French propose naming streets after Arafat

I don't see what the big deal is, France in my book is an equal opportunity offender. They hate just about everybody but still do business with them, and they stand in the way of projected US power in every circumstance good or bad. They don't hate the US, they just like themselves much better.

All of this is probably due to the very complicated reasoning of: "because they can" and most likely also: "because they feel like it."

I say why the hell not?

We are talking about one of the first Arab leaders to recognize Israel’s right to exist. An Arab leader who was actually a secularist. He won a Nobel peace prize. He stood for his people and chased the dream of a true Palestinian state.

I don’t believe Arafat to be anymore corrupt than any government the US has had. Governments look out for their own self interests and Arafat did a great job of that for the Palestinians.

Removed

[Edited on Nov 16, 2004 by euphplayer]

as somebody can THINK this news is wrong... stockula is like foxwnews ; he creates information.

oh maybe some people here can ask to french people some questions about France instead of having fantasms about us.
We can have interesting discussions on links between extreme left and some islamic people (like ramadan) ; we can have discussions about immigration in France, jewish people in France but if some anti-french people only want to create fantasms, they will stay ignorant about France.
I'm critic to my country but jnews is not the first paper to learn about France.

just check history : it is AZincourt.

No that's absolutly nothing to do between shoah and war in Israel. Israelian don't want top extreminate palestinians as Germany wanted. They do have possibilities do kill all palestinians and never do. They did not consider palestinians as "under-men".

who ? France ? we do have laws against racist crimes.

[Edited on Nov 17, 2004 by mathilde74]

You'll never stop me from having fantasms about France.

troglodyte : if fantasms mean for you only sexual thoughts, just go back checking what sociology said about fantasms. Thanks.

It was a joke. I know what a fantasm, or phantasm, is. Thanks.

Yes I know ; sorry. this thread makes me angry ; really sorry.

That's what stockula wants. Don't give him the satisfaction/

and JFK, FDR, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Also there's a big fucking replica of the Statue of Liberty here in Paris, pretty prominently located too. How many cities in the US have streets named after Charles de Gaulle, Jean Jaures, Lafayette, Rousseau or Voltaire?

Isn't there an AM radio show you can start, so you don't need to put this stuff here?

Has anyone ever actually heard the word anti-semitism used to describe anti-Arab racism? No. So it seems silly for people to derail every debate about anti-semitism with this irrelevent curio.

Yes Arabs are semitic, but anti-semitism means anti-Jewish bigotry.

BTW are black people actually black?

ok not to throw a wrench in your spokes, because i respect what youre saying, and agree with the ideas behind it. but actually... I can think of a number of places named after Charles de Gaulle, and Lafayette. Especially Lafayette. thats just off the top of my head. As for Rousseau or Voltaire... thinkers never were too popular in america.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe people have been kicked off for voicing pro-Palestinian comments before.

Personally I think both sides need to take a deep breath and realise they are just going to have to get along... Having said that I fail to understand why so many of my leftwing friends are slanted towards the Palestinians? Secular social democracy vs. religious extremists... I know where I slant on that one. Leftwing values don't include oppressing half of the population and killing children... but then again the same could be said of the Israelis... I'm so confused!

PSno stupid commie statements from bar-room political philosophers please...

[Edited on Nov 17, 2004 by gramsci]

eh em... your constitution is based on Rousseau's writings and theories... the only difference between the core values of Rousseau and Jefferson etc was Rousseau said "life, liberty and property", but Jefferson wasn't too keen on the "property" bit... just in case those poor folks got any funny ideas

3rd.

If you mean anti-Jewish, say so.
Some arabs are jewish; as well, btw.

You're absolutely right. Although you forgot one tiny detail.

How did the Israelites get their land again?

[Edited on Nov 19, 2004 by Mefistofeles]

For the record, I think it's utterly tasteless to name a street after the terrorist-supporter Arafat. Even though I'm a supporter of the Palestinian fight for freedom. Of course, I'd find it tasteless to name a street after Bush, too, but i digress.

Even so - some French officials considering naming a street after Arafat is not the same thing as "the French honoring Arafat". Hopefully, these street naming suggestions will never bear fruit.

As for the French being particularly "Arab-friendly", don't forget that this was the nation that recently made it illegal to wear headscarves and other "religious clothes" in school. Outrageous and tasteless and hardly Arab-friendly.

Something about being freed from slavery in Egypt, then spending 40 years in the desert...

France isn't just anti-Semitic, they are racist. They hate immigrants, and anybody not like them. I know this firsthand having seen what African immigrants go through there. Even African footballers suffer racist taunts. I am not gonna say that I hate France, but I highly dislike them, even though I'm a crazy liberal.

The ministry of foriegn affairs has produced an excellent potted guide to the history
here

message deleted after I read the rest of the thread.... that's the edit.

Here's my opinion-- let the French do what ever they want. We don't listen to them, so why should they have to listen to us?

btw, stock, even though we rarely agree on anything, I really enjoyed your "jamais" answer. It made me laugh.

[Edited on Nov 19, 2004 by Shawna]