Matt Yglesias

29 Responses to “French Bombs”

1. kid bitzer Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am

   same question occurs to me in reference to the bomb in oregon.

   except there we know why it’s not getting media coverage:

   the bomber is a white male, so we ignore this sort of terrorism.

   eric rudolph, timothy mcveigh, the abortion bombers–a whole world of right-wing white terrorists, but we can’t talk about them.

2. Peter Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

   same question occurs to me in reference to the bomb in oregon.
   except there we know why it’s not getting media coverage:
   the bomber is a white male, so we ignore this sort of terrorism.

   What relevance does the “white male” factor have to the bomb in France? If the claim of responsibility is genuine, it was placed (presumably) by Afghans.* It’s a whole different story than the Oregon bomb.

   * = I know, biologically speaking Afghans may be Caucasian, but they’re not within the popular definition of white.

3. raft Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

   i have a question: why is Afghanistan so unpopular in Europe? what, exactly, is Europe planning to do when NATO leaves and the Taliban takes over the country again?

   real question, i don’t know anything about European politics.

4. Arun Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

   The thing is, it wasn’t a bomb, it was sticks of dynamite described as “old”, with no detonator or igniter of any kind. I think this an amateurish prank, actually. Hugely unfunny, but doesn’t seem like any serious terrorism attempt.

5. M. Peachbush Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

   Old dynamite is the worst kind. Unstable, sweating nitro…

6. Diana Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

   I’m glad someone else was thinking “oh shit” when they heard about this story. One of the things I was originally most relieved about after the election was the assumption (naive, i know) that the media would go back to covering things of importance. HA! Now, rather than discussing bomb threats (true, I don’t want it blown out of proportion – excuse the pun – but acknowledgment would be nice) and the torture memo, it’s ALL about politics. Caroline Kennedy and BlagoMan and Obama’s nonreaction to BlagoMan. Seriously. It needs to stop.

7. harold Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

   When I was in France during the early nineties it was routine to be checked with metal detectors when entering a department store. In Europe bombings is such public spaces had been common for a long time.

8. Russell Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 2:01 pm

   i have a question: why is Afghanistan so unpopular in Europe? what, exactly, is Europe planning to do when NATO leaves and the Taliban takes over the country again?

   real question, i don’t know anything about European politics.

   I think that Afghanistan has been lumped in with Iraq as “an American war”. People seem to have forgotten that this went through the United Nations etc. Obama’s biggest foreign policy challenge will be convincing the Europeans to support action in Afghanistan.

9. Njorl Says:
   December 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm

   “I’m not sure I understand why this business of a bomb being planted in a French department store by “a previously unknown group demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan” isn’t getting more play.”

   That’s small potatoes, Matt. It’s not as if boots were involved.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_bomb_plot_to_attack_the_Sears_Tower

10. Anthony Damiani Says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Possibly because I don’t want to have to take my shoes off to be scanned every time I enter a department store.

11. JonF Says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 7:08 pm

    Re: I know, biologically speaking Afghans may be Caucasian, but they’re not within the popular definition of white.

    What is the definition of “white”? I’ve always wondered this, since traditionally there are supposed to be three colors/races, white, black and yellow– to which sometimes “red” is added for Native Americans (and some folks get real fancy and add how the Aborigines and KhoiSan are mini-races too).
    Middle Eastern people definitely don’t fall under “black” and they don’t fit in “yellow” either, and they’re decidedly wrong for “red” so that just leaves “white”.
    Probably the best way to make these statements would be to omit the color terms and just say “European” instead of “white” since that’s really what most (Anglo) racism comes down to, a preferrence for Europeans, and within Europe, for Northern Europeans.

12. Constantine Says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    Actually, this isn’t a big development. Considering the language the NYT quotes the group as using, this would seem to be more of a unreconstructed left-wing student group. They’re dramatic, but they generally just light stuff on fire at night, occasionally hurl Molotov cocktails at riot police. If you want to see a country where old-school Marxist/anarchist/lefty student groups still have some bite, take a look at what’s happening in Greece right now.

13. Rev Donald Spitz Says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

    Nothing like the homosexuals burning churches every day in the United States as well as homosexuals beating up old ladies because they are wearing crosses.
    SAY THIS PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am a sinner and am headed to eternal hell because of my sins. I believe you died on the cross to take away my sins and to take me to heaven. Jesus, I ask you now to come into my heart and take away my sins and give me eternal life.

14. 4degreesnorth Says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 2:56 am

    “i have a question: why is Afghanistan so unpopular in Europe?”

    Ideally you ought to interview British colonial forces. Unfortunately they all long dead. Failing that, you might want to interview retired red army generals on the success of afghanistan interventions.

    “Why isn’t the bomb planted in French store getting more play ?”

    To start with, we don’t really what is going on and the message doesn’t sound Afghan, rather it sounds French. The fundamental point is that we in Europe did not discover terrorism in 2001, we started experiencing it a full generation earlier. So we know how to deal with it and don’t need to make a Hollywood production out of our fears or resolves, and we don’t elect governments on that basis. We get on with it.

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