COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Black and Arab Thugs Injure 77 French Cops



You can scour the headlines and read about the French youths on their motorbike. First it was not their motorbike. It was stolen. They were speeding and not wearing helmets. You can pick many nouns to describe the two. Youths seems to be the universal choice. The youths were ethnically diverse. They were troubled youths. When their rap sheets appear, the safe money bet is that the youths could more accurately be described as trouble. Now they are dead, 'tant pis."

This is how the New York Times sees it:
VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France (AP) -- Rampaging youths rioted overnight in Paris' suburbs, hurling Molotov cocktails and setting fire to dozens of cars. At least 77 officers were injured and officers were fired at, a senior police union official said Tuesday.

The violence was more intense than during three weeks of rioting in 2005, said the official, Patrice Ribeiro. Police were shot at and are facing ''genuine urban guerillas with conventional weapons and hunting weapons,'' Ribeiro said.

Some officers were hit by shotgun pellets, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said. She said there were six serious injuries, ''people who notably were struck in the face and close to the eyes.''

The riots were triggered by the deaths of two teens killed in a crash with a police patrol car on Sunday in Villiers-le-Bel, a town of public housing blocks home to a mix of Arab, black and white residents in Paris' northern suburbs.

Residents claimed that officers left the crash scene without helping the teens, whose motorbike collided with the car. Officials cast doubt on the claim, but the internal police oversight agency was investigating.

Youths first rioted Sunday and again overnight Monday to Tuesday, when the violence apparently got worse.

Police barricades were set on fire and youths threw stones and Molotov cocktails at officers, who retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets. In Villiers-le-Bel and surrounding areas, youths set fire to 36 vehicles, the area's prefecture said.

Youths were seen firing buckshot at police and reporters. A police union official said a round from a hunting rifle pierced the body armor of one officer who suffered a serious shoulder wound.

Among the buildings targeted by the youths was a library, which was set afire.

In Sunday's violence, eight people were arrested and 20 police officers were injured -- including the town's police chief, who was attacked in the face when he tried to negotiate with the rioters, police said. One firefighter also was injured.

Residents drew parallels to the 2005 riots, which were prompted by the deaths of two teens electrocuted in a power substation while hiding from police in a suburb northeast of Paris.

A recent study by the state auditor's office indicated that money poured into poor French suburbs in recent decades had done little to solve problems vividly exposed by the 2005 riots, including discrimination, unemployment and alienation from mainstream society.

------

Associated Press writer Angela Doland in Paris contributed to this report.

30 comments:

  1. The Youth influence spreads:

    Cars burned in southern France

    At least 10 cars have been burned and a fire broke out at a library in Toulouse, southern France, following consecutive nights of rioting in Paris.
    There was also more violence in Paris as youths set cars and a shop on fire in the Villiers-le-Bel suburb, the Associated Press news agency reports.

    Violence broke out there on Sunday after two teenagers died when their motorbike collided with a police car.

    Police reinforcements had been deployed in the suburb to counter further riots.

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  2. Perhaps what's needed is a parallel track for the Annapolis Summit, to discuss how best Eurabia is to be carved.

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  3. I think it's a good thing they riot. Pisses people off, they are more likely to take some meaningful measures, stop immigration, send home those they can, etc.

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  4. VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France — Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and — in an ominous turn — shot at officers.

    A senior police union official warned that "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

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  5. WORKING WOMEN COME ON FOR RON PAUL

    RENO, Nev. - Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, an underdog Texas congressman with a libertarian streak, has picked up an endorsement from a Nevada brothel owner.

    Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch near Carson City, said he was so impressed after hearing Paul at a campaign stop in Reno last week that he decided to raise money for him.

    I'll get all the (working girls) together, and we can raise him some money," Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions."

    Ron Paul should get a rise out of this.

    :)

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  6. Abu Dhabi breaks from its past with Citigroup investment

    By agreeing to purchasing a $7.5 billion stake in the faltering banking giant Citigroup, the secretive, government-controlled Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is breaking with tradition.

    As the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with assets estimated at $650 billion, it poured money in the past into low-return, low-profile investments or small emerging market deals, unlike its flashy emirate neighbor, Dubai.

    But a falling dollar and a growing cash pile are spurring Abu Dhabi to change strategy, according to analysts, economists and deal makers, who said that more big-ticket deals might be ahead.

    Flush with cash from its oil exports, Abu Dhabi turned to Wall Street, using a complicated transaction late Monday to buy 4.9 percent of Citigroup, acquiring high-yield, convertible stock that must be exchanged for common stock between March 2010 and September 2011.

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  7. The lawlessness seen in France is a glimpse of our future. It will spread as other "youths" observe the weak response of Western governments.

    There will be no deportations or limits on immigration because business interests need third world labor. They are willing to accept the barbarian culture that comes with immigration as a cost of business.

    Riots, looting and social programs for the banileus are the modern equivalent of tribute to keep barbarian hordes at bay. It didn't work for Rome two millennia ago and it won't work for the West today.

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  8. Bobal: I think it's a good thing they riot. Pisses people off, they are more likely to take some meaningful measures, stop immigration, send home those they can, etc.

    And the whole reason we don't want immigration is because...they tend to riot! Lather, rinse, repeat.

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  9. Lugh: Riots, looting and social programs for the banileus are the modern equivalent of tribute to keep barbarian hordes at bay. It didn't work for Rome two millennia ago and it won't work for the West today.

