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Have you been brainwashed by a jogger lately? President Sarkozy has made an immediate impact as French President:
President Sarkozy has fallen foul of intellectuals and critics who see his passion for jogging as un-French, right-wing and even a ploy to brainwash his citizens.
Adding weight to the ‘jogging as a right-wing activity’ meme is the support he has received from Boris Johnson. I fear that going for a run is not my style. A gentle perambulation is as much as I can be persuaded to do these days.
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Aaaggh,
Someone is doing something I don’t do. How dreadful.
Lets blame America!!!
That’s French Intellectuals for you. Always open to new ideas.
Running is a lonely sport where self-starting grinding hard work is rewarded better than most, so I suppose some people might consider that “right wing”.
Racing in France is an odd experience though. There may not be many runners, but the few who race do so to a startlingly high standard. I was a straggler in the Paris Marathon from just failing to beat 3 hours. You could draw an interesting analogy to their economy and private sector.
I wonder if he plays golf too?
A picture of him having a swift 9 holes with Bush would probably spark a 68 type situation.
Clearly the French left is as bigoted and deluded as it always has been.
However, just because they hate the President of the Republic does not mean he is any good.
I remember people saying how good President Bush was – just because the left hated him.
Such people ignored the new financial regulations (that sent so mucy business out of the United States) and the wild attitude to spending – not just generally but in specific new programs such as the Medicare extention and “no child left behind”.
In the end I do not care if the left hate someone, what I care about is policy.
So I will wait and see what President S. actually does.
French ‘intellectuals’ are clearly beyond parody.
Douglas Adams had a healthy attitude regarding Joggers.
I can’t help but automatically take the side not held by French Intellectuals qua French Intellectuals, in most cases.
(Of course, it helps that I’ve read enough of their works – or in the case of Baudrillard and Derrida, tried to.
You’d think they could have learned clear writing from Merleau-Ponty, or even Foucault.)
Did Foucault come up with anything else of any merit after noting that a free pendulum’s path precessed?
triticale,
Nice one.
snigger
Now let’s not not be so hard on French intellectuls. With their aversion to personal hygiene, imagine the stench if they took up any physical activity….
Jogging is stupid, though. It’s bad for your cardiovascular system, eats at your muscles, and grinds down joints and ligaments. Much better is short, hard sprints, especially if you can sprint up a hill or a flight of stairs.
Hurrah, then, French journalists! Even a blind squirrel finds the nut from time to time.
I’m guessing a lack of sexdrive (sexlife?) as to why someone would sit around and come with jogging as being right wing.
Personally I prefer walking since running hurts my knees but still, how fucking void does someone have to be to attach politics to it??
Oh yeah, I read some response by a french person on an online newpaper (which one it was I dont remmeber). She’d rather hangout with a drug addict than a jogger. I’m going to go out on a limb and say she’s never even met a drug addict before. I have a gut feeling…
Too much Bundy and pies, that’s your problem
Maybe it’s a misinterpretation. Does Sarkozy actually “jog,” or does he run like he means it?
I shudder to think, though, what the French Intellectuals(TM) would think if Sarkozy had taken up powerlifting, or CrossFit, or worse yet Krav Maga.
The late great Bill Hicks had a great routine about jogging in relation to the jogging fanatic Jim Fix who dropped dead while jogging.
Fuck man he even wrote a book on it! How long did that take??? What the fuck would you put in it?
Left foot, right foot, faster, slower…..
There are good reasons to dislike Sarkozy. His demagoguery. His disregard for civil liberties. His protectionist attitude- for example : http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2007/07/06/the-pseudo-dictatorship-of-the-market/
But this attack about him jogging just shows how intellectually bankrupt the French academics are nowadays.
Studies have shown that running improves blood circulation to the brain, so perhaps French intellectuals will get more intellectual by putting on a pair of the
best running shoes for men, who knows? Jogging is dangerous if you don’t know what your doing. Jog in small doses, vary the speed (interval training) and you will love longer. Dr Al Sears has a “PACE” system of running you can Google.