|
9702. arkymalarky - 11/14/2015 3:46:14 AM Alistair? 9703. robertjayb - 11/14/2015 4:39:35 PM French President Francois Hollande, speaking to the nation, said attacks Friday that killed 127 people were "an act of war."
He said France "will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group." France "will act by all means anywhere, inside or outside the country."
Yes! Vive la France
9704. robertjayb - 11/14/2015 4:48:37 PM Me (2-26-15)
I do think the U.S. should take a hand in this horror. But not some replay of the self-serving Bush/Cheney (et al.) disasters.
These villains should be dealt with as criminals as we should have dealt with the 9/11 murderers. We are a rich, rich country and can always print more money. Put our many spooks to work scouring the globe for the baddest, meanest motherfuckers that can be hired. Pay them extravagantly, equip them well, and give them the best intelligence possible. Then have them go Keyser Soze on these loonies. Kill them, their families, their associates, their friends and neighbors.
I read of a Jordanian using the word exterminate. Exactly. 9705. arkymalarky - 11/14/2015 5:25:46 PM
I agree 9706. arkymalarky - 11/14/2015 5:29:59 PM Maybe not to extent, but we need to take a much more surgical approach than we've been taking. What we've been doing is creating more resentment that leads to more radicalization. And we have nothing to show for it except a big hot mess. 9707. Ms. No - 11/15/2015 4:18:27 AM I think terrorists and assassins should no longer be identified by name in the media.
They should get codes like 111315m35Sy - 35yo Syrian male involved in a terrorist attack on 11-13-2015. Nobody ever should be able to pick up a mainstream newspaper and hold these guys up as heroes or martyrs or role models for bragging rights.
Their victims are the true martyrs - people violently murdered for their beliefs which don't match those of their attackers.
I think the same rule should apply to mass murderers here in the States. It has become the new way for angry, self-absorbed, mal-adjusted shitheads to grab their 15 weeks of fame, and we shouldn't give it to them.
"Wanna get famous by killing a bunch of innocent people because you're too lazy to actually make something of yourself? Screw you. Nobody will know your name."
9708. robertjayb - 11/15/2015 4:59:03 AM Yes...An important move:
One of the dead gunmen was French. He had ties to Islamist militants and was known to the security services. French media said the man's brother and father were arrested on Saturday. 9709. robertjayb - 11/16/2015 9:18:40 PM Good Idea:
PARIS (AP) - France wants to bring the United States and Russia together in a grand coalition dedicated to smashing the Islamic State group, President Francois Hollande told lawmakers Monday...
Let Vladimir run it...and trust but verify. 9710. judithathome - 11/17/2015 12:54:44 AM Blast From the Past: the Onion, 2003 This war will destabilize the entire mideast region and their children will come for us.... 9711. robertjayb - 11/17/2015 1:56:41 AM Thanks, Judith. Good to be reminded that some were precient.
But who now? 9712. robertjayb - 11/17/2015 2:27:25 AM Thanks, Judith. Good to be reminded that some were precient.
But who now? 9713. robertjayb - 11/18/2015 5:09:16 PM Alright!!
MOSCOW (AP) - In a striking shift, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are embarking on a tentative path toward closer ties and possible military cooperation... After weeks of accusing Moscow of trying to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad by bombing U.S.-backed rebels, Obama changed his tune on Wednesday... Putin, too, has issued conciliatory signals, softening his tone about the U.S. and calling for the U.S. and Russia to "stand together" against the extremist threat.
9714. judithathome - 11/18/2015 8:38:55 PM Well, I hope this works out... 9715. iiibbb - 11/18/2015 8:42:39 PM So disgusted by our country trying to turn away refugees. 9716. iiibbb - 11/18/2015 8:43:16 PM What the fuck is wrong with some people? 9717. judithathome - 11/18/2015 11:11:44 PM Well, it's a combination of Republican fear-mongering and ignorance....the two guys who amaze me most are the sons of immigrants....Cruz and Rubio.
Imagine if, when THEIR families immigrated here we had said NO...you guys are COMMUNISTS! Get the hell OUTTA our country...we don't want your kind!
And it's especially rich considering that every white person in this country came from immigrant families.
9718. alistairconnor - 11/25/2015 3:07:43 PM Whoops, I should have checked in... I've been doing my hyperventilating in other places, so now I can be calm and statesmanlike.
But first, the personal.
At the time, I couldn't think of anyone in my immediate entourage who might have been involved. I was later reminded that my elder daughter's boyfriend, the musicologist, works in the Bataclan cloakroom on weekends. He wasn't there that weekend... not that he has anything against death metal per se, but he was visiting his mother in Avignon. I'm in Paris this week, and I'm hooking up with him tonight : he's promised me a free ticket to a koura combo tonight. Organising world music festivals is his thing.
My daughter was living in Brussels until June, specifically in Molenbeek, which is Jihad Central -- the leaders of the attacks were all from there. She and her flatmates had put a "Je suis Charlie" poster in their window, as you do -- and the window got broken. They reported it to the police, who said yeah, it goes with the territory.
And now for the political.
During the events, I correctly predicted that the perpetrators would turn out to be mostly French, and that they would have been to Syria and back. I surmised that the Syrian passport found would turn out to be a false flag (it turned out to be fake). The attacks were planned and carried out by French (and Belgian) citizens; but they were guided by the Syrian death cult.
What is the strategic aim of the attacks? Sure, individuals can be motivated by revenge against France, which does such a shitty job of integrating Muslims. But did they expect France to back off from military engagement in Syria? Surely not : they're not that stupid. No, they were aiming to panic the citizens of Europe, and their governments, into shutting out the flood of Syrian refugees. It's all very well to carve out a caliphate, but when your subjects vote massively with their feet, that's no fun at all. 9719. alistairconnor - 11/25/2015 3:10:14 PM Mastermind was planning further attacks
The suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks was planning a second wave of attacks in the city but was killed days before he could carry them out, French authorities have said.
François Molins, the public prosecutor of Paris, told reporters on Tuesday that Abdelhamid Abaaoud intended to carry out a double suicide bombing targeting business district La Défense on 18 or 19 November.
La Défense is where I'm sitting. I went out for a cigarette, and it's swarming with cops and soldiers.9720. alistairconnor - 11/25/2015 4:05:34 PM
(last paragraph above is my personal commentary. Forgot to close the blockquote tag.)9721. arkymalarky - 11/25/2015 4:47:39 PM So glad you and yours are ok Alastair. Death cult is exactly right. I think the fact that Americans are running around like chickens with their heads cut off about it maybe a little unintentional gravy, but I agree with what you say they were trying to do. They're losing ground, and that's opposite of what their plan is, and I don't think they see how to get it back without terrorism. Terrorism is an act of desperation.
|
