Fox News = No Go Zone

Europe is laughing at Fox News, in particular over hysterical claims that Europe is riddled with Muslim “no-go zones” where only Muslims may enter.

…the French equivalent of the David Letterman show, “Le Petit Journal,” managed to convey some much-needed comic relief to a national prime-time TV audience in France where much of the country grieved.

The Petit Journal’s broadcast of the Parisian neighborhoods could not have more patently depicted the absurdity of Fox’s portrayal of Paris, where, in reality, people of different ages, religions and ethnic origins freely go about their business, running errands, pushing strollers, etc.

Le Petit Journal correspondents were shown visiting the “no-go zones,” prompting guffaws from both the live studio audience and the incredulous passersby who were asked if their safe streets were comparable to those in Iraq or Afghanistan, if they ever saw someone wear bin Laden T-shirts, or other absurd questions. The U.S. equivalent would be asking people on the streets in Manhattan if Shariah law was the law of the streets there.

In another broadcast, Le Petit Journal cast members dressed up like U.S. journalists ventured into the “Most Dangerous City in the Universe.” They confronted such dangerous situations as a man with a “terrorist beard” driving a taxi or the site of a couscous restaurant. The sounds of a jackhammer are taken for gunfire as the fake TV reporter rolls on the ground in terror.

The Mayor of Paris threatened to sue Fox News for defaming her city, and British Prime Minister David Cameron famously said he “choked on his porridge” upon hearing the claim that Birmingham UK is “totally Muslim.”

Fox News has uncharacteristically issued apologies for the “no go zone” claims, but that has not deterred Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who made similar “no go zone” claims while in London this week. And unlike Fox News, Jindal is not backing down, but told CNN he was only “speaking the truth.”

Clearly, Jindal wants to be a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, a competition that’s something of a cross between a circus clown car act and “Survivor.” Speaking of which, if you missed Mike Huckabee on the Daily Show, you missed Jon Stewart being a little less kind than usual.