the pettiness of mr bu$h* - asshole extraordinaire

[spanone]

ROQUEFORT-SUR-SOULZON This seems an unlikely spot to fight a trade war.

A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley where sheep graze in the shadow of limestone cliffs that were sheared off by a seismic jolt in prehistoric times.

But the primal shake also carved out aerated underground crevasses that give a unique economic value to this jagged landscape about 65 miles northwest of Montpellier. They make possible a gastronomical wonder that has delighted gourmets for centuries: Roquefort cheese. And now, in an era of globalized competition for trade, the smelly delicacy and its little home town have become ground zero for the warriors of export-import in Washington.

The United States, it turns out, has declared war on Roquefort cheese.

In its final days, the Bush administration imposed a 300 percent duty on Roquefort, in effect closing off the U.S. market. Americans, it declared, will no longer get to taste the creamy concoction that, in its authentic, most glorious form, comes with an odor of wet sheep and veins of blue mold that go perfectly with rye bread and coarse red wine.

The measure, announced Jan. 13 by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab as she headed out the door, was designed as retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of U.S. beef containing hormones. Tit for tat, and all perfectly legal under World Trade Organization rules, U.S. officials explained.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012804071_pf.html

[marshall]

1. Buy French First!

We should all support this country that stood as a bastion against imperialism. The country exports many wonderful products, and they are hurting from the economy too.

[Tartiflette]

2. As one who is spending a year there...

..and who very much appreciates the local wine, bread and cheese (mmmmm... Reblochon, Mont d'Or, Roquefort, Raclette, Camembert de Camagne, St Marcelin...the list is huge) I'm all in favour of that.

[spanone]

5. misread post - i must apologized

[Dr.Phool]

7. He replied to the first post, saying buy French first.

Doesn't sound like supporting chimpolini to me.

[Lasher]

3. Veins of mold and smells like wet sheep?

Sounds like a candidate for the list of most horrid foods.

The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World

Humans are like goats. We'll eat any damned thing. Just ask the people who make PowerBars.

In fact, you'll find foods in this world that don't even seem possible. Not just that they could exist, but that people would actually stick this stuff in their mouths without a gun to their head.

We've found six dishes that seemed to have sprung from Satan's own cookbook.

http://www.cracked.com/article_14979_6-most-terrifying-foods-in-world.html

But you're right, Junior is a petty asshole.

[CrispyQ]

4. That article was truly disgusting.

I agree - people will eat anything.

[Dr.Phool]

6. They left out the blowfish testicles!

[HillWilliam]

9. Imagine the first human to eat an egg

"Hey, Grawnk, let's follow that thing around and eat the first thing that shoots out of it's ass!" The cavemen were rednecks, I suppose, and we're lucky that they didn't play "Hey, y'all, look at this!" that day and instead went looking for something passing for food.

Just be glad they got to the cows first instead of the bulls, or the price of butter would be sky-high and cheese would simply be out of the question.

:rofl:

[Lasher]

11. We owe much to these brave redneck pioneers.

"It was a brave man who first ate an oyster" - Jonathan Swift

[immoderate]

8. No not rye bread! French baguettes with a little butter.

Wash it down with a Cabernet. Yum!

--imm

[hunter]

10. The French probably don't want our mercury tainted HFCS either.

Whats the matter with them? Don't they know that everything is just chemicals? If hormones make more meat, and corn run through a chemical refinery makes more sweet, what's the damned problem???

Natural food is for sissies.