Terrorist Attack in Paris (Split from News)

[Lustful Bride]

French Police reporting both a shootout and an explosion in Paris. Details still sketchy and its unknown if they are actually related.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/french-police-report-shootout-and-explosion-in-paris/ar-BBmYFit?ocid=iehp

No casualties reported yet, lets hope it stays that way.

[Lissadell]

It's being reported now in The Independent that up to eighteen people have lost their lives in Paris.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-shooting-several-casualties-after-gunman-opens-fire-a6734201.html

There's a French journalist tweeting live from the area. Sounds absolutely insane.

ETA: Reports now of approx 60 people being held hostage at a theatre.

[AngelsSonata]

Just been reported that the siege of the Bataclan Concert Hall is now over.

[Lissadell]

Just been reported that the siege of the Bataclan Concert Hall is now over.

Reports now that there are approximately 100 people dead in the concert hall. This is nightmare stuff. Thoughts with the people of Paris tonight.

[Lustful Bride]

Prayers are with the families of the victims and with the officers and Counterterrorism squads patrolling the streets. If there are any more psychos out there, I hope they catch them before they can do any more harm.

[Deamonbane]

No word yet on who is responsible, but the news is jumping at ISIS.

[gaggedLouise]

Reports now that there are approximately 100 people dead in the concert hall. This is nightmare stuff. Thoughts with the people of Paris tonight.

Damn.   >:( Heard the first news a few hours ago, when it sounded like a restaurant shoot-out with like half a dozen dead, perhaps triggered by some local criminal gang elements, and catching the news again after a night out, it's grown into a monstrous mass killing on a scale that all but dwarfs even the Charlie-Hebdo shootings in January.   :'( The most blood-stained terrorist attack in western Europe for decades - edit: excepting the 2003 Madrid bombing and Breivik's lone-wolf massacre in Oslo. Really troubling.

The concert hall they attacked is also one of the classic venues for rock and soul music in Paris (and the people taken hostage were indeed attending a rock gig).

There are reports now that the big migrants and refugees camp outside Calais - it has been in the news several times over the last years because of how close it is to the Channel railway link - is burning (link to twitter in French, with pictures). It might be a revenge attack by...fascists, after what happened in Paris. Or something may have happened within the camp itself.

[Lissadell]

There are reports now that the big migrants and refugees camp outside Calais - it has been in the news several times over the last years because of how close it is to the Channel railway link - is burning (link to twitter in French, with pictures). It might be a revenge attack by...fascists, after what happened in Paris. Or something may have happened within the camp itself.

The BBC have said that the pictures of the fires in Calais aren't actually from tonight, other news outlets are reporting that it's a hoax. I sincerely hope this is the case, because this night couldn't get any more tragic.

The Eagles of Death Metal were playing in the Bataclan. The band themselves are reportedly safe, but 118 of the hostages that were inside are dead. Along with the people shot at the restaurant and the three people killed by a suicide bomber outside the Stade de France while France were playing Germany in a football (soccer) friendly.

France have closed their borders and a curfew is being enforced; something that hasn't been done since WWII. You're so right, this is a monstrous mass killing and it's going to change so much here in Europe.

[gaggedLouise]

This one was filmed at the very same hall forty years ago - it never felt more chilling than now, though Genesis truncated off the early part of the song that sets the scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z3EJNgjBmo

Peter Gabriel is playing out a satiric characterization of a paranoid revolutionary leader on a power trip - a kind of demented Che Guevara wannabe - with no human concern for the people he wants to liberate, barely even for his own men ("Some of you are going to die /Martyrs of course to the freedom that I shall provide"). The haunting calls of "We are only wanting freedom" are likely coming from some of the people he has decided to liberate and whom he has put under his boots.

The studio version brings out the story more clearly. It's one of the very first tracks I ever heard with this great band, even if it was an oldie - would have been around ten at the time - and it's enduringly relevant and poignant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDgh3C6klMQ

[White Wolf]

it's going to change so much here in Europe.

