Weird News Story: French president doesn't like cheese

The French are a proud nation that have surrendered in almost every single major war since 1900. They won't stand for their president not eating cheese. I wish I was kidding but this is an actual story.

It’s a matter of (spurious) debate if France’s president is a “surrender monkey,” but one thing seems clear: He is no longer cheese-eating. Nicolas Sarkozy decided to stop savoring "le fromage" after meals, the AFP reported in an article on the kitchens at the presidential Elysee Palace.

His chef said Sarkozy was trying to eat healthily, preferring "light, balanced meals and poultry to red meat," AFP added.

The term “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” was first used on "The Simpsons" and was popularized by National Review journalist Jonah Goldberg, who claimed he had made it “an accepted term in official diplomatic channels around the globe.”

 What would the American equivalent be? If our President didn't eat McDonalds and was healthy? Oh wait we have that in Obama. I guess we're wishing for the days of Dick Cheney and his 80 heart attacks. Or maybe a better comparison would be if our president said he didn't like freedom. Instead of freedom, the French like their cheese.

 The variety and flavor of cheeses to be found across France is a matter of national and regional pride, a subject that can fire considerable passion.

As the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper noted, Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces during the Second World War and later president, once declared, “How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?”

It remains to be seen if a non-cheese-eating leader is acceptable to the French electorate, who will decide whether Sarkozy remains in the Elysee in presidential elections in just three weeks’ time.

 I'm glad that a person's diet is determining global politics.

Naked pole vaulter runs through the streets

I found this on Comcast Sports. Someone, give him clothes!

A French pole vaulting champion ran naked with his pole through the streets of Paris and posted the video on the Internet, hoping to draw attention to his quest for a new sponsorship deal.

Romain Mesnil, who won a silver medal at the 2007 Athletics World Championships in Osaka, was sponsored by Nike but says his contract expired last year and was not renewed.

"It was probably for budgetary and strategic reasons. It's the crisis," he wrote on his Web site.

Many athletes have reported difficulties obtaining corporate sponsorship as companies cut costs because of the global economic downturn.

In his video, Mesnil runs with his pole as if preparing for a vault at tourist spots like Montmartre and the Pont des Arts across the River Seine. A black square has been added to the footage to cover his groin area.

The video has succeeded in drawing attention to Mesnil's plight, at least in France. It was broadcast on prime-time state television news bulletins.

Here's the video:

Epic Photo of Greatness

(Thanks Spokesman-Review for your photo slideshows)

Sometimes I give the French a little more razzing than they deserve. I must applaud their anti-Chinese protests as the Olympic flame was paraded through their city. Here's a caption from the photo above...

A Pro-Tibet protester escapes a police officer during the Olympic torch relay in Paris. Security officials extinguished the torch four times Monday as chaotic protests against China's record on human rights and Tibet interrupted the relay. (Jacques Brinon/Associated Press)

Apparently things got testy in Paris, because French people get really pissy when governments start taking away freedom. I wish Americans would do the same but we're too busy getting Tivo to work.

(Actually, San Francisco is bracing for the worst when the Olympic torch comes through their town. I hope things get rocking because we know the Bay area loves a great political protest)

Sorry China, but until you start treating your people like human beings, you shouldn't be allowed to host the Olympics. Now go block this blog from your people's search engines...