tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post2498190811963368849..comments2024-02-28T23:43:49.197+01:00Comments on City On A Hill: The Workers (And The Nobility)Ed Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12846657618234700638noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-63186404536976445512010-09-18T02:58:24.539+02:002010-09-18T02:58:24.539+02:00Anonymous, the US system is in almost every respec...Anonymous, the US system is in almost every respect very adversarial and, considering what an ungovernable, disintegrating basket case the country has become, I think we should be glad things are done a bit differently elsewhere, at least if we care about that elsewhere.Oliviernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-32148231083821562132010-09-08T12:41:28.964+02:002010-09-08T12:41:28.964+02:00What's even worse are the La Poste people who ...What's even worse are the La Poste people who are protesting that their retirement age will be raised from age 55 to age 60.<br /><br />They supposedly get to retire early because their job is extremely dangerous.barthttp://bart-calendar.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-38678853927604522162010-09-08T09:35:42.434+02:002010-09-08T09:35:42.434+02:00In Tokyo (way back in 1986), a "strike" ...In Tokyo (way back in 1986), a "strike" meant that the express subway trains didn't run any faster than the regular trains.Judy Frelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17768475442591517939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-26080334171857578952010-09-07T23:49:23.962+02:002010-09-07T23:49:23.962+02:00Hey, Brian, call the realator: +33 (0)4 99 52 22 6...Hey, Brian, call the realator: +33 (0)4 99 52 22 62. Sign's been up a while, so you can probably bargain!Ed Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12846657618234700638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-50584497998060593142010-09-07T23:41:56.543+02:002010-09-07T23:41:56.543+02:00How much is asked for the Palace of the Kings of A...How much is asked for the Palace of the Kings of Aragon? I know, if I have to ask, I can't afford it ...Briannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-17132507694614883282010-09-07T23:33:01.902+02:002010-09-07T23:33:01.902+02:00Sarkozy has been talking about this since he was e...Sarkozy has been talking about this since he was elected, with no progress that I know of. Is he really going to work for it this time?<br /><br />After reading about all the strikes in France for years, it finally dawned on me that they are very different from the strikes in the US, where strikers stay out until they either get what they want or stop asking for it. In France the only point seems to be to demonstrate how many people have some interest in the issue. I hate to say it, because I really like France a lot, but it does play into the stereotype of the ineffectual French for whom talking is more important than accomplishment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-1333033535977335952010-09-07T22:52:57.395+02:002010-09-07T22:52:57.395+02:00The Federation du Spectacle is powerful: they shut...The Federation du Spectacle is powerful: they shut down the Avignon Festival one summer. It's a performing arts union, which also includes stagehands, and it's got this wonderful feature where if you work a minimum amount of time, stated by the agreement with the government, you get paid for the time you're not working, which, in things like opera and theater and so on, when there is a defined season, means you don't have to worry about the time the season's not on.Ed Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12846657618234700638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-42787589379411070822010-09-07T22:37:21.073+02:002010-09-07T22:37:21.073+02:00I like "Federation du Spectacle" on the ...I like "Federation du Spectacle" on the one sign — I don't know the literal translation but it kind of jives with my memory of the French love of scenes or grèves in general, which seemed to happen nearly every other week when I lived there.<br /><br />Sort of tempted to sell all my limbs and buy that rue de l'Argenterie place.Kristin Courtemanchehttp://kristincourtemanche.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-19925988702493949372010-09-07T20:34:50.146+02:002010-09-07T20:34:50.146+02:00And when you think there are other European countr...And when you think there are other European countries talking about raising the retirement age from 65 to 67, France really does have it pretty good. <br /><br />However this is a nation where you have to give the people something to protest about, otherwise they'll never be happy.etnobofinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05405364954348521371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-55092944637518514422010-09-07T19:51:20.610+02:002010-09-07T19:51:20.610+02:00Anon, you're right, as I discovered after post...Anon, you're right, as I discovered after posting. Still, 65 makes more sense to me as an American.Ed Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12846657618234700638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-10573602272008332342010-09-07T19:36:31.114+02:002010-09-07T19:36:31.114+02:00I think the the new retirement age proposed by Sar...I think the the new retirement age proposed by Sarkozy is sixty-two, not sixty-five.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564134964285988310.post-18572635712401395542010-09-07T17:33:06.814+02:002010-09-07T17:33:06.814+02:00I don't like to take issue but there are two m...I don't like to take issue but there are two minor points that I would like to contest...<br /><br />1). Manifestations are great fun (if you are working, and thus have a day off work) and give everyone a much needed excuse to shout and wave banners and talk bollocks about politics - if Sarkozy had any sense he'd give us yet another Bank Holiday just so that we could do all that and get it out of our system in an organised manner! You are, of course, totally correct when you say that... "Basically it's a day out in the big city for the country cousins, a chance to make trouble without being punished!"<br /><br />2). My second point is that, here in rural Brittany, we don't play Fela records from big sound systems. Partly because I imagine that Fela records (whatever they are, I'm sure I've never heard one) probably haven't come to rural Brittany yet! In that respect I imagine that Brittany 2010 is more like Nigeria in 1923?<br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Keith <br /><br />P.S. I can't be the only person who is patiently waiting for the next installment of The Lunkerhead Saga, can I?Keith Eckstein -A Taste of Garlichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290744199144035965noreply@blogger.com