Paris is burning

The sickly smell of burning rubber blankets the Paris suburbs as you ride through them. The day is calm as police wander around and large groups, but during the nights the twinkling parisian streetlights has an old companion back for a visit: The fires of riots.

For those who has read any french modern history, this is all very familiar. A large part of society gets neglected and ignored, and feels left out. Frustration and anger rises. Demonstrations and protests are held, which leads to nothing, and finally some more or less unrelated event sparks riots amongst the frustrated. This is pretty much what has happened in Paris, over and over again. The last time it was this big was 1968.

The state reacts in the same way every time: By denouncing the rioters as nothing more than simple criminals, a well organized mob who is only out to fight. The reaction is therefore to throw the police-force at the problem and arrest loads of people. But of course, just as 1789 and just as 1968, one of the problems is that the angry youth sees the police as their enemy, and one of the things that make them angry is that they are being treated as criminals, even if they aren’t. So that type of tactics will only make them more angry, and will only increase the riots. Which is of course exactly what happened this time to.

In 1968 the rioters had the luck of getting the unions on their side, sparking a general strike. But that requires connection in the unions, and the rioters this time is not well educated socialist youth, but low-educated immigrant youth. They have no connections to the unions. They can not grind France to a halt. On the other hand, the only way Sarkozys tactic can work, is if he succeeds in arresting almost all of the rioters.

This will probably end with Sarkozy resigning. I sure can’t see any other way out of this now. The big question is if the rest of the french goverment will learn something from this, and realize that France can not go on trying to exlude it’s immigrants from society. Somehow, I don’t have high hopes.

When in France, do as the French.

Nobody should complain that immigrants in France don’t act French. They have picked up that most French of all traditions: Street riots. I thought at first that it was just a one-off clash between police and some angry youth, Gothenburg-style, but now it’s been going on for for almost a week, in true french government-vs-people-standoff. Interestingly enough, nobody in France seems to care much. I think the French sees rioting as a type of extra interesting rugby.

Quote of the day.

Often, what distinguishes non-doctorates from doctorates in the psychology, the social sciences, and humanities is common sense versus incomprehensible or empty rhetoric.
– R.J. Rummel

Perfectly Planned Sweden

Niklas Hedell lives in Stockholm since 1988. When he studied in Uppsala he wanted to sublet his apartment and stay in Uppsala until he had finished the studies. However, the Rent and Tenacies Tribunal, a special court that decides issues of who is right in conflicts regarding rented apartments, and therefore in many cases decide who gets to live where, decided that he was not allowed to do this, because it is traveling distance to Uppsala. With public transport, it would take Mr Hedell more than an hour. Each way. Every day.

Now he is finished with the studies, and he works in Stockholm. He is married, and his wife works and lives in Uppsala. They have a daughter, but they work in different cities, and hence have not yet moved together. His wife also has only a project based job, nothing says that her next job will be in Uppsala. So all is fine with the tribunal?

Hardly. Remember, the tribunal has decided that Uppsala and Stockholm is within the distance you should travel every day to work, so they think that Mr Hedell should move in with his wife in Uppsala, and the have decided to evict Mr Hedell. Yes, the Swedish government is telling Mr Hedell that he is not allowed to live in Stockholm, he should live in Uppsala with his wife.

Do you think this is absurd? Yes, it is. But it’s also just another day in Perfectly Planned Sweden. I’m so happy I don’t live there.

I thought I could organize freedom. How Scandinavian of me. — Björk

Ref: http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1298&a=459554

Freedom in our lifetime.

One of our times most interesting fighters for peace and democracy is R. J. Rummel. In his blog today he has drawn a curve of the global level of democracy. Happily it is increasing in a steady pace, and Rummel comes to the conclusion that it is quite likely that we will achieve global democracy in less than 40 years. That indeed is happy news for me, who had expected it to take much longer. I have now the hope of seeing a free world in my life time. Assuming I start going to the gym and eat better. 🙂

Is less aid more?

Via Johan Norbergs blog I encountered an article where Fredrik Erixon argues that foreign aid to developing countries doesn’t work. In fact he says that it actually is hurtful to the recipient countries. It’s food for thought, and actually quite a scary idea.

But I think he is wrong. Because he looks only on how much aid has been given, but not what type. Much of the aid given during the 70s was grandiose, massive and industrial. It aimed to kick the countries into the industrial world by building factories. Much of the money ended up in corrupt pockets, and the industries seldom gave the desired effect.

In the 80s the aid was focused more on small scale healthcare and educational projects. These existed during the 70s too, but made up a small part of the relatively large sums spent on foreign aid during this decade. And the curves show no sudden increase in prosperity when the large scale aid stops, at least showing that aid does not need to be hurtful.

So I suspect that aid can help, if it is aimed at strengthening the basic needs of society. Aid should help in building a countries legal system, healthcare, schools and democracy. That together with economic freedom provides the basis for a country to get out of poverty.

Building big industries help with nothing of this, in fact, it often acts contrary to the economic freedom. But, although big industry aid is useless, it does not mean all aid is useless. I think this is Fredrik Erixons mistake.

Bush to lead inquiry into Katrina

Ex-President Bill Clinton, and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, have been among those to call for an inquiry. ”It’s the least he can do”, sais Senator Clinton, ”After all, my husband made an inquiry into Monica”.

Link