I truly, deeply hope not. Either in the sense of increased security "for our protection," new surveillance laws, or just grass-roots, fascist reprisals against the Islamic community in France or elsewhere in Europe. I feel sick tonight not just for all those touched by the attacks but also because of the sheer volume of hatred and bile being slung on social media right this second - and we need to be BETTER than them. That's the whole point of our society - THEY are the terrorists, WE are the democracies. We need to better.

And I just don't see that from us right now. There's just hatred compounding hatred and threats of violence compounding actual violence. It would suit plenty of people just fine if we let everything just descend into tit-for-tat racial warfare and that makes me so sick to my stomach I can barely breathe.

I hate this. I hate what these people have done to Paris; I hate what my countrymen and fellow Europeans as a whole are saying in response. This whole thing is so culturally and politically shitty, and I really, desperately hope Europe can rise up as the bigger man here; as the better people.

...and while we're at the whole compassionate, measured response kick here at home, if this does turn out to be ISIS or someone of that ilk who's responsible, then let's stop pussyfooting around it and just put the boot into them once and for all. It's well past time.

[Scribbles]

It's been a long time since I've felt so drained after watching the news...

My heart goes out to the people hurt in these attacks...

And I just don't see that from us right now. There's just hatred compounding hatred and threats of violence compounding actual violence. It would suit plenty of people just fine if we let everything just descend into tit-for-tat racial warfare and that makes me so sick to my stomach I can barely breathe.

I hate this. I hate what these people have done to Paris; I hate what my countrymen and fellow Europeans as a whole are saying in response. This whole thing is so culturally and politically shitty, and I really, desperately hope Europe can rise up as the bigger man here; as the better people.

I suppose many have yet to realize that's exactly what ISIS want, they want to see Muslims ostracized and reviled, they want to see Europe fractured. It's understandable, everyone is seeing red so reason has gone out the window, but hopefully tempers will cool and all the hate won't go beyond words...

[White Wolf]

I suppose many have yet to realize that's exactly what ISIS want, they want to see Muslims ostracized and reviled, they want to see Europe fractured. It's understandable, everyone is seeing red so reason has gone out the window, but hopefully tempers will cool and all the hate won't go beyond words...

Hear, hear :/ For everybody's sake, here's hoping.

[Lissadell]

Exactly right Wolfy and Scribbles, they want Europe to turn on Muslims. There are 1.6 billion Muslims in this world, and what better way to galvanise them than to have the world turn their backs on them collectively.

I think we are smarter than that though, I think we are better. I hope we are. There have been all sorts of calls for blood, and I hope the target remains the terrorists responsible and not the innocent millions and refugees. It is scary what a lot of people have been saying, all over Europe. I am hoping too that a lot of that remains rhetoric and doesn't go beyond words. I don't know if hoping that is naive or not, but the world felt like such a different place last night.

[Blythe]

I've split this into its own thread--it's very big news and warranted its own topic for further discussion.

[Shekinah]

News update:

So far around 128 people have been killed last night, many more are badly wounded and are being treated in hospitals. 8 Terrorists would be responsible for attacks on 7 places. Three blew themselves up around the football stadium where France was playing Germany in a friendly game. 3 others also blew themselves up in different restaurants and bars after having opened fire first. Two others went into a concert hall, first holding hostage and then killing many of the people who where there for a dead metal concert. When the police tried to free the remaining hostages, one blew himself up the other was killed by the police. IS also has officially claimed the attack as their own.

My heart goes out to all the families that have lost a loved one in this attack.

[Cassandra LeMay]

I suppose many have yet to realize that's exactly what ISIS want, they want to see Muslims ostracized and reviled, they want to see Europe fractured.

Maybe they want that, but I don't think it's their primary goal.

What ISIS wants is power. And to gain power they have to be king of the islamist hill in their corner of the world. And to get there they need success and success that can be turned into propaganda. Terror attacks are just a means to an end to them. They don't care if Europe splits, if Muslims in Europe are reviled or not. As long as a headline reads "ISIS strikes again!" they are satisfied. Headlines like that show they are successful. Success brings in more fighter. More fighters mean more power. Power is what they want.

