#blanketcats

GOOD MORNING!

Since so much of yesterday’s Catnews was focused on French strikes against ISIL targets and the immediate impacts of the attack, today we’re going to look at France from a different lens: the Muslim, immigrant France—what their lives are like, how bad it is for them already, and how, tragically, these attacks have worsened things for the community.

This is not the France we remember from when we visited for summer vacation or studied abroad in college.

Also: I had my first day on the new job today and I’m very tired, so here are some blanketcats:

HERE ARE CATS:

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Blanketcat

Blanketcat

Blanketcat

HERE IS NEWS:

[Something a little different today: a Wikipedia article as a primer on the Banlieues, “forgotten” French suburbs, home to profound poverty and many, many Muslim immigrants.] The banlieues of large cities like Lyon and Marseille, and especially those around Paris are severely criticized and forgotten by the country’s territorial spatial planning administration. Ever since the French Commune government of 1871, they were and are still often ostracized, considered by other residents as places that are “lawless” or “outside the law”, “outside the Republic”, as opposed to “deep France”, or “authentic France” associated with the provinces.

[Article from August of this year about the Banlieues and the horror expressed by their many Muslim residents to the Charlie Hebdo attacks (and some white extremist backlash against them). Long read, but worth it.] The Other France. Are the suburbs of Paris incubators of terrorism?

[Great article about French “monoculturism.” Please note: this is not victim-blaming or anything like. Simply an interesting article examining what it’s like to be Muslim or other non-French origin in France.] In Attack’s Wake, France Grapples With What It Means To Be French. “In France you have this idealistic notion of what it means to be French,” Sciolino explains to Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. “It’s an idealization of the secular republican ideal that doesn’t recognize difference.”

[Good article on the 2005 riots in the Clichy-sous-Bois banlieue and how the riots happened, what was done to fix it, and why that hasn’t worked entirely.]  The Problem of Clichy: After 2005 Riots, France’s Suburbs Are Still Miserable. Seven years after Clichy-sous-Bois errupted in rioting that spread across France, TIME returns to see whether billions in spending, years of policy debate, and national soul-searching has improved life in the blighted banlieues. (This is part one of a two-part series.)

[And finally: MORE EVIDENCE TO FUEL MY COFFEE ADDICTION] Drink To Your Health: Study Links Daily Coffee Habit To Longevity. If you have a daily coffee habit, here’s something to buzz about: A new study finds those cups of joe may help boost longevity.

HERE ARE BONUSES:

Skateboard rabbit

Skateboard rabbit

Skateboard rabbit

HERE ARE POSTSCRIPTS:

Source: extremadamentemono.wordpress.com