Chirac downed before Franco-German summit

[proldic]

Bloomberg 9/03/05<br><br>Chirac Hospitalized for a Week With Vascular Ailment <br> <br>French President Jacques Chirac was hospitalized in Paris last night after a vascular ailment affected his eyesight, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said. Chirac, 72, will remain in the hospital for a week...<br><br>``The problem should recede soon, but he'll still have to undergo a complete medical screening,'' Jean-Louis Rumani, a cardiologist, said in an interview on French television channel I- tele. He said the President is probably being treated with blood thinners... <br><br>The French president had been slated to participate in a Franco-German meeting at Rheinsberg on Tuesday, to visit a Veolia SA training centre near Paris on Wednesday and to meet Prince Albert II of Monaco Friday, according to the agenda published on the Elysee Web site...<br><br>Should the President stay ill for long, his functions will be taken over by the prime minister, according to the French constitution. In case of his death, the president of the Senate, a post currently held by Christian Poncelet, will take over his functions... <br><br>Chirac was first elected president in 1995 and was re- elected in 2002. He has held various ministerial positions and was the mayor of Paris before becoming president... <br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a.SMyTmlqITU&refer=top_world_news">www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne...world_news</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[dbeach]

don't all the mafia bosses go to the hospital when the heat is on..<br><br>THEY ARE ALL IN ON THE GIG..the public arguements are a charade of the most deadly sort <p></p><i></i>

[DrDebugDU]

> don't all the mafia bosses go to the hospital when the heat is on..<br><br>Actually Chirac isn't a young guy anymore. It sounds like a serious problem. He has had his share of financial scandals and looting and dodging indictments for fraud and other trivial issues, so I agree that Chirac is anything but clean and despite the argument over Iraq, he helped to overthrow Aristide in Haiti... <p></p><i></i>

[dbeach]

he is still more human than reptoid bush/cheney <p></p><i></i>

[DrDebugDU]

Indeed Chirac is much more human than Bush and Cheney. He only stole millions not billions... <p></p><i></i>

[*]

<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/01/MNGHRDHMSF1.DTL&type=health">Viagra - Blindness link noted months before public notice</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[antiaristo]

A Franco-German summit on Tuesday???<br>The German General Election is in two weeks time.<br><br>The French Socialist Party had a big "clear the air" convention last weekend.<br>And now Chirac is "unable to attend" to his responsibilities this week??<br><br>Something's up. My guess is it's the Entente Cordial. <p></p><i></i>

[DrDebugDU]

> The German General Election is in two weeks time.<br><br>And Germany will probably go Neocon uh.. Christian Democrat as well. So that leaves France and Canada as the last defense against a Neocon West... <p></p><i></i>

[antiaristo]

Doc,<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>And Germany will probably go Neocon uh.. Christian Democrat as well. So that leaves France and Canada as the last defense against a Neocon West</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->... <br><br>I sense that the actual result will be somewhat different to what the opinion polls are saying, but we'll see. But my more substantive point is that you just don't hold a summit with your most important partner a matter of days before the management could change. UNLESS there is a true bi-partisan position.<br>Which is why I suspect it's about the Entente Cordial. <p></p><i></i>

[Dirk]

Hello from Germany,<br>you're right, we'll get a kind of neocon-governement. But on the other hand for the first time since the end of WWII, we will have a REAL leftwing fraction within our parliament (the polls are between 8 and12%). <br>And our green/socialdemocratic government is very much like Blair and the DLC. Although, when it comes to foreign policy, I'm really afraid of the neocons.<br><br>One more thing about Chirac: During the first Gulf War, he criticized the then socialist government of France for not using ABC-weapons (WMD's!!!).<br><br><br>"I sense that the actual result will be somewhat different to what the opinion polls are saying, but we'll see."<br><br>The result will not be much different. Do you know, how Schroeder did win the last election in Germany in 2002? - Because of a flood!!!<br>There's an ongoing joke here in Germany during the last months that Schroeder is praying for a flood in Germany to win this election again.<br><br>Dirk<br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[ARV]

Dirk, <br><br>I'd like to welcome you to the "coalition of the willing." I figure that maybe we'll see your soldiers in Baghdad. <br><br>Please become accustomed to the following phrase:<br><br>"We never could have anticipated..."<br><br>It will become the standard operating phrase used to explain away any failure. Also, please reread some Orwell and you'll feel right at home.<br><br>Hopefully the world can see what great things neoconservatism has brought to the US and come to its fucking senses. But if Bush's friends are doing the counting, it's too late.<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[DrDebugDU]

Good to see that you made it to RI as well. Last week I saw a post of you as well and it reminded me of last Sunday when we went to a stand up comedian and he had an act that made a song based somebody's name. I can't remember the first name put he made a very complex song out of it and then it was the time for the second name and the guy's name was Dirk and he pressed the "D" key. D-D-D. "Dirk is an easy character. No unnecessary complexity. Straightforward. With Dirk you know what you've got" and then he played D-D-D again.<br><br>Anyway back to the subject. The problem is of course that Schroeder was one of the few who dared to speak out and Chirac is a more controversial character. Yesterday the subject of the 2004 Haiti coup was discussed as well and probably since it was planned prior to the Iraq War, it involved France as well (it was a US/Canadian/French coup against Aristide). So even though harsh words were spoken during Iraq, the planned coup in Haiti was executed as planned with (fore)knowledge of the French government...<br><br>The one thiong which will be sad as well is that there is a likelyhood that the very free German press can be forced more into line as well (just like what we have seen in the UK after 7/7). The German State television news telling the world on prime time that the Katrina relief effort was a choreographed event is something which the Bush administration doesn't like. <p></p><i></i>