Hi Ricky
>As a non-American who's been fairly well travelled, I am utterly shocked
>that Americans elected a spoilt rich boy who hasn't a notion of how the rest
>of the world lives as a president. And now, he seems to be displaying a
>complete disregard and is serioulsy endangering the future of USA and the
>world.
I think a few billion people might agree with you there.
>As Marie Antoinette said,
>
>"The peasants are starving? Then let them eat cake!"
>
>or words to that effect. Not sure about the copyright, though.
:-) Heaven knows if she actually said it or not. "Louis XVI was a
dull and ill-educated monarch, and he had the misfortune to be
married to a silly and extravagant women, Marie Antoinette, the
sister of the Austrian emperor..."
Their, mainly her, extravagance drove France to bankruptcy in 1787 -
no more money to pay the loans upon loans upon loans. So, after this
and that and the other thing failed to produce any further cash, they
threw a grand party at Versailles instead: "It will be a Repast like
few." Which indeed it was. Next day Marie, in a public speech,
declared herself "delighted with Thursday".
Meanwhile Paris, reduced to penury, had run out of bread, or rather
of grain. There were long queues at all the bakeries, people were
hungry, and soon got angry - they were less than delighted with
Thursday. "Allons! Let us assemble - to Versailles!"
So the angry crowds traipsed the 11 miles to the palace, in the rain.
This was all very complicated: there were rival armies about the
place, plotting generals, dissatisfied aristocrats - and a horde of
angry proles. Especially angry women. Noisy too. His Majesty, peering
from a window above, sent out to ask what they wanted. "Bread, and
not too much talking!"
The king tried to flee, but the soldiers stopped him. At one stage
the crowd stormed into the palace bent on massacring the royal
family, but the soldiers stopped that too.
The trouble was that there apparently wasn't any bread at Versailles,
and that's why Marie is alleged to have said "Let them eat cake." It
seems they had plenty of cake.
Eventually hastily summoned cartloads of bread arrived from Paris for
the crowd, which then simmered down a bit. But the bickering
continued, and it was decided the king should come to Paris. So a
strange procession set out, in the continuing downpour - the royal
carriages, 50 cartloads of grain from the amply-stocked Versailles
granaries, the crowds, soldiers with loaves stuck on their bayonets...
And the rest is history. Which tends to repeat itself:
1897: Mr and Mrs Bradley Martin had no idea a mere party could cause
so much trouble. High-flyers in the '400', New York's gilt-edged
society set ("There are only 400 people in New York worth knowing"),
the Martins were making a bid for the party of the year. A costume
ball, the couple thought - especially if they had the ballroom of the
Waldorf Astoria hotel converted into a Palace of Versailles replica
and held it there. No expense was spared, and it was a very
glittering occasion indeed. Mrs Martin was Mary Queen of Scots, and
her necklace, which had once belonged to Marie Antoinette, was a
triumph. Imagine their bewilderment when the next day's newspapers
were critical: the nation, the editors ranted, was struggling to
emerge from its worst-ever depression, in the face of which such
conspicuous consumption as that displayed at the Martins' party was a
disgrace. Such was the storm of rage and resentment these reports
whipped up that the dismayed Martins felt it safer to flee the
country. They have just arrived in England, and there are now only
398 top people in New York.
If your point was to doubt the depth of understanding and regard
which spoilt little rich boys have for the world around them, all
this would tend to support it.
Anyway, don't go to any parties at the White House - the bread/cake
may not be all one would wish for:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=10855
White House to Serve Genetically Modified Foods
>Ricky Foong
>( Malaysia - missed out in the list of countries, I think)
No, you're there! - I'd be most concerned if you weren't. No. 17.
Best
Keith Addison
Journey to Forever
Handmade Projects
Tokyo
http://journeytoforever.org/
Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html
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