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Miscellaneous thoughts and ramblings
Saturday, November 05, 2005
 
Paris Riots Hit Night 10
The news from France only gets worse.

ACHERES, France — Riots that started in Paris' lower-class suburbs last week and resulted in 250 arrests of predominantly Muslim youths Saturday moved into the capital of France early Sunday morning.

By 1 a.m., a spokesman for the national police reported 13 vehicles torched in the capital - and 607 vehicles burnt overall - during the 10th straight night of rioting. Totals are expected to rise by morning.
They have to say "predominantly Muslim" in case a Jew or Greek Orthodox Christian snuck in there somehow.

The violence — originally concentrated in neighborhoods northeast of Paris with large immigrant populations — has spread across France, extending west to the fields of Normandy and south to resort cities on the Mediterranean. Attacks were reported in Cannes and Nice.

In the Normandy town of Evreux, arsonists burned at least 50 vehicles, part of a shopping center, a post office and two schools, the police spokesman, Patrick Hamon, said.

Five police officers and three firefighters were injured battling the blazes, he said.

The unrest is forcing France to confront long-simmering anger in its suburbs, where many Africans and their French-born children live on society's margins, struggling with unemployment, poor housing, racial discrimination, crime and a lack of opportunity.
Hey, wait a minute! I thought France was a socialist paradise? Don't the Europeans always accuse us of unemployment, poor housing, racial discrimination, crime and a lack of opportunity? I thought those were the evil consequences of runaway cowboy capitalism which oppresses the workers. How can the French with their cradle-to-grave government benefits possibly have poverty? How can the French with their sophisticated post-modern liberalism possibly have racial discrimination?

Mayor Alain Outreman tried to cool tempers.

"We are not going to start militias," he said. "You would have to be everywhere."
You would also have to have guns, a willingness to defend yourself and your property, and courage. Have you considered surrender?

Here's another frightening article:

Paris Rioters Set Woman Afire as Violence Spreads

The African immigrant attackers doused the woman, in her 50s and on crutches, with an inflammable liquid and set her afire as she tried to get off a bus in the suburb of Sevran Wednesday, judicial officials said. The bus had been forced to stop because of burning objects in its path. She was rescued by the driver and hospitalized with severe burns.



Police said troublemakers fired bullets into a vandalized bus and burned 85 more cars in Paris and Suresnes, just to the west. In Meaux, east of Paris, officials said youths stoned rescuers aiding someone who had fallen ill.
That must be a misprint because France has very strict gun control, not like in gun-crazed uncivilized America where everyone can just willy-nilly own a gun. French citizens can't own guns so I'm sure that the rioters simply could not have been firing bullets, since I'm sure they could not have obtained guns illegally. At the same time, I wonder if the owners of all the burned buildings and cars feel delighted about having subcontracted their right to protect themselves and their property to their government.

As always, the food here at the Coffeehouse is marginal but expensive, but the advice is terrific and free (if rarely solicited). So here are my suggestions to our French brothers and sisters as a token of our gratitude for their assistance in our War of Independence and for the Statue of Liberty.

Comments:
The article also fails to mention that these scumbags, as Sarkozy rightfully called them, also destroyed a synagogue. But who cares, right? : (
 
Hey guys,

I mentioned you in Haveil Havalim. It is the top post at my blog.
 
Another suggestion would be to jam cell phones or somethin' - apparently there's some SMS organizing going down.

Nice to see they're attacking the weak and defenseless, just like in Israel. Forget Ishmael - we're talking straight-up Amalek here.
 
Last year the Gun Guy (tm) family stood at Dachau. I can't find the exact post, but maybe you remember.

I echo his sentiment: Never again.

I stand at his shoulder prepared to see that it doesn't recur. Take my hand.
 
I enjoy the way you're poking fun at the French for this situation; I have to admit, I think it's richly deserved.

I'm amazed they haven't sent in the army to quell the rioting. How long will they let the anarchy continue to spread before they clamp down?

As for arming the citizenry, so that civilians can have gunfights against other civilians — c'mon, Bean, that's a terrible idea. How many innocent bystanders would be shot? And I think the goal here is to stamp out anarchy, not invite everyone to join in.

