General Chat

Re the Charlie Hebdo murders.

Vigils are happening around the world tonight to show support for those murdered today, many people are holding pens aloft to support freedom of the press.

Something that happened this morning, is being protested about tonight. Just a few years ago it would of taken a week to organise.

This is the good side to social media

social media does have a big plus side - RIP all those poor people and their families

Awful news. Good to see ordinary people showing support.

RIP <3

Unconfirmed report saying the 3 killers have been identified, two are brothers of Algerian descent. Let's hope they find them soon.

Amen to that

I doubt they'll be found in France......... they've done their evil and run off.

Bullies and cowards. Killing innocent people........ and showing how "brave" they are by hiding their faces.

There are 5 million muslims in France of whom 90% are from Algeria. Wow that's a lot to go on.

Luckily the French version of Mi5 (Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure) work hard and unlike the Brits after 7/7 had an idea where to start. Many in Paris would have made a similar guess.

I doubt very much that they will manage to escape from France where it is far easier just to blend into the landscape. Do not imagine for one minute that they are three loners utterly repudiated by their confreres. I just hope they survive long enough to be brought to trial.

My OH (a French national) would like to steal from a Charlie Hebdo cover and have them hung from their conjones.

Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides
L'opprobre de tous les partis,
Tremblez ! vos projets parricides
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix!
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix!
Tout est soldat pour vous combattre,
S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros,
La terre en produit de nouveaux,
Contre vous tout prêts à se battre!

Cartoonists reaction to the attack:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11331506/Cartoonists-show-solidarity-after-Charlie-Hebdo-attack.html

I've seen some other good cartoons on similar lines, in the papers Maggie, good on them

Cornered ?

#CHARLIE_HEBDO @ParisMatch

Crois-Rouge is a district of Rheims a city about 50m east of Paris. Nothing to do with the Red Cross.

One of the police officers was a Muslim.

........which is why, when terrorists attack, I wish they'd remove the religious element.
When the IRA were attacking Britain, they weren't referred to as Catholic terrorists, just plain, bl**dy terrorists.
They don't care who they kill, as long as they get publicity, so they feel like 'men'.

They may have been caught:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/paris-magazine-attack/paris-attack-suspect-dead-two-custody-u-s-officials-say-n281761

There are no parallels whatsoever between events in N.I. and the highly fractured French state. You analysis of just about everything is that they "do it to look like men". Nuts. ISIL/Al Queda terrorists do it because they are full of hate and have a very warped idea of religion which is nevertheless their justification. There is nothing new in it. The Wahabi school of Sunni Islam has been running Saudi Arabia since 1923.

The terrorists are heading for the Belgian border in the very rough terrain of the Ardennes forest. The younger one, the driver, gave himself up at Charleville-Mézières which is on a convenient route from Luxembourg to Rheims via Longwy. In 1940 Germany managed to hide an army in the Ardennes so if the French police have to look for them there it won't be easy.

I just hope that they all get to stand trial there are already rumours that the fugitives have been shot.

France is not a multi-cultural society and it does not want to be one. The 6 million plus immigrants for the most part live quite separately from the French - France is more like South Africa than England in that respect.

It has a very strong legal precedent ( Laïcité / Laicite ) that there is no place whatsoever for religion in public affairs and crucially religions get no protection from the state. Hence the highly provocative stream of invective from C.H. lampooning all religions but Islam in particular.

Over the last few years for instance wearing of the veil in public has been made illegal in France. Romany shanty towns have been demolished with bulldozers and the occupants shipped back to East Europe in their thousands "free movement" or no. Rather doubt that even Theresa May would try that in Sheffield.

Islam at any level even the most moderate is not able to put religion in a box on its own. Islam is universal and the state is subordinate to religious teaching. Hence there is never going to be any agreement between Islam and Western liberal thinking. However for many years a live and let live tolerant approach from both sides has worked very well both in England (eg Leicester ) and France. It is this tolerance that the terrorists want to break. So yes, the French terrorism is all about religion.

After another shooting in Paris, where a Policewoman has died, and a street cleaner badly injured, they have arrested a suspect, and another is being hunted. What a dreadful time for all those people living and working in Paris :-(

Once fired, bullets have no say as to who they injure or kill.

They showed great bravery by being out at vigils last night.

J'aime Paris. <3

Not quite Dermot the latest US assault rifle XM25 can fire programmable bullets. No hiding place. Has been working well in Afghanistan. Much cheaper than drone air strikes and much less collateral damage than mortars. Range up to 800m.

Pencils, pens, crayons etc have a range of thousands of miles and hone in on the target as surely as any laser. Require skilled operative.

Rollo, My opinion.
I don't need you to tell me my opinion is wrong - it's my opinion, okay?

I am well aware of aspects of the case - I can read, and therefore am capable of having my own opinion, just as you can have yours, but I fail to see how your opinion is more 'correct' than mine.