Riots in Paris

derek said:
The rioters in Paris should just take over the country, I mean really, how hard could it be?

You’d be surprised, I hear they are throwing white flags and unused deodorant at each other
 
From the NYT article on this yesterday:

Burning cars as a form of protest is not unusual in the largely immigrant, working-class neighborhoods....More than 20,000 cars have been set ablaze in France so far this year, according to a government report cited by the newspaper Le Figaro.

What's that smell?

QUAGMIRE in Paris! Surrender at will!
 
I am neither a Francophobe nor a Francophile....France is what it is and probaly always will bel

The larger issue here, is the legacy of colonialism and unassimlatible populations. Now it may surprise some of you, but I don't view colonialism with disdain. Is Africa as a whole, better off today than it was, say, fifity years ago under European colonial rule ? I do not see how anyone can answer that in the affirmative.

The major problem for the French and the British (who recently changed its citizenship test from more historical type questions to practical ones related to living in Britain) and the Germans (with their predominently Turkish guest worker population) is what to do with large non-western or more succintly non European or Western oriented immigrant populations?A problem that we have in this country as well with the burgeoning illegal immigrant population. A primary difference is that the North African immigrants in France are there, for the most part, legally and reflect a colonial legacy.

The riots come as no surprise, as they are symptoms of a much larger problem. For years the French slammed us, especially during the tempestuous our Civil Rights Era, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, we see the hypocrisy of it all on their part.

Now today, there is a lot of talk about diversity and respecting the rights of others who think and act differently from us. Even the old motto of the United States was "e plurbus unum": "out of many one" alluding to the fact, I think, that our strength is in our individualism....BUT...somewhere along the line there has to be a degree of consensus.

I am not a racist as there has been no conclusive evidence any one race is physically or mentally superior to another, but I am a culturalist, and to me that means that for any nation to survive, there has to be a certain degree of cultural consensus. Today, we are seeing less and less of that in the United States and now Europe is being faced with that on a much larger scale than ever before.

So, if you come to my country, rever the legacy of your heritage, but LEARN THE LANGUAGE of your new country, adopt the cultural norms, and accept the fact that you aren't in Casblanca, Bejing or Mexico City, you live in my world now. For those of us whose families have been here for a generation or two, remember where you came from, lend a helping hand and don't judge a person by the color of their skin or what version of God they worship. Judge them by their character, willingness to work and the willingness to develop a degree of cultural consensus.

The French have a lot learn, but so do we all.

Regards,

Mark
 
mark056 said:
So, if you come to my country, rever the legacy of your heritage, but LEARN THE LANGUAGE of your new country, adopt the cultural norms, and accept the fact that you aren't in Casblanca, Bejing or Mexico City, you live in my world now. For those of us whose families have been here for a generation or two, remember where you came from, lend a helping hand and don't judge a person by the color of their skin or what version of God they worship. Judge them by their character, willingness to work and the willingness to develop a degree of cultural consensus.

The French have a lot learn, but so do we all.

Regards,

Mark

Good paragraph there. [wink]
 
Reminds me of my grandparents. They came over from Caldari Italy in around the 20's. Though they couldn't speak English, they made sure my mom and her siblings did. They did keep some of the traditions alive from the old country, embraced the new ones and modified Thanksgiving.

If you have not seen an Italian hybrid thanksgiving, its insane. Ours was Soup and Salad first, then speghetti and meats in sauce, then Lasagna THEN a huge Turkey with all the fixings. Father still twitches a bit when I ask him about his first thanksgiving with my moms parents.

I'm all for immigrants as long as they work hard and do their best to improve their new home and add to its traditions.
 
Skald said:
Reminds me of my grandparents. They came over from Caldari Italy in around the 20's. Though they couldn't speak English, they made sure my mom and her siblings did. They did keep some of the traditions alive from the old country, embraced the new ones and modified Thanksgiving.

If you have not seen an Italian hybrid thanksgiving, its insane. Ours was Soup and Salad first, then speghetti and meats in sauce, then Lasagna THEN a huge Turkey with all the fixings. Father still twitches a bit when I ask him about his first thanksgiving with my moms parents.

I'm all for immigrants as long as they work hard and do their best to improve their new home and add to its traditions.

That's the way it usually goes: the first generation learns just enough to get by, the second generation is essentially fluent, and the third generation talks like the natives.

With all of the fuss made about Spanish becoming a defacto second official language it's good to remember that this isn't the first time the US has been in this situation: German gained quasi-official status in some places back when there was a large influx of German immigrants. So long as the kids are learning English (and they are) I'm not too worried. Eventually, they'll be assimilated and their kids will be complaining about all the signs being printed in English and Cantonese.

Sounds like a good Thanksgiving, Skald.
 
The turkey's the only thing that makes it different from any other serious Italian dinner. Our best friends (Sicilian) do essentially the same thing for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, or any other occassion. Just drop the turkey and insert sausage & peppers and veal or a roast. Don't forget bread throughout the whole meal, as well as dessert, and a little anisette or strega afterwards. We usually avoid any solid food entirely the day before and the day after, living entirely on coffee. [roll] [wink] [roll]

Ken
 
Moderator said:
You’d be surprised, I hear they are throwing white flags and unused deodorant at each other


laugh.gif
 
Some residents of Acheres, west of Paris, demanded that the army be deployed, or that citizens band together to protect their neighborhoods. Mayor Alain Outreman tried to calm tempers.

