After reading about the current violence in France in which 3,500 cars were torched over the past 10 days, I was shocked to learn that so far this year, 20,000 cars have been burned in that country ! I can just imagine how I would feel if I lived there and owned a car. :paranoid:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/international/europe/06cnd-paris.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5040&en=6d035692f695ecb9&ex=1131944400&partner=MOREOVERNEWS

If the French government doesn't do something (effective) about this soon, burned cars will be the least of their problems.

I can just imagine how I would feel if I lived there and owned a car. :paranoid:

... That you'd want to get it totalled and get a new one? :lmao:

I bet insurance went up there!

I'll never understand how people think destroying a stranger's property is going to make things better.... :dunno:

i bet that some insurance companies tried to fix them and give them back to the owners..... :rolleyes: :headbash: :screwy:

Is this really French riots or is it a disguised terrorist activity?

It appears to really be French riots. Apparently, they were sparked when 2 young muslim boys of French-African heritage were electrocuted while allegedly being chased by police. Even the reports coming out of the French media are calling it riots....But I guess that doesn't necessarily mean anything.... They seem to be similar to the race riots in the U.S....
an interesting article... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1293836
I have another interesting article I could post, but its in french.... not sure how helpful that would be.... :dunno: :lmao:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_French_civil_unrest

It appears to really be French riots. Apparently, they were sparked when 2 young muslim boys of French-African heritage were electrocuted while allegedly being chased by police. Even the reports coming out of the French media are calling it riots....But I guess that doesn't necessarily mean anything.... They seem to be similar to the race riots in the U.S....
an interesting article... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1293836

From what I hear, it's part of a bigger thing in France - the French Government is not all that interested in assimilating African immigrants, and neither are they. So they clash, and the French Government and police are pretty merciless when it comes to violence, crime and gangs, especially when it comes to them. Furthermore, the French Government and police are pretty much zero tolerance when it comes to illegal immigration, many time with innocent people getting caught up in the mix, and being arrested and detained by the police.

I have another interesting article I could post, but its in french.... not sure how helpful that would be.... :dunno: :lmao:

POst away, the French impaired could babelfish it. :lmao:

These "Riots" wouldn't go on in the US for very long. Thank God we live in a country where we are free to own firearms.

Notice how there aren't any Riots in rural Texas, Arkansas, Alabama or Tennessee?

From what I hear, it's part of a bigger thing in France - the French Government is not all that interested in assimilating African immigrants, and neither are they. So they clash, and the French Government and police are pretty merciless when it comes to violence, crime and gangs, especially when it comes to them. Furthermore, the French Government and police are pretty much zero tolerance when it comes to illegal immigration, many time with innocent people getting caught up in the mix, and being arrested and detained by the police.
POst away, the French impaired could babelfish it. :lmao:

Funny that the Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists don't seem to have a problem assimilating.

These "youths" are highly organized and being sanctioned by their own parents and leadership. It's terrorism no matter how you cut it.

Funny that the Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists don't seem to have a problem assimilating.

These "youths" are highly organized and being sanctioned by their own parents and leadership. It's terrorism no matter how you cut it.


Unfortunately that has some truth to it.

BUt I believe the problem goes both ways. We have lots of Muslims and African immigrants (not talking about American blacks whose ancestors were slaves, I'm talking about recent immigrants) in America, yet we don't have this problem. Maybe it's because they don't live in constant fear for their lives? Maybe it's because they have freedom and democracy? Can you explain why they aren't terrorizing anyone?

Unfortunately that has some truth to it.
BUt I believe the problem goes both ways. We have lots of Muslims and African immigrants (not talking about American blacks whose ancestors were slaves, I'm talking about recent immigrants) in America, yet we don't have this problem. Maybe it's because they don't live in constant fear for their lives? Maybe it's because they have freedom and democracy? Can you explain why they aren't terrorizing anyone?

We do indeed have some racial tensions brewing here in the states. Don't ask me how this guy got on CSPAN!!! :dunno:
http://www.filecabi.net/video/killerwhitey.html

As far as Muslims rioting, I think they'll wait until they want Sharia law in a few towns and people resist.

Religious and Racial tensions have been a source of global conflict for thousands of years, so "diversity" will let us in the U.S. have a taste... just a matter of time.

We do indeed have some racial tensions brewing here in the states. Don't ask me how this guy got on CSPAN!!! :dunno:
http://www.filecabi.net/video/killerwhitey.html

As far as Muslims rioting, I think they'll wait until they want Sharia law in a few towns and people resist.

Religious and Racial tensions have been a source of global conflict for thousands of years, so "diversity" will let us in the U.S. have a taste... just a matter of time.

Of course we have racial tension in the US. But for the most part it is confined to isolated incidents and a whole bunch of talk, not widespread race rioting. The last big race riot we had IIRC was the rodney king LA riots and those were not such a big deal. Most people I know think racists are freaks!

In the middle east where there is almost no democracy, sharia is used by Governments to oppress and brainwash people. Sharia is not the will of the people there. It is a tool used by the Governments to gain and retain power and money. In America we have a democractically elected Government, with freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. There is therefore no reason nor legal basis for the Government to rule with an iron fist. Even if they decide to do it by force the 2nd amendment was created to ensure that the Government remains in check.

In America most Muslims will not want sharia law, because they enjoy free society. In fact most people here enjoy the freedoms they have. They don't live in fear of the Government or the police so they have no reason to retaliate.

As for your notion of "diversity" being bad for the US... First generation children of immigrants are americans first and anything else afterwards. They grow up among American kids with American values. They learn English as their first language. They assimilate pretty well into society. So I'd say our future generation of diverse Americans will be OK.

