Posted on 02/23/2013 12:11:51 AM PST by bruinbirdman
An American tyre tycoon has fired off a second virulent missive to France's industry minister, saying his country has “beautiful women and fantastic wine” but “no idea how to run a business”.
Maurice Taylor - chief executive of Titan International - had already incensed the French once this week by saying the country's “so-called” workers put in “three hours a day” with the rest spent eating and talking.
Industry minister Arnaud Montebourg hit back in a written response in which he told Mr Taylor his comments were “extremist and insulting” and displayed “a perfect ignorance of what our country is about”.
"Be assured that you can count on me to inspect your tyre imports with a redoubled zeal."
Mr Taylor has today responded: "You letter shows the extent to which your political class is out of touch with [real] world problems”.
"You call me an extremist, but most businessmen would agree that I must be nuts to have the idea to spend millions of US dollars to buy a tyre factory in France paying some of the highest wages in the world."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Sorry for being unclear. They bought, I drank.
I think we missed the point of his comment on the women and the wine...he was throwing them a “bone” and preparing for another insult. Just a rhetorical device.
I think we missed the point of his comment on the women and the wine...he was throwing them a “bone” and preparing for another insult. Just a rhetorical device.
I disagree with the original post, while French women are beautiful, I’m more partial to Italian wine than French wine. As for the six Asians and their robot doing the work of one hundred Frenchmen... You forgot to factor in that thirty of the Frenchmen would convert to Islam, riot, and burn parts of your factory and town. Seventy or so would form a union, demand unreasonable wage, benefit, and vacation deals, then go out on strike anyway. Meanwhile the Asians would have created a beautiful rock garden in their spare time, built a dojo, and started teaching kids self defense and discipline.
I like them all and appreciate their beauty and differences. A beautiful as some women are, it would be a tragedy if they all looked to much alike.
I was stationed in Germany 1981-83. I was out hiking one Saturday in June on their excellent trails when I saw a party of men & women walking eastbound; they approached & started asking me directions in French, as indeed they all were French.
With my knowledge of WWII I replied, “What in the world are you doing here in Germany!?”
“Oh, we come here all the time in summer! We like vacationing in Germany because here, it’s so clean & everything works!”
Couldn’t argue with that.
I thought that was the case, but I couldn’t resist. I spent a little time in France (40 years ago this summer — where did the time go?), and almost everyone was friendly, except in Paris, and not all Parisians were rude, either.
Ja, stimmt! (Exactement!)
Back in the 90’s I was seeing an attractive young French woman from Cannes before I eventually met my wife. During that time I was doing business with a Chinese guy in California and he once told me “French girlfriend, Chinese wife”.
And 12 years and 2 children later I can say it was the best advice I ever took from someone.
Qui beaulté ot trop plus qu’humaine?
Mais où sont les neiges d’antan!
The fist point is debatable, the second point is not, and the third point is a given.
Villon got that right.
“Mais où sont les neiges d’antan!”
- Al de la Gore, Warmiste Globale
(dans l’Introduction de son Pepe le Pew Research Grant)
I have to throw in for my Indian counterparts. They seem to have the best balance of the bunch. Good, solid homelife and excellent work ethics...
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