Trailing in the polls, this guy is taking a desperate stance to appease the anti-islamic sentiment in the country and ride the wave of bigotry into re-election. This includes domestic oppression of muslims at home as well as meddling in Muslim countries abroad. Assuming he comes out positive with Libya, you could also expect him to go into Algeria, IC, and maybe even Syria.

How ironic is it that France has its own Bush now?

[Edited on April 11, 2011 at 6:46 PM. Reason : Now we can give their people shit back when they blame us for bush]

4/11/2011 6:37:54 PM

a little too ironic . . .

4/11/2011 7:13:34 PM

I should have suspected as much because he's a Conservative

then again when he got elected I heard he was (along with the one who should have won, Marie-Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party) opposed to the American invasion and occupation of Iraq

4/11/2011 7:36:10 PM

When you take haven in a foreign country, it is generally best not to express your thanks by making the crime rate sky-rocket, banning natives from 'your' parts of town, and generally pissing all over the welcome mat.

People might push back.

4/11/2011 7:48:26 PM

europe in general is heading towards being ruled by racist bigoted assholes.

i hate muslim extremists/terrorist just as much as the next normal person.

but these assholes are starting to put restrictions on how [muslim] women can dress... the irony... a continent where women can be topless on tv and on many beaches, they can't cover themselves if they want.

4/11/2011 7:50:19 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13031397

Women in face veils detained as France enforces ban

4/11/2011 8:32:30 PM

Quote :

"the irony... a continent where women can be topless on tv and on many beaches, they can't cover themselves if they want."

How is that ironic? Is it ironic that I can't go 10 mph or 100 mph on I-40?

4/11/2011 10:24:57 PM

Europe has never quite figured out a good formula for handling its large North African/Middle Eastern minority communities. They never bothered to seriously integrate them into their societies, and these sorts of actions are only going to compound the existing socioeconomic tensions that are simmering just below the surface. One has to wonder whether they will go through their own version of the 1960s race riots faced in the United States. While our Republic is hardly a paragon of racial equality, at least we pay lip service to it and make attempts, however clumsy, to address it.

4/12/2011 10:18:07 AM

They're also dealing with a lot of first generation immigrants who aren't particularly interested in fully integrating. One of the reasons Muslim women wear burqas is to distinguish themselves from secular European culture. The ban is only going to deepen that divide, however.

And, of course, when countries do try to integrate their immigrant (or otherwise marginalized) communities, they're accused of being nativists and cultural imperialists.

[Edited on April 12, 2011 at 10:45 AM. Reason : ]

4/12/2011 10:43:34 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this law get passed a while ago and is just now going into effect?

4/12/2011 10:49:54 AM

Quote :

"When you take haven in a foreign country, it is generally best not to express your thanks by making the crime rate sky-rocket, banning natives from 'your' parts of town, and generally pissing all over the welcome mat."

4/12/2011 1:26:10 PM

^ I generally get behind this but it should come as no surprise that these things are happening when these immigrants are treated as second class citizens by the natives in many EU nations. Its likely a chicken or the egg argument though.

4/12/2011 2:37:39 PM

Its ironic that a culture that is intolerant to other religions is complaining about intolerance

4/12/2011 3:23:21 PM

^^Well the egg most certainly came first so which is it?

4/12/2011 5:48:23 PM

Let's be real -- who doesn't hate islam?

4/12/2011 6:24:40 PM

Muslims?

4/12/2011 6:32:59 PM

Quote :

"Let's be real -- who doesn't hate islam?"

People who hate the West.

4/12/2011 7:08:10 PM

I read somewhere that France (and a lot of other Euro countries) are on track to become majority Muslim due to the high fertility rates of muslims and the low fertility rates of the natives.

That would have me shitting breaks if I was a French citizen.

Islam is no joke. It claims to be a religion of peace, but they fucking deem it OK to slaughter you if you don't believe it. Fuck that noise.

It's not bigoted if you are taking precautions to protect the safety and sanctity of your country's citizens. Imagine if that shit was going down at such a rate here. It almost is with Mexicans/Latinos, but Mexicans/Latinos do not have the track record of suicide bombings, oppression, and religious-justified murder.