But I hate to be cranky on this one point, because I really enjoyed the post, on the whole.
Q
 
uh, Q, with an armed citizenry, this would never have happened. That has been proven again and again. I have a concealed carry. So does nearly every person I know. And somehow, we manage to avoid a complete breakdown of civilization. I won't discuss this further in a post with so much sorrow, but feel free to discuss over at neanderpundit if you desire.
 
Irina: I read that in another article. I decided not to mention it because I'm not getting the impression that Jewish stuff is being particularly targeted. They're just burning everything. It's not like Kristallnacht in which Jewish buildings were specifically attacked.

Jack: Thanks for the plug. It's publicity like that which helps us remain a blog enjoyed by dozens.

Ralphie: They're shooting at cops, too. Here's a photo.

Og: Thanks. My parents are Holocaust survivors. I've had a few non-Jewish friends offer my family their garages or attics in the event the sh!t hits the fan. I don't think it'll happen (in my lifetime, at least) but it's nice to have the offer.

Q: What can I say? I love to tease the French. I agree that the response has been surprisingly inadequate. The rioting just had its eleventh night, and Chirac is promising to arrest and punish the rioters! That's just pathetic. That should have been the message after the first night. After a week the response should have been overwhelming force to restore order. They had a freaking silent march Saturday to protest the violence! (It was mentioned in a bunch of articles, but now I only find it here about half way down the article.) They have no understanding of the enemy. Their country is being burned down and their holding hands singing "we shall overcome". That's not going to dissuade these guys, Pierre!

I didn't mean that citizens should be armed so that they can take responsibility for stopping the riots. That's clearly the job of the police or the army. I just meant let citizens own firearms so that they can defend themselves and their property. I doubt very much (but have no evidence) that this would cause the shooting of many innocent bystanders. It probably wouldn't even result in the shooting of many rioters, because the shooting of just one or two rioters plus the knowledge that there are armed French citizens out there would have a deterrent effect somewhat stronger than a silent protest march.

Glad you liked the post!
 
Yes, read the most recent Baldilocks post for more elucidation.
 
And Beano? While I draw breath No Jew will ever resort to living in a hidey hole in this country. Count on it.
 
Doc,

Dozens is not bad. I have three regular readers and four come by once-in-a-blue-moon. :) The French could be dumber, but they would have to work at it.
 
Og, you're a good egg.

Jack: I don't think the French are dumb. I think they have terrible policies and they've put their country in danger. Dumb can't be fixed. Bad policy can.
 
Re: Socialist paradise and unemployment.

What you rarely hear about European economies is that double digit unemployment is the norm. Even when a European country is said to be in an economic boom, unemployment will commonly be around 12%. It's one of many reasons the European Union experiment is doomed to dismal failure. Socialism doesn't encourage productivity or creativity. That creates an enormous drag on resources, which weigh down even the good times, and turn the down times into "Angela's Ashes" desperation.
 
Nomad: Truth.

Well, they've finally set a curfew but the rioting continued on its 12th night. I get the impression that powerful people in France aren't vising the Coffeehouse. Perhaps because they have so many coffeehouses of their own. Pity.
 
French coffee is crap.
 
Poor bastards. We should send them some 100% columbian.

I'll trade them pound for pound, Columbian coffee for Chateau d'yquem. Hell, even a nice 85 Chateau Rieussec.
 
I hate to admit it, but on some level I'm enjoying this whole story...
 
Bean - true that these riots aren't necessarily targeting Jewish institutions or individuals. But it's worth noting that prior to this, the main expression of Islamist (Islamicist?) violence in France was against both, and that official French reaction was nil to none. Good to know there's some consistency in this topsy-turvy world: stand idle while the Jews get it, and you'll get it yourself eventually...
 
Wanderer: Me too, but their reaction so far makes me very pessimistic, and as much as I love to hate France, I certainly don't want them replaced with a Saudi sattelite.

Ralphie: Yes. The old patern of the Jew as the canary in the coal mine plays out again. Every group that imagined itself dominating the world first targeted the Jews.
 
My Mom is loving this. She thinks the French are finally getting what they deserve. She watched some stupid TV Movie Sunday night just because the ads showed the Eiffel Tower burning down.
 
Psychotoddler: It's all laughs until we have to storm Normandy again.
 
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