Posted on 04/02/2006 6:11:31 PM PDT by trashcanbred
ROTFLOL
This man is unusually clear-thinking for an academician. There will be an opening at Harvard that he seems eminently qualified to fill, if he feels like dealing with a different breed of idiot. Amazing to read this from someone who is not only an academician, but a French one at that, and in The Guardian of all places. Is "mirabile dictu" the phrase I want?
The students want to reintroduce slavery--only they become masters of everyone who produces so that they can have what they want. It is slavery they want isn't it?
McVey
Amazing to hear the truth spoken by a Frenchman!
Well, yes, but that's not the point. The President of the Sorbonne is almost by definition one of the most influential people in France (the French, of all classes, so love their intellectuals) and this will have ramifications.
Wow, bold words and true.
Or, in my case, MA.
And we have had a string of Republican governors.
Go figure.
"Today's youth don't have dreams, they have illusions. To dream is to want to accomplish something difficult that is a challenge. Instead youngsters believe they have a right to everything and if things don't go the way they want it's someone else's fault."
A breath of fresh air ...
Almost correct. They will become the slaves asking for an aisle seat at the oars! Wow fresh gruel today!
A permanent job is one you cannot quit, and I could never fire anyone. That would be hell.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Warning, Sorbonne dude. You sound like a Freeper. The barbarians will be showing up soon with firebombs. They will NOT have the truth shoved down THEIR throats! How dare you?
France is bracing itself for widespread trouble tomorrow when a national strike has been called against the controversial Contrat de Première Embauche - the First Employment Contract - which entered the statute books yesterday. A similar day of action last week ended in violent clashes between protesters and riot police.
As far as I can tell, the rioters are students and unemployed former students. How, pray tell, are they going to go on strike? Nobody cares if they go to class or not (which apparently isn't even an option that's open to them right now), and everybody except a few communist rabble-rousers would be thrilled if they'd go on strike from their current occupation, namely rioting. Dr. Pitte sure is right about these kids needing a reality check.
He added that tens of thousands of students were taking degrees in subjects with no relevance to the employment market but were then demanding jobs linked to their studies.
Seems to me that no publicly funded university should even be OFFERING "degrees in subjects with no relevance to the employment market" (and the US is certainly just as bad as the French in that department). But I'd like know just what attempts Dr. Pitte has made in his capacity as university President, to limit access to these ivory tower degree programs.
This is one guy I hope is tenured! What can they do, fire him? Vive la this dude!
Wow. Well said!!
Didn't some of the students do some trashing of the Sorbonne building and throw historic furniture and stuff out the window? I thought I read that somewhere.
The president of the Sorbonne understands the microeconomics of labor markets?
I am really quite surprised.
I just read a pretty good book about France, the link is below. The title is, "60 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong."
The authors contention is that the French consider the Sorbonne to be a second rate school. All the top French students aspire to enter one of the elite ecoles to study Public Administration. The path to power and prestige in France is to enter the government.
There are some great and insightful observations about the French by the authors who are a Canadian couple, the husband of which is a French-Canuck.
They talk about the rule of the mob in France throughout history to the present. In their description of the Palace at Versaille was fact that it was specifically built 20 miles outside and included lakes in the direction of Paris to prevent the Paris mob from taking the king hostage. The Paris mob was known for lynching public servants.
The present day French reverence the 'State' in the same way we do the Constitution. All government is federal, their essentially is no state, county, or local governments. All police are federal and strikes are basically a major and revered feature of French politics. French strikers get angry and complain if the riot police don't turn out because it implies the government doesn't take them seriously.
The book pretty much explained why the French didn't bother to shoot any of the Muslim car burners. It simply wouldn't occur to them to do it since protesting is a national pasttime.
Anyway, I highly recommend it
http://www.sixtymillionfrenchmen.com/media%20appearencies/we'refrommars.htm
"Today's youth don't have dreams, they have illusions. To dream is to want to accomplish something difficult that is a challenge. Instead youngsters believe they have a right to everything and if things don't go the way they want it's someone else's fault."
This doesn't just apply to the French now. There are plenty of young Americans who believe the same thing.
I hope this guy has a bodyguard, with a gun.
Yes he did so he'll be ignored.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.