It doesn't have a written constitution and so parliament can enact any legislation they like which can not be challenged on constitutional grounds which means they never have to have referendi to enable them to change or pass a law.

The only written document which is the one from which parliament originally derived it's powers is the Magna Carta which is viewed as a nice antique these days rather than a legally binding document.

What I was talking about, in case anyone still wants to know, is http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/da...ay.cfm?HHID=283 ...

Which I was using to justify my position... however I was wrong to say the US has the oldest government in a strict sense.

Yes Britain is not unique there are others as well. In fact were it not for Britain and the US there would be many others

 

[NewScientist]

Cheers Art for clearing that up so well!

i was commenting however, that the bedrock of america, a rebelling society which was the centre for the exploitation of slaves, murder and ethnic cleansing is far different to what it is now - the whole of amercia, from the bottom up has changed. Another analogy I may draw on is that of Christianity, the bible has essentially never changed but the interpretations of it have change drastically.

 

[cronxeh]

Smurf, since you are a minor I will go easy on you

First of all this is a political terrorism, and you won't understand why French invented modern terrorism which was adopted by Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and in modern times the Al Qaeda.

 

[Smurf]

Wrong thread cronx

 

[Art]

Smurf, since you are a minor I will go easy on you

First of all this is a political terrorism, and you won't understand why French invented modern terrorism which was adopted by Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and in modern times the Al Qaeda.

Hope you don't mind if I step in but when you say modern terrorism are you arbitrarily setting the clock at the French revolution thus making your statement a self supporting truth?

Political terrorism goes back many years prior to the French revolution. In fact some of the early exponents were the Zealots, Jewish men who would attack Roman and Greek authorities in broad daylight, in front of large groups of spectators, to send a message to the ruling body that they were not wanted there. There were also the Sicari who were also jews who murdered other jews who had fallen from their religious faith.

The term terrorism was indeed coined during the French revolution (Robespierre) but modern terrorism is generally ascribed to the mid 19th century when an Italian revolutionary, Carlo Pisacane theorized that terrorism could deliver a message to an audience and draw attention to and support for a cause.

 

[TRCSF]

France invented terrorism? Just what are they teaching in Jr. high these days.

Look, kids, terrorism means using violence or the threat of violence on civilian populations, in order to reach some political outcome.

Examples:

Flying planes into office buildings in order to get foriegn troops out of Saudi Arabia.

Burning down churches in order to keep black people from voting.

Blowing up protestants in order to get foreigners to leave your island.

Terrorism wasn't invented by either the French or the Muslims, regardless of what any Jack Chick tract has to say about it.

It was never invented. It's been around as long as humanity, which is either hundreds of thousands of years, or 6000 years; depending on whether or not you're a Bush supporter.

 

[Townsend]

... or 6000 years; depending on whether or not you're a Bush supporter.

There is such a thing as an agnostic Bush supporter.

 

[TRCSF]

There is such a thing as an agnostic Bush supporter.

You're either with him or you're against him.

 

[stoned]

after all your posts guys, look likes France must apologize to the great US of A for something.

 

[outsider]

You're either with him or you're against him.

I think i'll try to get on his side and see what all this hype is all about... i wonder how long i can last?