French Film Exec Insists That Anti-Piracy Efforts Made Sure No French Films Were Downloaded For 7 Months

from the this-is-called-denial dept

Thu, May 31st 2012 12:05pm — Mike Masnick

We've certainly seen the entertainment industry continually try to pretend that Hadopi's clear failure is a success story. However, sometimes it seems to go from just massaging the numbers into outright denial. That seems to be the case with Nicolas Seydoux, who is both the president of a French film company and the head of the local anti-piracy organization, ALPA.

In a recent statement, Seydoux insisted that the "methods developed by ALPA" (going beyond just Hadopi) made sure that not a single French film was downloaded between May 15th and December 15th in 2011:

“Between 15 May and 15 December 2011, no French film has been downloaded from the Internet,”

Oddly, he doesn't even seem to distinguish authorized online movie services from unauthorized. He just insists that no films have been downloaded. At first, I thought that perhaps he really meant that no new French films had been leaked online, but that's not what he says. He literally claims that zero French films were downloaded during those seven months. I guess he's declaring victory for his anti-piracy organization, but it's impressive how the pure bubble he's living in does not even come close to reflecting reality.

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Filed Under: alpa, france, hadopi, nicolas seydoux, piracy

66 Comments

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Some Guy, 31 May 2012 @ 12:10pm

Could it just be that nobody has any desire to see a French film?
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:13pm

je ne sais quoi
Does porn count? Because I'm pretty sure I nabbed at least one French-language porn inside that time frame.

Maybe he means "no new French movies were made, thus they were also not downloaded" which would make his statement true, we'll have to check. Again though, if you include French video porn movies it's without doubt provably false.

Maybe he means "No new French movies were made (excluding porn) and we could not detect any French resident downloading them, therefore we're an big super awesome success at stopping piracy." I'd believe that, given the new-found popularity of various encrypted proxy services in France...
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:15pm

He had actually meant to say there was no download of a "French Car", not "French Film".
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Mr. Smarta** (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:15pm

It's true
It's true!!! In fact, not one movie, music, game, or application file has EVER been downloaded... by the galaxy of Andromeda. That's 100%!!! Proof that anti-piracy initiatives and laws like Protect-IP and ACTA work. They were implemented in other galaxies, so that's undeniable evidence that we need laws to remove rights from all citizens all over the world. That's AMAZING!!! If it works in other galaxies and on other planets, then surely it will work here.

Lets here it for not over-exaggerating!! HOORAY!!!
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:21pm

jeez! where do all these bloody fools come from? the only way that would be possible was if the Internet hadn't been invented yet!
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:25pm

I believe the French people are laughing right about now, some may be crying in shame.
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Rikuo (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:25pm

Just to confirm, I can read French and yes, the quote does literally mean not a single French movie was downloaded in that time.
http://www.pcinpact.com/news/71129-nicolas-seydoux-gaumont-alpa-hadopi.htm

So, if that quote is indeed accurate, then its not a case of innaccurate translation or anything. He has said that 0 French movies were downloaded in that time frame.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:27pm

Re:
A quick glance at a torrent search engine showed that just one torrent for The Artist (France, 2011, Michel Hazanavicius) right now has 1344 seeds and 27 peers across 16 trackers - not counting DHT, Local Peer Discovery and Local Peer Exchange.

So yeah... he is just in denial.
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The Mighty Buzzard (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:27pm

Oh that comment isn't going to come back and bite him in the ass next time he asks for stricter laws.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:28pm

7 Minutes would be more accurate
Enough time to do a search on Google and set up a proxy or VPN
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WDS (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:34pm

He's Right
Obviously someone of his stature could not be wrong about that. Given that, then there is absolutely no need to ever again try to pass a new IP law. The current setup is perfect!
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:39pm

Just Think...
If we could get the MPAA, RIAA etc. to make such a claim, we'd be golden. Isn't he effectively saying that any "notices of violation" for any French movie downloaded during that time must be false?
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Jaques Le Coque, 31 May 2012 @ 12:39pm

I've seen two French movies in my life of several decades and they both sucked almost as bad as their american remakes.

I despise hollydead movies, too - I don't need to see endless nauseating hours of the same old "car chases and blowing shit up and loud boom" movies.

