Qui couper le fromage?

It was the The Commander Guy who cut the cheese.

Not quite the same, good intentioned, vibe as, say, Charlie Wilson's War



Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France ...Departing Officials Set Duty at 300%

This seems an unlikely spot to fight a trade war.

A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley where sheep graze in the shadow of limestone cliffs that were sheared off by a seismic jolt in prehistoric times.

But the primal shake also carved out aerated underground crevasses that give a unique economic value to this jagged landscape about 65 miles northwest of Montpellier. They make possible a gastronomical wonder that has delighted gourmets for centuries: Roquefort cheese. And now, in an era of globalized competition for trade, the smelly delicacy and its little home town have become ground zero for the warriors of export-import in Washington.

It seems, on his way out the door, the man who had a Ek-A-Lec-Tic reading list, but not such sophisticated taste buds, gave a shout out to the Freedom Fries crowd and whacked the French with a 300-percent duty on Roquefort cheese.

Yikes!

The measure, announced Jan. 13 by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab as she headed out the door, was designed as retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of U.S. beef containing hormones. Tit for tat, and all perfectly legal under World Trade Organization rules, U.S. officials explained.

All you stinky cheese lovers, better get your dander up, and start lobbying the new Obama Administration.

Hmmmm .... Perhaps, if they could get McDonald's to start making their cheeseburgers with Roquefort ... Man, it would in no-time at all, see those walls come tumbling down, and a less-taxed stinky cheese makes it into the country ...

Or, you know ... They could tie it into the Stimulus Package ...Part of the next TARP payment

For all those Wall Street fat cats, the ones who got the $18-Billion in bonuses (I wonder how big their bonuses would have been, had they actually plunged us into a full-fledged depression) ... They're gonna want some good, imported Roquefort, to go with their whining ...

And, at least for a few moments, take away the stink from them.

A spoonful of sugar helps the history go down ... Edward Copeland Review of 'Charlie Wilson's War'

Enjoying the after-glow of the New England Patriots run to perfection (though, the media, in the post-game coverage should have been able to come up with something better, that repetitively, over-and-over, asking "What's it feel like to be 16-0?" ... If the producers were on top of it, they could have cashed in with Alzheimer drug commercials), a nice lazy, Sunday, the lull before the storm (another 7" inches+ of snow due to come tonight) ...

So pull up with the cup of coffee and check out Edward Copeland's review of "Charlie Wilson's War"

Copeland says that "the true story of Charlie Wilson's War, Mike Nichols' best feature film in decades" and, in his crosspost of it on The Reaction notes "As it so happens, I was planning to post on my film blog today a review of Charlie Wilson's War, which now proves particularly timely in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination ..."

Visit Edward Copeland on Film and read the review "A spoonful of sugar helps the history go down"

(Copeland also writes the blog Copeland Institute for Lower Learning, which also warrants a visit)