[Edited on April 15, 2011 at 2:26 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2011 2:24:20 PM

Quote :

"Europe has never quite figured out a good formula for handling its large North African/Middle Eastern minority communities. They never bothered to seriously integrate them into their societies, and these sorts of actions are only going to compound the existing socioeconomic tensions that are simmering just below the surface. One has to wonder whether they will go through their own version of the 1960s race riots faced in the United States. While our Republic is hardly a paragon of racial equality, at least we pay lip service to it and make attempts, however clumsy, to address it. "

This does seem to be the case. And historically racially dominated country is going to naturally feel a little xenophobic when minority populations start to grow, and they can either react by pushing back, or figuring out how to alloy themselves to be a stronger society.

4/16/2011 10:15:09 AM

Quote :

"but they fucking deem it OK to slaughter you if you don't believe it. Fuck that noise."

so do christians

4/16/2011 10:33:52 AM

^

Really? When was the last time there was a Christian suicide bombing or honor killing?

Do Christians justify crucifying a woman because she was raped, and thus dishonored her family? Is it Christian doctrine to oppress women and make them subservient to men?

Have you heard about the cultural acceptance of the raping of young boys in Afghanistan?

I am not a fan of any religion, but I am willing to tolerate the ones that will let you be if you choose not to partake. There will always be some radical fundamentalists in almost all religions, these are the nuts that we need to beware of.


[Edited on April 16, 2011 at 11:26 AM. Reason : )]

4/16/2011 11:23:36 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Leach_(Anti-Abortion_Activist)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_God_(USA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Identity

4/16/2011 11:33:55 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints

4/16/2011 11:39:14 AM

^,^^

ha, this argument again?

because there are so many Branch Davidians and abortion clinic bombers. hardly any muslim extremists.

4/16/2011 12:04:24 PM

Both of those posts are in response to MattJMM2's apparent belief that there's no such thing as Christian extremism and terrorism, which isn't true.

In any case, it's your belief that low-volume terrorism is OK? When does terrorism become 'bad'?

4/16/2011 12:09:49 PM

nvm then. yeah, it exists, but i thought there was an implication being made that the two religions are comparable with regards to modern mass terrorism.

it's always bad though, no matter how low-volume.

4/16/2011 12:14:29 PM

The difference is that right now there isn't a threat of radical extremist Christians taking over entire countries and lowering the quality of life and freedoms of it's citizens.

Trust me, I agree with you that religious fundamentalism is terrible. I am an atheist and believe that every religion needs to be outspokenly criticized for any detriment it causes society.

From what I hear, which may not be 100% factual, it seems like there's a threat to the way of life of these European countries, and if I was a native citizen there I'd be shitting bricks.

4/16/2011 12:34:48 PM

There is no threat of fundamentalists taking over Europe. Radical islam is the minority, even in places like Egypt where almost everyone is Muslim.

4/16/2011 4:30:29 PM

Labels like "radical" and "fundamentalist" - apart from being contradictory - are slippery when it comes to Islam. You will find more than a few self-described "liberal" Muslims calling for the murder of cartoonists and denouncing uncovered women. The difference between an "extremist" and a "moderate" Muslim is often just a matter of an individual's stance on violent jihad. For example, a Muslim cleric who agrees with Osama bin Laden on just about every political and social issue, but who disagrees with suicide bombings, is usually labeled (even by Western press) as a moderate or liberal.

4/18/2011 5:35:35 PM

Violence is pretty much the only thing they do wrong though. Also in Islamic culture, the phrase "death to..." doesn't necessarily mean they want that person to die but its more like they should be taken out of power and punished for their actions. Same goes for Israel. "Death to israel" doesn't mean "i hope everyone in israel dies" it means "down with the political entity named israel and overthrow the israeli government forever to establish a legitimate government in the region allowing the indigenousness people back onto their land."

4/19/2011 8:36:27 PM

^source?

4/20/2011 3:33:27 AM

Quote :

"Violence is pretty much the only thing they do wrong though."

Sure, provided you're of the opinion that theocratic Fascism is "right."

4/20/2011 8:48:33 AM

Quote :

"It almost is with Mexicans/Latinos, but Mexicans/Latinos do not have the track record of suicide bombings, oppression, and religious-justified murder."

Just drunk driving, drug smuggling, and cartel violence. No Biggie....

4/25/2011 8:07:42 PM