of these kids' actions, but i condone them, understand their pain, and probably would do the same in their shoes.

it's so very sad that they are hurting themselves, and their own peoples' property, but it must be almost irresistible, given their sense of alienation and the apparent futility of trying to be heard any other way.

treat people fairly, and this wouldn't happen.

young men need their energy channeled into productive pursuits, or they will act out.

it's always been that way. some tribes knock a tooth out at puberty, some chop off another piece of anatomy, to try and knock a wedge of humility into their omnipotence.

france expects them to go to school, and aim for respectability with a 9 to 5.

i heard that in communist east germany the kids had plenty of organised activities, and when the wall fell, a lot went wild, missing some positive structure to help them through the hardest years, with respect to identity and character formation.

what do we offer kids? the mall-crawl? projections on football teams?

these kids need to feel self-esteem. their families try to do this with religion, but that doesn't cut any mustard in a secular, racist society.

lining them up to be branded 'french' is absurd, unless they choose to be.

i hate the sublimated war in sport, but maybe it might work to integrate immigrants better.

all part of the difficult transition from homo economicus to homo ludens...

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty