Champlain's Dream

 Reading David Hackett Fischers "Champlain's Dream"--

Some surprises: 

• Mohawk Indians wore armor to their first battle with Champlain--wood slats linked with cotton thread.  It reminds me of the armor Japanese warriors of the same period wore, though their slats were leather.. Fischer says it was effective against arrows with flint heads.
• They fought in closed ranks--in contrast to Champlain's handfull who fought from cover, a reversal of future patterns.
• The Mohawks had an impressive "castle", made of wood, but tall enough Champlain resorted to European siege tactics.  See this.
• Early French plantations failed--Harshaw's rule.  Scurvy was often a big problem, though winter hunting providing fresh meat during the winter would help.
• Fischer emphasizes the insecurity of the hunter-gatherer economy--tribes which lived by hunting lived well until the hunts failed, because of bad weather.  It seems a response to those who believe agriculture was humanity's biggest mistake.
• I'm always struck by the scant clothing of native Americans (even more so the Taino Columbus encountered). Makes a difference in domestic economy and in lifestyle.
• I'm surprised by the ease and frequency of Champlain's trips to and from the New World.  Ben Franklin and George Whitfield did a lot of crossings, but Champlain did 40+ trips, many quite fast.  I'm not sure whether it's the improvements in ships between 1492 and 1610 or the learning process, likely both.
• It took 30 years or so for the French to establish themselves securely at Quebec and Montreal, with permanent settlements with French women. 
• Fischer notes the early development of the voyageur culture, at least its earliest members among a group of young men who lived with various Indian nations/tribes for one or more winters, learning the language and the way of life, as well as other differences between the French and English patterns of dealing with native Americans.

Our Decentralized Systems

John Phipps twitted about this piece, specifically this:

This industry, and in particular the few groups who control the narrative, need to actually just agree and make one darn file type used to transfer and create data.I know this has and is being tried and there are a plethora of ways to go about it. Also, there are legacy systems and what not. We are not going to progress much more unless this finally gets solved though. Let us “you know what” or get off the pot.

I commented, comparing this problem with the problem of incompatible data sets in the healthcare industry.  I think this is a general feature of American society and economy: with a federal system, the size of the country and its population, the market economy, and our history we don't have centralized systems comparable to those in France or in Estonia

The Mines of France

Interesting tweet here on the lasting effects of WWI, particularly the former trench lines and the explosives buried there. A quote: "Today, French government démineurs still recover about 900 tons of ordnance every year, & in Belgium the amount is around 200 tons."

France and EU Farm Subsidies

It seems French farmers may be losing out according to this Politico piece,  The dynamics of the French farm programs are similar to the U.S:

With defense, security, migration and digital technology emerging as clear strategic priorities for Brussels, it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend the sacrosanct status afforded to farmers, particularly the bigger landowners. Under the current budget, a massive €58 billion a year, or some 40 percent of the EU budget, goes to CAP payments, but 80 percent of that money heads to only 20 percent of farms.

Great Metaphor If Politically Incorrect

" it’s like an epileptic with Parkinson’s dancing under strobe lights in a discothèque."

Dirk Beauregard on the joys of driving a crap car.  Read the whole thing.

US Is Not Truly Liberated

From Dirk Beauregarde's piece on the latest French news:

"However when François Hollande set up home at the presidential palace with his girlfriend, no one said anything. No one seemed to mind an unmarried head of state. No one seemed to care that the unofficial first lady had her own office, staff and security guards all paid for by the taxpayer. Can you imagine this happening in America?"

No, I can't.  We're still a bit puritan I guess.

Healthcare in France--Free Vacations in the Sun?

Dirk Beauregarde has a vitamin D deficiency, which leads to this:

In France we have a massive welfare bill, mainly due to our free, universal, cradle to grave health care system – it is quite common for the public Heath system to send the sick, the lame, the stressed and the depressed, away for long term cures by the sea or in the mountains why cant they send a low level vitamin D teacher to Corsica for a couple of weeks.

Best Sentence of the Day

"I have always been quite happy with the skin I’m in, though I will now admit that there is more of me in the skin than before."

Beauregarde on growing older.

The Mysteries of France

From Mr. Beauregarde's blog:

" In France we have three choices of fuel at the pump – two star and four star unleaded petrol – which in France is classified by its octane content 95 for 2 star and 98 for 4 star – we also have diesel. A staggering two thirds of French cars run on diesel, and with good reason, a litre of diesel at the pump is on average 20 Euro centimes cheaper than a litre of petrol."

"successive governments ran scrappage schemes to try and get as many petrol cars off the road as possible. Well, petrol (although unleaded) was dangerous. Petrol fumes were far more harmful than diesel fumes, so via a system of generous « cashbacks » motorists were encouraged to trade in their old petrol guzzling cars for « cleaner » diesel cars. At the height of the scrappage schemes, anyone owning a petrol driven car over eight years old, could trade it in for a brand new diesel car and get a 1000 Euro cashback, generally given in the form of a reduction on the new car. Many dealerships often doubled the premium. The results were twofold. Not only did we all buy diesel cars, but also we bought small « economical » cars."

Why is gasoline  so much higher octane than in the States?

France Is Safer Than US and the French Are Tougher

That's my takeaway from Dirk Beauregarde: " Even on Tuesday (May 15th), as the newly-inaugurated président’s motorcade drove down the Champs Elysées, François Hollande stood up in his open top limo waving and smiling at the crowds, as torrential rain poured down."

There are some of us who remember Presidents in open limousines as they were before Nov. 23, 1963.  None remember when Presidents were rained upon in their inaugural parades.

