Back into the blog-breach, dear friends, once more,

because there's so much to say about the French conflict; or rather, so many are saying things I can't ignore (please, do take advantage of the links in this post and in the two below). (As ever, Instapundit has proved his invaluability in opening the horizons.)

First, to the Beeb- where I found them doing the serious work of journalism: namely helping faceless old Europe to bash America and kick Bush where it could just please please please God hurt him.

Relatedly, a blog I've always liked has been commenting on BBC double standards and an alarming convergence.

And finally, a retrospective at the French cant which has passed for commentary for so many years, and the European suicidal tendancy to believe that 'the things which happen' in the US (that, is, after they've been magnified and intensified by press bias) could never happen here:

'As the Chicago Sun-Times reported in 1992: "the consensus of French pundits is that something on the scale of the Los Angeles riots could not happen here, mainly because France is a more humane, less racist place with a much stronger commitment to social welfare programs."'

This makes the prescriptions of many for the alienated Islamic youth, to increase social welfare programmes, look just a tad unhelpful.