P.S. - I'm a huge rock and blues music fan and can state beyond a shadow of a doubt that virtually bugger-all French so-called rock and/or blues music has ever been worth jack shit.

Hey Hollande: I'm glad that that fucking dangerous nutcase fascist and gwbush-areshole-licking warmonger Sarcophagus got his ass kicked and is gone for good, but please don't drop the ball he was holding on keeping French "culture" from so-called "pirates". Keep up the good French anti-piracy work. The world need less of that garbage as badly as it needs to get over hollydead.
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Some Guy, 31 May 2012 @ 12:50pm

All we need is some Bill Clinton-esque definition of what the meaning of the word "no" is, and the cycle of insanity will be complete.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:50pm

I think he might be wrong because I watched Amelie last November.
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sehlat (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:51pm

We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
I've heard it said that the casualties of Napoleon's campaigns and World War I markedly reduced the average IQ in France.

I'd say that if Seydoux wasn't absolute proof, he is at least compelling evidence.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 12:54pm

Nobody downloaded French Fries!
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Richard (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 12:55pm

Re: Re:

So yeah... he is just in denial.

He's French so he isn't in De Nile - He's In Seine...
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Toot Rue (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:02pm

Re:
I was thinking perhaps an alternate version of the meaning of download might also come into play.

Perhaps a successful download would manifest as a fully packaged DVD popping out of your monitor.
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TheBuzzSaw (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:04pm

Re:
I was literally about to post this. If absolutely no one pirated certain content, I question the content more than the protection.
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Rikuo (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:08pm

Re:
I've seen a few French movies (my best mate is French), can't quite recall their titles, but they were all excellent, far beyond anything Hollywood has made in the last twenty years.
One French film I do recommend seeing is Brotherhood of the Wolf. Superb casting, superb acting.
So please, don't diss the entirety of French cinema because of two movies.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 1:10pm

All that suggests is nobody cared to watch a French film.
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Social Media Marketing, 31 May 2012 @ 1:27pm

I guess the only way to get rid of piracy is get get rid of all streaming. Why don't they just stop making movies as well?
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 1:28pm

Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
I know your comment is meant in jest, but much of this thread feels odd to me. I don't see jokes about the Dutch during BREIN discussions, or jokes about the Swedes when we talk about crackdowns on TPB. Did anyone here laugh at the Canadians in general when that idiot stood up in Parliament and talked about shoes and socks? My memory isn't perfect, but if someone in that thread said the average IQ of Canada was lowered due to some tragedy in their past, it's not coming to mind right now.

Disclaimer: Not French, nor do I have any French friends that I know of.
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Patello, 31 May 2012 @ 1:34pm

What if...
You know how various industry people use the word "stolen" when what they actually are talking about is "downloaded illegally".
What if Nicolas Seydoux confused the words the other way around. Maybe he meant to say that no films had been stolen. That would be kind of believable if the French police had upped their efforts in stopping shoplifting in video stores.
That or he is totally bonkers.
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Josef Anvil (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:34pm

Seriously????
Maybe he doesn't understand that the internet is GLOBAL and that no amount of French laws would have the impact he is stating.

IF no French films were downloaded during the time-frame he stated, then that means there was very little interest in the world in French films.
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John Fenderson (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:37pm

Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
Yeah, I've never understood the rampant bigotry against the French either -- not to mention how freely people express it -- but yet there it is. There is no explanation for prejudice.
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John Fenderson (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:39pm

Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
I've heard it said that the casualties of Napoleon's campaigns and World War I markedly reduced the average IQ in France.

And you've heard wrong. (Was this intended as a joke?)

Firstly, because the "average IQ" is, by definition, always 100 and can't be reduced.

Secondly, because intelligence doesn't work that way. If you killed outright all the very intelligent people on the planet, it will not have an appreciable effect on the intelligence of the coming generations.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:39pm

Re: Re:
Amusingly, an awful lot of seedboxes are in France.
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citizenj, 31 May 2012 @ 1:46pm

So here's the question then:
Is Baise Moi-
A)a French film I downloaded in this time period,
B)What the MPAA would do to me IF I downloaded a film,
or C)What Nicolas Seydoux is trying to do to reality.

Send me your answers attached as a .txt document to torrents of anything starring Gerard Depardieu.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 1:49pm

Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
"My memory isn't perfect, but if someone in that thread said the average IQ of Canada was lowered due to some tragedy in their past, it's not coming to mind right now."