As for your notion of "diversity" being bad for the US... First generation children of immigrants are americans first and anything else afterwards. They grow up among American kids with American values. They learn English as their first language. They assimilate pretty well into society. So I'd say our future generation of diverse Americans will be OK.

Yes, our country needs immigration to keep our economy going strong, but it's not really that simple.

A good level of diversity is fine, but just like a business aquisition, you acquire people and their existing culture with immigration. In business, the companies that succeed are the ones that acquire and quickly assimilate "compatible" cultures, and yes, they use "culture" as a business term.

Why is it in the U.S.(and in France) that Asians in general assimilate and succeed so quickly, while other races do not? What is it about their culture that makes it more compatible with ours? Let me add this: My wife is Asian, and I married her because she had what I called "old-fashioned American values."

Why do so many recent immigrants in this country resist having English as the official language? I think a common language will make us more cohesive.

What about foreign allegiance and racism of our immigrant base? We in the U.S. have been teaching our population to be more inclusive and less racist, but many of the countries we get immigrants from have fervent racism.
My brother-in-law always refers to his country of birth as "his country," and he makes his purchasing and other decisions in the interest of "his asian brothers." Does that sound like allegiance to the U.S.?

Scary stuff if you ask me.

Yes, our country needs immigration to keep our economy going strong, but it's not really that simple.

A good level of diversity is fine, but just like a business aquisition, you acquire people and their existing culture with immigration. In business, the companies that succeed are the ones that acquire and quickly assimilate "compatible" cultures, and yes, they use "culture" as a business term.

Why is it in the U.S.(and in France) that Asians in general assimilate and succeed so quickly, while other races do not? What is it about their culture that makes it more compatible with ours? Let me add this: My wife is Asian, and I married her because she had what I called "old-fashioned American values."

Why do so many recent immigrants in this country resist having English as the official language? I think a common language will make us more cohesive.

What about foreign allegiance and racism of our immigrant base? We in the U.S. have been teaching our population to be more inclusive and less racist, but many of the countries we get immigrants from have fervent racism.
My brother-in-law always refers to his country of birth as "his country," and he makes his purchasing and other decisions in the interest of "his asian brothers." Does that sound like allegiance to the U.S.?

Scary stuff if you ask me.

The English language issue needs to be addressed in the law if we are to force people to speak English.

Furthermore the fact English is not the official language anywhere in the US is the Government's fault. They're not willing to enact the laws to make this possible.

But we already do enforce English as a requirement to become a citizen, unless you are a senior.

Furthermore, first generation citizen children of immigrants and children who are brought here when they are very young are taught English, learn English and prefer to speak in English, except mostly when talking to family members. So don't worry, no one who is going to be around for a while is resisting learning English. It's mostly the older folks who are set in their ways already. But the laws already restrict legal immigration of older people.

What we do see happening is that portions of the country with large numbers of illegal immigrants do have a problem where English is quickly playing second fiddle to a foreign language, most notably Spanish. I do agree with curbing illegal immigration, but the Government does not. That issue needs to be addressed, whether it be patroling the border or enforcing the law by fining businesses that hire illegals.

You can never get rid of racism completely. Even white people were (and to some extent still are) racist towards each other. Long ago there were signs saying "No Irish allowed" because no one liked the Irish back then who were assumed would cause trouble and spread disease. Now Irish people are treated like regular white folks. I believe the same will happen in the years to come with our current generation if immigrants - hispanics, asians (including south asians like myself), Eastern Europeans.

Why is it in the U.S.(and in France) that Asians in general assimilate and succeed so quickly, while other races do not? What is it about their culture that makes it more compatible with ours? Let me add this: My wife is Asian, and I married her because she had what I called "old-fashioned American values."

Part of the reason is that their skin is lightly colored, so some people don't have the natural fear they have of people with dark skin. For example, the first time my cousin saw a black person he screamed and ran. It was funny, but sad because people naturally have fear of certain types of people.

Yes, their culture is also one of progress.

Furthermore, recent Asian immigrants come here in families. Having your family's support makes a huge difference. It's one of the things that made jewish people, asians, arabs and a few other groups that come here in families so successful in America today.

As for white men and asian women, personally I think it's because some Asian cultures teach women to be more loyal to their husbands whereas American culture teaches women independence and freedom. The latter can be both good and bad.

In my original culture, women are taught to be loyal to their husbands no matter what. In some cases marriages are arranged and a woman will basically be her husband's servant. They are taught that their husband is God and they have to worship him at all costs. I honestly can't live a life like that but some men will love that because they don't have to deal with a woman who has a mind of her own.

As for Asians assimilating and learning English... I don't know about that. ESL classes in my college tend to get filled mostly by Asians, even Asians that have been here a long time.

Part of the reason is that their skin is lightly colored, so some people don't have the natural fear they have of people with dark skin. For example, the first time my cousin saw a black person he screamed and ran. It was funny, but sad because people naturally have fear of certain types of people.


Ok, maybe "asians" was a bad example. What about Hindus from India? They don't seem to have a problem.

Ok, maybe "asians" was a bad example. What about Hindus from India? They don't seem to have a problem.


You mean people like me?

Okay firstly I assume you mean East Indians. Hinduism is a religion, not a race/ethnicity.

People do have a problem with Indians, particularly the accusation that we're cheap labor coming here to take jobs. (I'm fairly sure that's wrong for many people, but it is true to an extent.)

Some people also accuse us of not assimilating. But judging from my Indian friends with kids in American schools, while the parents don't assimilate completely, their kids do, because they're in American schools.

Actually Indians are pretty good at learning English in the US because English is actually an official language in India.

Lately we've been accused of being in league with terrorists. That purely has to do with skin color and how we look.