The Anchoress

There is so much out there about France, and about Islamic Fundamentalism, that I thought I’d cherrypick a few pieces for you.

Alexandra’s graphic is chilling and her links are terrific. What a unique and valuable eye and voice she brings to every issue!

Richard Brookhiser pulls no punches here, focusing mostly on the economics of it all, but with this finish: What France mostly feels is the pathos of a former great power. The Italians, except for an outburst under Mussolini, wisely gave the game up centuries ago, and have devoted themselves to the arts, and the arts of living, the eye and the palette. But the French are still too close to —though very far from — Jena and the Marne; too close even to a showboat like de Gaulle. They might be fine, if they could perform a selective lobotomy. Stick the Arc de Triomphe and its pompous statuary in the Louvre, where it belongs. Write books; eat bread; learn Arabic. That is their future.

Jack Kelly looks at all the ways France’s perfidy have directly affected the United States, particularly as pertains to our war efforts in Iraq.

Bruce Thornton fisks how the press parses its words.

Belgravia Dispatch writes of Pre-revolutionary stirrings, cautions that this is not a Muslim take-over and wonders why Chirac is still around. The Astute Blogger is wondering the same.

Tony Blankley rather disagrees with Belgravia: A new benchmark of the possible will have been established. The flaccid and timorous response of the French government will only increase the radicalizing Muslim elements’ contempt for Western cultural weakness.

As Paul Belien, writing from Brussels this weekend observed: “It is not anger that is driving the insurgents to take it out on the secularized welfare states of Old Europe. It is hatred. Hatred caused not by injustice suffered, but stemming from a sense of superiority. The “youths” do not blame the French, they despise them.”

Sisu serves us Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in a very stirring piece which advances the idea that the riots “The MSM’s Template is shattered due to two weeks of rioting. Kind of an angry read.

SCA observes that Riots are terribly inconvenient but there is also this rather stunning bit of event association going on in that busy brain, which brings together Rosa Parks, Canada and the French riots and bubbles them into a surprising stew.

Neo-neocon takes a long, comprehensive look at Nicolas Sarkozy. Excellent piece.

Apparently having not read the email from Marianne, the WaPo says these riots have nothing to do with Islam! Nothing!. Okay. Allah Akbar to you, too.

Weapons of Mass Destruction has an astonishing round-up. A lot of very thoughtful stuff, there.

Gateway Pundit has continual round-ups and updates of course.

Meanwhile, I hate to seem like I’m “picking on Islam,” but Michelle Malkin gives us more bad news on more Christians schoolkids being killed in Indonesia.