No that is just part of being Canadian. zing!
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Anonymous Bunatee, 31 May 2012 @ 1:58pm

Sneakernet?
Fascinating, but how does he measure "pirates" who use the sneakernet? (Assuming anyone cares enough about french films to do so.)
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Nigel (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 1:59pm

I downloaded 9 of them. They where actually pretty good, ranging from older stuff to things from last year. when I can't find it on netflix I must go elsewhere.

Netflix does have a ton of cool Korean stuff though.

They are full of shit though. Its like saying folks quit breathing air lol....
Nigel
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saulgoode (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 2:11pm

The timestamp on my copy of Amour Sans Fin indicates that I downloaded it from The Internet Archive on November 11th, 2011.
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Le Troll, 31 May 2012 @ 2:16pm

I just broke your 7 month streak. Problem? U jelly?
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 2:23pm

Re: Sneakernet?
Copying a file from disk to usb media is not uploading, and copying the file from usb media to disk is not downloading.

But let the executive have his victory parade.
I'll just set up an ordering system where someone requests a file, and the file is shipped in encrypted form over postal mail.

Postal mail is more protected against interception than the internet.
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The eejit (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 2:43pm

Re:
Which is utter bollocks, because I downloaded Am�lie just last month.
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The eejit (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 2:44pm

Re: Re:
And for the record, it's to replace a disc that was lost.
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The eejit (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 2:45pm

Re: Re:
Not yet, give it a couple of years.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 2:49pm

Re: Re:
Maybe those are authorized though!
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 3:09pm

I'm French and I can tell you I haven't been downloaded during the period Seydoux refers to.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 3:10pm

Re:
That's because there are no French fries. They're Freedumb fries!
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 3:19pm

Re:
I like "36 Fillette" and "Beau Pere" and own legit copies of both. But just try to find them in a store nowadays.
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Hans B PUFAL (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 5:56pm

Great disappointment...
Which must come as a great disppointment for the INA (Institute National Audiovisuel) which is the curator and gatekeeper of audio visual content and which tries to make a LOT of money by offering such content for sale.
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Jesse (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 6:20pm

Current efforts have worked, no new laws needed! Yay!

Also: isn't that a shame that no one is interested enough in French film to bother downloading them? If his statement were honestly true, I should think the French film industry would be more worried than if there were some piracy.
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hfbs (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 6:33pm

Re: Re:
Good choice. I love that film.
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hfbs (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 6:37pm

And how long to you think they'll last before they decide they still need stricter laws anyway..?
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Conscientiouspirate (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 6:45pm

We decide what's included in our numbers
My French is limited to ordering food that isn't snails and a beer, but from the English translation it seems that he may be talking in the context of the Hadopi warnings sent in that time period instead of the actual number of downloads. Presumably those warnings only get sent to those who are subject to the law (i.e. people living in France).

If that's the case, at least I can't prove him wrong by pointing to a copy of Amelie timestamped september 2011 on my friend's hard drive (who have subsequently harpooned his hard drive, disconnected his internet tubes and moved to a snow cave in Nepal, no need to pursue him).

But it's hard to believe that not a single Frenchman downloaded a single French movie during those months, at least since there were 110 million "incidents", 8 million reports and 800k warnings sent out concerning illegal downloading of foreign movies.

There is only one statistically sane way to explain why the Hadopi numbers show 800k warnings for downloading foreign movies and 0 warnings for downloading French movies: they don't want French movies in their numbers. That way they can say the numbers show excellent progress and pretend the law is working just fine (at least for the French).
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2012 @ 8:25pm

ALPA really does work. I swear and affirm that I never have nor ever will download a French film, legally or illegally, by any means whatsoever.
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techflaws.org (profile), 31 May 2012 @ 10:21pm

Re:
Right, which is why there are so many US remakes of French films.
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PaulT (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 12:51am

Re: Re:
France has a lot of great films, of pretty much every genre.

For example: the first 2 Taxi films (ignore the atrocious US remake), both District 13 films, anything directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (especially Amelie and City Of Lost Children), La Femme Nikita, La Haine, both Mesrine films, The Nest, The Professional (was a French film despite being shot in English and set in the US), The Big Blue, Betty Blue, Jean De Florette, Manon Des Sources ... the list goes on.