On the Lack of French Snacks and French Slim

Via Tyler Cowen, a post arguing that the French, particularly French kids, don't snack.  I wonder, no vending machines? (Tried to do some research--this article says Japan has 10 times the number of vending machines as France, but it's twice the population.  In 2008 France banned all vending machines from schools).

And this, from Chris Blattman is a video showing how the French stay slim. Of course it involves sex, what else?

McDonalds Is Special, in France

Dirk Beauregarde discusses the role of McDonalds in France:

Twenty or so years ago, McDonald’s were at best tolerated and at worst unwelcome in many French towns. They were the symbols of lousy nutrition and American colonisation. Nowadays, McDonalds are part and parcel of the French cullinary landscape . In my corner of small town France we have four McDonald’s outlets, two of which offer a 24/24 7 day a week drive in service. However,, in consumption terms, McDonalds is still at « treat status ». Most families will have a McDonald’s once or even twice a month. We are not at daily consumption. Most popular mealtime of the week a tour local McDonald’s – Sunday lunchtime- all the local outlets are packed. 

[Emphasis added]

Haunted by Vietnam? Try Algeria

When I Google "haunted by Vietnam" I get 87,000 hits. Currently it seems that Obama and the military are the ones haunted. I think though that we're mostly over the Vietnam war, except perhaps as it gets wrapped up with the cultural war and what we call the "Sixties". If I'm right maybe the U.S. is a bit more mature than the French, or maybe the Algerian war was much more traumatic for the French than Vietnam was for us.

That's the conclusion I draw from reading Dirk Beauregarde's post, keyed to the 50th anniversary of the end of the Algerian war, including interviews with relatives of Algerian soldiers serving with the French army.  Lots of trauma there, perhaps somewhat parallel to the Loyalists after the American Revolution.

A sidenote: JFK first made his national mark as a liberal and policy  thinker (as opposed to a politico who tried to be the VP candidate in 1956) by a speech on Algeria attacking French colonialism.

Another sidenote: The Battle of Algiers is highly regarded.

When Is a War Not a War

When it is the "events".  A paragraph from Dirk Beauregarde's post on the 50th anniversary of the Algerian War:

We never hear much about the Algerian war in Britan. We never seem to talk much about it in France. Even 50 years on, the war is still very much a taboo subject. Until 1999, the conflict in Algeria wasn’t even called a « war » - politicians would officially refer to the eight years of bloody conflict as « The évents ». It took a parliamentary commission and a new law for the « military opérations in Algeria » (as they were referred to at the time) to be officially qualified as a « War ». The change in terminology was not born from an act of conscience – it was all because there was no money for Algerian war vétérans and war widows – you can’t be a war vétéran or a war widow if the war wasn’t called a war. For years there was a national outcry as widow and vétérans went without pensions or compensation. So i twas on 18th October 1999 in the new Service Pensions Law that the « évents » in Algeria became officially became the « Algerian War ». Wrapping it all up in an obscure pensions act – that illustrâtes the French attitude to the War in Algeria. [Spelling corrected]

Another French Revolution (for Bureaucrats)

Bureaucrats care deeply about titles, which is why this change in France is a revolution.  Where the U.S. has "Miss", "Mrs." and "Ms", the French have had only "mademoiselle" and "madame".  But no more.  As described by Dirk Beauregarde, instead of coming up with a third term as we did, French feminists have forced the bureaucracy to do away with "mademoiselle" and use only "madame".  And Sarkozy is a right winger.

Job Openings: French Hermits

Dirk Beauregarde reports the French church has openings for hermits.

McDonalds in France

Via Ezra Klein, here's a study of how McDonalds has succeeded in France so well that it's their second most profitable market (the Klein post says "second biggest" but the study says profitable.

I've linked to Dirk Beauregarde posts in the past, most of which show France as a very centralized country.  But the lesson of McDonalds in France seems to be adaptation to local customs and suppliers, in contrast to their centralized and standardized operations in the US.  In part it's an attempt to recognize the French enjoy their food, and linger, while the Americans grab and go.

French Brides Wear Bespoke Dresses

That's one fact in Dirk Beauregarde's piece on French weddings. Been a while since I married my wife, but my impression is that many if not most US brides wear off-the-rack.

Twelfth Night, Martha Washington, and French Bread

In days of yore Martha Washington would have her Great Cake prepared for Twelfth Night, also her wedding anniversary.  You start by separating the yolks and whites of 40 eggs!

By chance I read about the Great Cake in the Post, then read Dirk Beauregarde's long piece on French bakers--boulangeries, which devotes space to the French custom of having the galette des rois on Twelfth Night (I think it means the "cake of the king") or at least in January. 

French Bureaucrats Are Like American Bureaucrats

Words of experience from Dirk Beauregarde:

"The problem comes from our new boss. Like animals marking their territory as only animals know how, our new big chief is busy reorganising his new "kingdom" by changing acronyms and getting all his staff to play musical offices. Only a question of time before the new headman starts to come up with ideas - I believe they are called initiatives -

Initiatves are generally old ideas that get rediscovered when a new boss open the bottom draw on his desk and finds files crammed with "ideas". These ideas have been consigned to the bottom draw[er] because they were essentially bad ideas, but the new boss will get them out, dust them down, set up a commiittee to look at the idea and how it can be implemented. After the committee has held endless meetings and rehashed the unworkable idea into words of several syllables, the old idea becomes a new initiative. We are bound to follow the new "policy" and thus are asked to attend hours and hours of training sessions, given by people who don't understand the new initiative themselves.

Of course, nothing works, or if it does work, it is because we all ignore the initiatve and do things the old way. No matter, things are working and the credit is thus given to the boss and his new idea.