    There's no such thing as leadership anymore. As soon as a politician gets into office, he starts raising money to get into office next time. And the money comes from corporations who want cheap labor.

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  10. lugh lampfhota said...
    The lawlessness seen in France is a glimpse of our future.


    Interesting...

    So, if we accept this as a glimpse of our future how should we approach gun control? More guns made easily available for more potent rioting! God Bless America!

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  11. with the right to bare our arms!

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  12. and our butts and our...

    hey, I've always been puzzled by how prostitution is illegal but if you film the paid act - no problem.

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  13. The French police have guns...but no will to use them. So are guns really the issue? Or is it will? Or lack thereof?

    Business interests don't care if a few "citizens" are inconvenienced by riots. After all, there are no riots within the gated communities protected by men who are authorized and willing to use deadly force.

    So Ash. You just go with gun control and count on the RCMP to come to your rescue. I'm sure that they'll make a lovely report on your cause and time of death.

    I'll take care of my security.

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  14. lugh,

    I have no knowledge of gun control laws in France but I would imagine they have more restrictions then the US. Can you imagine the riots with easy and free access to guns for all? I envision you sitting in your rocking chair on your porch in Savannah trading good natured shots with the armed rioting folk. Alls fine at the OK corral!

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  15. hey, I've always been puzzled by how prostitution is illegal but if you film the paid act - no problem.

    But if you find out later the lens cap was on the whole time, you're back to having a problem!

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  16. "Can you imagine the riots with easy and free access to guns for all?"

    Setting aside other things, I imagine the riots would be less likely to take place in a place known to be heavily armed, with people perfectly willing to defend their private property.

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  17. I'm guessing it would just effect a name change, all those guns thrown into the mix...civil war?

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  18. A bunch of hooligans out to cause mischief do not make a determined army.

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  20. "So are guns really the issue? Or is it will? Or lack thereof?"

    The answer is yes. It is entirely will. They get away with it because the French government lets them...which encourages more nonsense.

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  21. T. 9:01

    With the greatest leader above them,
    people barely know one exists.

    Next comes one whom they love and praise.

    Next comes one whom they fear.

    Next comes one whom they despise and defy.


    When a leader trusts no one,
    no one trusts him.


    The great leader speaks little.
    He never speaks carelessly.
    He works without self-interest
    and leaves no trace.
    When all is finished, the people say,
    "We did it ourselves."

    17th Verse, Tao Te Ching

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  22. If you want to be a great leader,
    you must learn to follow the Tao.
    Stop trying to control.
    Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
    and the world will govern itself.

    How do I know this is so?
    Because in this world, the greater the restrictions and prohibitions, the more the people are impoverished;
    the more advanced the weapons of state,
    the darker the nation;
    the more artful and crafty the plan,
    the stranger the outcome;
    the more laws are posted,
    the more thieves appear.

    Therefore the Sage says;
    I take no action and the people are reformed.
    I enjoy peace and people become honest.
    I do nothing and people become rich.
    If I keep from imposing on people,
    they become themselves.

    57th Verse Tao Te Ching

    Well! The old boy is obviously a Libertarian. But I'm uncertain what he would think of Tere-Care. He might give a litte, in his really old age, who knows? And he definitely has a lot of faith in the people.

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  23. I'm very old now.
    It is cold and wet here
    In the bamboo grove.
    Monkey droppings splat on my head.
    There is nothing to eat.
    Take me to the Lutheran run Good Samaritan Village.
    They have sheets there.
    And pillows.
    And warm food.
    Or enroll me in Tere-Care.

    unpublished and newly discovered last verse of the Tao Te Ching

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  24. When taxes are too high,
    people go hungry.
    When the government is too intrusive
    people lose their spirit.

    Act for the people's benefit;
    trust them, leave them alone.

    75th Verse Tao Te Ching

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  25. Imagine a small country with few people.
    They have weapons and do not deploy them;
    they enjoy the labor of their hands
    and do not waste time inventing laborsaving machines.

    They take death seriously and do not travel far.
    Since they dearly love their homes,
    they are not interested in travel.
    Although they have boats and carriages,
    no one uses them.

    They are content with healthy food,
    pleased with useful clothing,
    satisfied in snug homes,
    and protective of their way of life.

    Although they live within sight of their neighbors,
    and crowing cocks and barking dogs can be
    heard across the way,
    they leave each other in peace
    while they grow old and die.

    80th Verse Tao Te Ching

    An Amish Libertarian, seems to me.

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  26. Verse 101, Tao Tze Cha Ching:

    A cat that allows a rat to Mickey Mouse it around is no cat.

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  27. Who said prostitution is illegal? Ash, you ain't bin to Nevada. Try it, you might like it. Visiting Nevada I mean, not being a prostitute. :)

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  28. Try reading it in original chinese. Some of nuances are lost in translation.

    Still, Lao Zi is much admired. If only more chinese emperors followed his teachings instead of listening to Kong Zi or the Legalists... Might have less executions and revolts every decade.

    Like the Bible, it offers plenty of good advice, but is not the definitive textbook(nothing is, really) on how to solve problems of state and morality. It does offer some good thinking points, and draws up some nice boundaries and limits on actions. I'd always remember the teachings on flexibility when necessary.

    In retrospect, I think our current situation had never been foreseen by any of these books/scholars. It'll be silly to depend on them for specific advice. Rather, better to take some general principles and write our own solutions to the (novel) problems of our times.

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