5.29.11
This is an Archival Site
There is now a new Rogovoy Report home
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Weekend Preview May 19-24
Bob Dylan tributes, Deborah Voigt, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen, John Kirk and Trish Miller
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FILM REVIEW: In a Better World and Of Gods and Men
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Deborah Voigt Headlines Mahaiwe Gala
Opera star to sing arias, show tunes on Saturday, May 21
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Famed Spiritual Teacher to Speak on Nonviolence
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Special Effects Wizard to Be Honored by Film Festival
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Weekend Preview May 12-16
Cultural Highlights of the Berkshire Weekend
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[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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The intifada comes to France
11.7.05
Make no mistake about it -- the immigrant rioting in France has reached enough of a fever pitch that it is widely being viewed as a full-fledged uprising -- what the media liked to call an intifada when such violence was directed against Israelis, as it gave the violence a more noble sense of a political-cultural crusade.
In First Death Is Reported in Paris Riots as Arson Increases, the New York Times reports today that the anti-French violence is "one of the most serious challenges to governmental authority in nearly 40 years." Dozens of police officers have come under attack, more than 3,300 cars have been destroyed, and entire buildings and neighborhoods -- including, of course, the old Jewish Quarter of Paris -- have come under what can only be termed terrorist attacks.
The question is, now that the French are under attack in a means shockingly similar to how Israelis were threatened in the late 1980s and early 1990s, will they respond in the manner in which they insisted the Israelis act -- that is, to cave in to the anarchic demands of the terrorists, lay down their arms, entertain the supposed grievances of the attackers, and surrender their sovereignty and allow for a mini-Islamic immigrant state within a state, OR will they continue to respond in the manner in which they seem to favor -- President Chirac "promised increased police pressure to confront the violence."
This sort of "increased police pressure" to defend French citizens and the Republic was of course the stuff that provoked countless U.N. resolutions and diplomatic tongue lashings -- including those from French officials -- condemning Israel for over a decade for efforts to defend itself. So if the French DO wind up attempting to put down the uprising, will they be subject to worldwide condemnation, sanctions, and calls for disinvestment?
Somehow I doubt it.....
But the question must be asked: Unlike the Jews, don't the French sort of, you know, deserve it?
Just asking!
11/7/2005
so many people have been critical of the French -
now it seems the French have joined in !
Good work , Seth, as always.
11/7/2005
It couldn't happen to a nicer "SHITTY LITTLE COUNTRY" THAN FRANCE !
11/7/2005
Seth Rogovoy Replies
For an in-depth report and more on this topic, including Al Qaeda's involvement in the French Arab uprising, go here: France’s Ramadan Uprising - a Ticking Bomb for Europe
I don't know about Israel, but I do know about France. This uprising should have been crushed at the start. Failure to do so has caused it to spread throughout Europe. The sooner action is taken to stop this insurrection, the less pain will result. I fully respect the wish of the French to keep France French (though sometimes they're a bit rough on us Anglos). Viva La France! Not the Caliphate of North Algeria
11/8/2005
Seth Rogovoy Replies
In today's New York Times, the latest story, Chirac Orders State of Emergency After Another Night of Rioting, talks about curfews, states of emergency ("The recourse to a 1955 state-of-emergency law that dates back to France's war in Algeria was a measure both of the gravity of mayhem that has spread to hundreds of French towns and cities and of the determination of Chirac's sorely tested government to quash it.", 1,200 cars burned overnight, and a funny tidbit -- that it took authorities over a week to take the violence seriously because on any given night this past year, over 80 cars were typically burned by these immigrant/terrorists. The latest A.P. story says, "In terms of material destruction, the unrest is France's worst since World War II. Never has rioting struck so many French cities simultaneously, said security expert Sebastian Roche, a director of research at the state-funded National Center for Scientific Research."
11/8/2005
I find the smug comments about the youth riots in France disturbing and shockingly short sighted. France is not alone. The years of neglect to our worthy brothers of the underclass have created societies without sustaining cultures, family life, education and hope. We have created timebombs in this country as well, if only by neglect.
As Olivier Ray said in the NY TIMES op-ed today, GET FRENCH OR DIE TRYING, "Americans, for their part, should take little pleasure in France's agony-the struggle to integrate an angry under class is one shared across the Western World."
11/9/2005
I have French in-laws who were smug enough relating that the joke in France during the Katrina disaster was that tiny little Sri Lanka had to offer its aid to the big bad USA for the clean-up and recovery. I've been tempted to tell them that France should request Israel's help in restoring order during the French intifada. Obviously the French government is ineffective and inexperienced in this matter.
11/18/2005
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