If you like extreme cinema, the work of Gaspar Noe (I Stand Alone, Irreversible, Enter The Void) is well worth looking at, as well as the recent run of extreme horror movies often featuring crap that no American film could ever get away with (Frontiere(s), Martyrs, Inside, High Tension, Them/Ils, The Horde, Sheitan).

That's just the stuff that's had releases outside of France, I'm sure there's plenty of other great films that never made an impact outside of France. Yeah, anybody who rejects any country outright for its cinematic contribution is a fool, but especially one who rejects a country with as rich and varied a cinematic landscape as France...
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PaulT (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 1:01am

Re: So here's the question then:
Marked as funny since there don't seem to be enough film nerds here to get the references, or enough French speakers to understand what the title means...
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Dannie blaze (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 1:32am

Even if we take this completely bonkers claim as truth, I find it amusing he seems to be announcing it like a victory.

'No French films have been downloaded! There has been no positive word-of-mouth about upcoming French films. No one has discovered a French film for the first time via the internet. No one has watched an otherwise out-of-print French movie through the power of the internet, therefore exposing our cultural heritage to a generation who would not be otherwise able to enjoy it! VICTORY! ...wait.'
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slarabee (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 1:44am

Confused By This
So I need to understand the parameters of his claim. Is he stating that no one downloaded a French film in France? Or is it Europe or the world?

I am a French Film fan and I am not saying that I have ever downloaded a pirated film from torrents or any other infringing method but I am saying that if his claim is that no one downloaded French films illegally during that time frame anywhere in the world I know to a certainty that he is wrong and suspect he is full of crap to boot.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2012 @ 1:48am

i would assume that the reasons were:-

a)there were no new, well recommended, French films released

b)all French films people wanted, had already been downloaded

c)that there were far more enjoyable films available for download anyway
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2012 @ 1:50am

Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
Jokes about Moose are hard to come by.
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Ninja (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 4:05am

Re:
HADOPI: Preventing ppl from downloading cars since 2010! *Car manufacturers cheer in unison*
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Ninja (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 4:07am

I'd be appalled. If it was that easy to make ppl give up seeing my movies then it's clearly a bad sign...
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Vic, 1 Jun 2012 @ 6:41am

I guess he did not count me. I am pretty sure I did DL one French movie in that timeframe... Or, perhaps he meant "in France"?
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Niall (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 7:33am

Re:
Obviously the French learned about how useful anonymous VPNs are very rapidly.
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Niall (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 7:40am

Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
The Americans have never forgiven the French for helping them win the War of Independence, or distracting the British subsequently. They are also aware that it took them 3 years in WW1 and 2 years in WW2 to bother to come to France's aid in return.

Consequently guilt drives a lot of nastiness. :)
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Niall (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 7:42am

Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
I don't think genetics work like that. And the 'average 100 IQ' is a baseline - if you bred a bunch of lobotomised 'humans' (look at any Southern US hillbilly state :) then yes, the average IQ *would* go down.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2012 @ 8:47am

Re: Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
The Americans have never forgiven the French for helping them win the War of Independence, or distracting the British subsequently. They are also aware that it took them 3 years in WW1 and 2 years in WW2 to bother to come to France's aid in return.

Consequently guilt drives a lot of nastiness. :)

That's a laugh. The American's are the only reason you're not typing this shit in German and your capitol isn't in Vichey. And I'm reminded that I recently saw an ad for surplus French WWII army rifles. It said "never fired, only dropped once".
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RadialSkid (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 2:21pm

Re: Re: Re:
I just saw the original Taxi not too long ago, and I don't really get why everyone raves about it...it was just as silly as the U.S. remake.
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RadialSkid (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 2:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
Despite the fact that is was actually the Soviets, not the Americans, who finally invaded Berlin and drove Hitler to suicide?

American involvement was instrumental to WWII victory...only the most anti-American history revisionist would say otherwise. But Americans didn't single-handedly win it, either.
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RadialSkid (profile), 1 Jun 2012 @ 2:31pm

Re: Re: Re: We May Have Proof of Something Else Here
look at any Southern US hillbilly state

It never ceases to amaze me the crap some people say with no sense of shame or even irony.
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