According to the latest news from Paris, the death toll has risen to 129, with 352 wounded, of whom 99 are in critical condition. But everybody and their uncle is now using the attacks to bolster all sorts of causes. The far-right both in France and across Europe is the greatest winner. Although left-leaning, the French government has gone berserk, as well. The French president mentions war whenever he has a chance to vent his feelings. The support from all over the world is at its peak the weekend following the attacks, but retribution is in the air behind all expressions of sympathy. The death toll is thus sure to keep rising well beyond the French capital or France itself. And that is how humans react whenever they feel threatened. They thrash about as though there is no tomorrow. Causes and effects are eternally jumbled in their feeble minds. It is enough to remember what happened after the Twin Towers were toppled in New York City fourteen years ago. The retribution is still on, albeit without any palpable success. Only the death toll keeps rising from year to year, and from country to country. Sooner or later, even Steven Pinker will notice the growing bulge. Retribution breeds retribution without rhyme or reason. Enjoy the peak of so-called western civilization!