What ISIS wants is to be talked about in a way that makes them look strong. If they could achieve that by sending chocolates and flowers to the White House they would do it. Power is what they want and attacks like this are them playing to their home audience. I don't think they give a flying shite about what "The West" thinks about Muslims, as long as they can milk it for propaganda.

I believe the best way to understand ISIS is to forget about religious matters, the Iraq war, and all that and look at ISIS as a criminal organization, because that is pretty much what they are. They intimidate, blackmail, extort, and try to control people in their area for their own gain. ISIS is a  criminal organization. Treating them any other way accords them too much status.

What happened in Paris isn't ISIS telling the West something - it's them telling the people under their control "look what we can do there. Now imagine what we can do here if we want".

[Lustful Bride]

I suppose many have yet to realize that's exactly what ISIS want, they want to see Muslims ostracized and reviled, they want to see Europe fractured. It's understandable, everyone is seeing red so reason has gone out the window, but hopefully tempers will cool and all the hate won't go beyond words...

Seems even years later, this is still appropriate.

I believe the best way to understand ISIS is to forget about religious matters, the Iraq war, and all that and look at ISIS as a criminal organization, because that is pretty much what they are. They intimidate, blackmail, extort, and try to control people in their area for their own gain. ISIS is a  criminal organization. Treating them any other way accords them too much status.

Rather appropriate since most of what ISIS has done is a major taboo for Islam and they seem to mostly be focusing on areas that will give them the most oil/money to fund themselves. Not to mention the slavery and Human trafficking going on within their territory. The religious part is just a false justification, at the end of the day its about the bottom line. That and power.

[White Wolf]

The Washington Post reports that ISIS released the following statement in Arabic, French and English claiming responsibility for the attacks:

"In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent

"Allah (ta'ala) said, {They thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah but Allah came upon them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts so they destroyed their houses by their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision} [Al-Hashr:2].

"In a blessed battle whose causes of success were enabled by Allah, a group of believers from the soldiers of the Caliphate (may Allah strengthen and support it) set out targeting the capital of prostitution and vice, the lead carrier of the cross in Europe-Paris. This group of believers were youth who divorced the worldly life and advanced towards their enemy hoping to be killed for Allah's sake, doing so in support of His religion, His Prophet (blessing and peace be upon him), and His allies. They did so in spite of His enemies. Thus, they were truthful with Allah — we consider them so — and Allah granted victory upon their hands and cast terror into the hearts of the crusaders in their very own homeland.

"And so eight brothers equipped with explosive belts and assault rifles attacked precisely chosen targets in the center of the capital of France. These targets included the Stade de France stadium during a soccer match — between the teams of Germany and France, both of which are crusader nations — attended by the imbecile of France (Francois Hollande). The targets included the Bataclan theatre for exhibitions, where hundreds of pagans gathered for a concert of prostitution and vice. There were also simultaneous attacks on other targets in the tenth, eleventh, and eighteenth districts, and elsewhere. Paris was thereby shaken beneath the crusaders' feet, who were constricted by its streets. The result of the attacks was the deaths of no less than two hundred crusaders and the wounding of even more. All praise, grace, and favor belong to Allah.

"Allah blessed our brothers and granted them what they desired. They detonated their explosive belts in the masses of the disbelievers after finishing all their ammunition. We ask Allah to accept them amongst the martyrs and to allow us to follow them.

"Let France and all nations following its path know that they will continue to be at the top of the target list for the Islamic State and that the scent of death will not leave their nostrils as long as they partake in the crusader campaign, as long as they dare to curse our Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), and as long as they boast about their war against Islam in France and their strikes against Muslims in the lands of the Caliphate with their jets, which were of no avail to them in the filthy streets and alleys of Paris. Indeed, this is just the beginning. It is also a warning for any who wish to take heed.

"Allah is the greatest.

(And to Allah belongs all honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know) [Al-Munafiqun: 8].