"We are not going to start militias," he said. "You would have to be everywhere."
What an asshat. Does he think that they'll stop by themselves?

Hey, who can the French surrender to? It doesn't sound like the Muslim youths are accepting surrenders!
 
French Shower of News
ACCORDIONS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE

Immigrant Parisian youths, enraged by lack of job opportunities and a growing shortage of flammable cars, tonight turned their wrath on another hated symbol of French cultural oppression - the accordion.

"You try listening to that **** 16 hours a day," explained 'Tariq,' a masked teenage activist holding aloft the smoldering carcass of a charred musette.

Fearing a spread of musical violence to Great Britain, Edinburgh Lord Mayor Gordon MacInnes warned local Scots against leaving their bagpipes unattended in certain neighborhoods.

RIOT POLICE BATTLE MOBS WITH FRENCH CINEMA

Vowing tough new measures in the battle against violent mobs in suburban Paris banlieues, French police riot squads waded into strife-torn neighborhoods tonight armed with a potent new weapon -- video monitors playing loops of Jean-Luc Goddard, Jean Renoir and Francois Truffaut films.

"We are going to restore order in the area, by whatever means are necessary," said Police Inspector Bruno Ouvard, as paramedics worked to revive comatose protestors.

The new practice prompted an outcry by human rights organizations, but French government spokesmen defended it as a "regretfully necessary tactic" to bring order to lawless suburban streets.

"This is complete barbary on the part of police," complained Dr. Gilles Bertrand of the physicians rescue group Medicins Sans Frontieres. "Rendering someone unconscious that quickly could result in serious injury or death."

WIDESPREAD PANIC AS JERRY LEWIS RAMPAGES IN PARISIAN STREETS

The riots engulfing France took a dangerous new turn today, as diners and shoppers along the Champs Elysees were accosted by enraged madcap American comedian Jerry Lewis.

In a daring daylight annoyance spree, the 75-year old film veteran was seen clumsily victimizing fruit pyramids, mimes, and bourgeois doyennes along the fabled Parisian boulevard. In one shocking encounter caught on security cameras, Lewis stumbled and spilled a large bag of white substance -- later identified as flour -- on a startled matron and her poodle. Compounding the damage, Lewis attempted to brush the flour from the shocked woman’s hair with a shopkeeper’s broom, while loudly declaring “woy goyvin, with the flour in the doggie, HEYYY LAAADY!”

It is unclear what broader geopolitical aims he was trying to achieve with the action, but many analysts hinted Lewis – longtime darling of French cineastes and recipient of the French Legion of Honor – may be setting the stage for a messy, floury coup of the Chirac government.

Lewis later added fuel to the rampant speculation by neither confirming or denying the rumors, saying only that “GLAAAVIN!”

FRENCH RIOTERS UNIONIZE, GO ON STRIKE

Complaining of unsafe working conditions, lack of vacation time, and illegal 40-hour weeks, the French Union of Disaffected Immigrant Youth Rioters declared a general strike today.

“We are going to riot and burn cars every night until our demands are met,” warned Musab Al-Dura, a spokesman for the newly formed labor union.

Many analysts feared the surprise walkout could paralyze France’s all-important riot industry, but riot management spokesman Khalil Hassan said that he had received permission from French labor officials and the EU to hire temporary Belgian replacement immigrant rioters to fill positions vacated by rioting domestic French immigrant strikers.

U.S. CONGRESS MULLS ACTION

In an emergency late night joint session of Congress, U.S. lawmakers debated the Appropriate Menu Labeling Act, a new bill introduced by Rep. David Dryer (R-CA) aimed at addressing rapidly deteriorating public order in France.

Under AMLA provisions, the Congressional dining room's 'freedom fries' will temporarily revert to their original name of 'French fries.' Once France in overthrown by rioters, the bill will automatically trigger renaming to 'Fatima fries.'

Analysts believe the bill will be fast-tracked for presidential signature, as it has gained widespread bipartisan support.

"Hey man, as long as I get my bridge amendment, I'm cool," said Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.


News Niblets
VILLEPIN URGES PROTESTORS: "NOT THE FACE"

PARIS – Amid an 11th straight night of unrest by rioting immigrant youths across the country, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin made an urgent appeal to protestors requesting that “pas le visage! Pas le visage!”

Villepin, who is a man, made the emergency request during another fiery night in the Parisian suburbs that saw 1300 cars, dozens of buildings, and hundreds of overpriced desserts go up in flames.

Villepin took control of the Chirac government’s protest response effort Tuesday after Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy’s 'get-tough' policy of sending in the Paris Police’s elite windmill-slapping squads proved ineffective against rioters. Villepin promised a less confrontational approach emphasizing dialog, discussion of protestor grievances, and “curling ourselves into safe, fetal balls of mutual cultural understanding.”

Villepin’s diplomatic approach seemed to bear fruit as protestors largely refrained from beating his face, and instead focused their efforts on “les ouegies,” “les wettes-du-Willi” and “les souerlies.”

After the incident Villepin said he planned to build on the overnight progress, and urged a nationwide television audience for ‘cultural reconciliation’ and ‘pas plus le pantsing, sil vous plait.’
 
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