[Formless]

I wasn't aware that a concert hall or a stadium was a fortress.

You know if my country wasn't such a pacifist we could've done something about those people. They exploit people with chronic depression into picking up an explosive belt and throwing away their lives. But no , they're holding back because no one wants to be branded as ' the guy who attacked other Muslims'. Well they're not.

I'm praying for those who lost a family member or a loved one. I'm praying that whoever did it will spend their after all torn and shredded just like how he ended up when pressed the button.

[gaggedLouise]

French police seem to have found a Syrian passport on the body of one of the terrorists from last night that matches a man who passed into Greece and the EU last month, over the island of Leros. Unless it's a deliberately planted red herring by the terrorist team and the guy was somebody else, it's very significant. The risk of ISIS sending some of its own militants and terrorists through the masses of people entering Europe via the Balkan route, or across from Libya to Italy, has been a bone of contention for months. ISIS have claimed they were sending in their own fighters that way, some terrorism experts have said they would do it, but many people (myself included) have felt it was unlikely that they would be training terrorists and then send them on those insecure routes into Europe.

After all many people drown trying to make an unofficial passage across the Mediterranean or the Aegean - they can't do it on the legit shipping routes if they want to trash their passports to avoid being sent back, or if they don't have any to begin with, and many of them do scrap their passports for that reason - but ISIS would surely have the means of forging and fixing passports so that they can let their terrorism trainees and agents ride into Europe on ordinary ships and flights, wouldn't they? I still think it's more likely that ISIS would try to use the legal routes with a cooked passport or a stolen identity, but if this guy came in as a Syrian refugee, then people all across Europe are going to have to rethink some hard questions about how to handle the refugees and migrants, many of whom either pose as Syrians (or Afghans) because those nationalities have had the best chances of getting a yes to their asylum applications, and/or have no passports or visas at all.

[Cassandra LeMay]

I would still like to think that it is highly unlikely that ISIS is trying to infiltrate terrorists into Europe amidst the refugees. After all, why would they?

Hundreds of people have left Europe to fight for ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Those are people willing to take up arms for ISIS who live in Europe. Why on Earth would ISIS want to smuggle those people back into the countries they came from when they seem to have potential recruits already here?

The whole scenario of people being brought here amongst the refugees to commit acts of terrorism also ignores the possibility that refugees may have been redicalized after arriving in Europe. But I suppose considering that possibility would land some responsibility on the shoulders of Western politicians who would rather blame ISIS than contemplate that idea.

[Cycle]

Apparently Belgium has made some arrests. 

[saphireMARIE]

I don't know if this will be accessible by all but I have spent all day today watching the live updates on the BBC which is still being updated every 15 minutes or so. Everything that has been confirmed has been on here and apparently (according to British Newspapers) the IS have owned up to doing the attacks.

[la dame en noir]

Basically...I'm seeing how hypocritical the news actually is. I didn't see any mass coverage on Beirut. Nor did I hear anything about the terrible shit that went down in Kenya, Nigeria and the Middle east. I've been seeing people tell students at Mizzou to shut the fuck up because France is going through real oppression and hatred. Now I'm seriously worried about the refugees. They will be blamed for these attacks. They will be harassed, attacked, threatened, killed, and discriminated against because of these fuckers.

I'm not saying don't care about Paris, but people really need to see how hypocritical and racist the news has been lately - Not that they were ever fair before.

[Lustful Bride]

I didn't see any mass coverage on Beirut. Nor did I hear anything about the terrible shit that went down in Kenya, Nigeria and the Middle east.

I'm not saying don't care about Paris, but people really need to see how hypocritical and racist the news has been lately - Not that they were ever fair before.

To be fair, that's really just Human nature. We don't care about things until they hit closer to home and our self imposed ideal of safety starts to crack and we realize the same thing can happen to us.

Plus lets be honest the media being fair, unhypocritical and unbiased? That's why I refuse to call it the news anymore and refer to it as media. ITs not about reporting what happens anymore, its about getting views and spinning it to whichever way will have some silver spoon politician tossing cash their way.