Shootings and explosions in Paris.

[TRGTspecialist]

I was a bit surprised by the withdrawal altogether of Socialist candidates in favour of Republicans in some regions (would that be like Labour withdrawing a candidate and encouraging voters to vote Tory to stop a UKIP win?). It's certainly been a short-term success, but I wonder in the long term could it do more damage - would it not reinforce the FN supporter's view (wrong or otherwise) that the establishment is out to get them? You'd think the last thing you'd want to do is galvanise their vote even further.........either way, it certainly appeared to show Le-Pen will have great difficulty getting anywhere near the presidency in the run-off vote.

 

[Milouse]

would that be like Labour withdrawing a candidate and encouraging voters to vote Tory to stop a UKIP win?

In the political game, yes, it would be very similar. We must not forget that UKIP considers itself to the left of the FN, though.

It's certainly been a short-term success, but I wonder in the long term could it do more damage - would it not reinforce the FN supporter's view (wrong or otherwise) that the establishment is out to get them? You'd think the last thing you'd want to do is galvanise their vote even further.........either way, it certainly appeared to show Le-Pen will have great difficulty getting anywhere near the presidency in the run-off vote.

Nobody considers this a "success" actually. Le Pen fans will have the skewed lecture of events that she decide to give anyway, she have the advantage to use simplistic views that are easy to understand. The "UMPS" is a fabricated totem in the first place, and i currently don't see a way for PS and LR (Les Républicains, former UMP) to discard it as France is a country were left and right have already a non-consensual way to govern. "UMPS" is as real as would be a "Republicrates" concept in US.
As for Le Pen future, it is hard to predict: overall, FN have proven so far it can gather at least 1/3 of the number of votes it would need to gain presidential, but who know how voters would act if she face another unpopular candidates (Sarkozy or Hollande). Not even considering the final helping hand of British if they ever choose the Brexit.


Not related, but it is worth noting that in the Paris Arrondissement where both Charlie and last month terror attacks occurred (a 154 000 inhabitants area), FN did a very low 5% score.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I was a bit surprised by the withdrawal altogether of Socialist candidates in favour of Republicans in some regions (would that be like Labour withdrawing a candidate and encouraging voters to vote Tory to stop a UKIP win?). It's certainly been a short-term success, but I wonder in the long term could it do more damage - would it not reinforce the FN supporter's view (wrong or otherwise) that the establishment is out to get them? You'd think the last thing you'd want to do is galvanise their vote even further.........either way, it certainly appeared to show Le-Pen will have great difficulty getting anywhere near the presidency in the run-off vote.

That was my thinking when I read the news over the weekend. The Socialists dropping out to fudge the voting plays right into the hands of the conservative side of things. When you have a rising star who is in their early 20's you can afford to play a long game and this could easily backfire in a big way against the left in France.

 

[Dennisch]

When you have a rising star who is in their early 20's you can afford to play a long game and this could easily backfire in a big way against the left in France.

That is what a team of political journalists here think too. That the left will see this come back and bite their asses.

 

[Dennisch]

Air France bomb: Kenya confirms explosive device found in toilets of plane carrying 473 people from Mauritius to Paris

A suspicious device found in the toilet on Air France flight 463 to Paris is a bomb, Kenyan authorities have confirmed.

Two suspects from the flight are being questioned by Kenyan security forces after the Paris-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Mombasa at 12.37am when a suspicious looking package was discovered in the toilet.

All 459 passengers and 13 crew were escorted safely off the aircraft, while the bomb has been taken by the Kenyan navy to be detonated safely away from the airport.

 

[Robin]

There are some real serious lapses in airport security

Thank god it didn't go off.

 

[DK]

Yep, because it's just a hoax, bro.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Yep, because it's just a hoax, bro.

Ah, I'd already posted about the hoax in the ISIS thread, didn't realise it had been posted in here as a genuine bomb. We have so many ISIS-type threads on the go

 

[Robin]

Yep, because it's just a hoax, bro.

We didn't know that at the time, the Kenyan authorities officially confirmed it was 100% a bomb. What kind of two bit operation are they running!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

France preparing to follow Australia's lead in stripping dual nationals convicted of terrorism of their French citizenship:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-...-citizens-nationality-in-terror-cases/7051942

 

[twitcher]

The future of Front National :

Hot blonde, hates islam, and gays. And she's getting popular.

Marion Maréchal-Le Pen.

Allow me to strongly disagree!!! Good from far, far from good Find out she has an ugly personality too, that's a definite 👎 👎

In that photo, it looks like she just sharted her pants.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

A senior ISIL leader believed to have played a leading role in orchestrating the Paris attacks is among ten ISIL leaders killed by coalition airstrikes in Syria:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-...ir-strikes-kill-islamic-state-leaders/7059082

 

[Dennisch]

Parisian Police has shot and killed an Allah Akbar screaming, knife wielding nutjob with a fake bomb vest.

Edit.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Police are on high alert, and think this could be a diversion to a larger attack somewhere else.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Parisian Police has shot and killed an Allah Akbar screaming, knife wielding nutjob with a fake bomb vest.

Edit.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Police are on high alert, and think this could be a diversion to a larger attack somewhere else.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/07/europe/paris-gunfire-charlie-hebdo-anniversary/index.html

Apparently he was wearing what appeared to be explosives but turned out to be fake. On a side note, I wonder if Chris Cuomo will be in trouble with the pc police. He said, "he shouted Allahu Akbar as he went in, which is, of course, this magical phrase of terrorists these days". Wonder if anyone will pick up on that.

 

[DK]

Police believe they've tracked down the hideout of Salah Abdesalam, one of the two Paris killers who are still on the run. BBC

 

[DK]

Sorry for the double post, but I thought an update was necessary: Abdesalam is still on the run, and the aforementioned hideout was used to make explosives. BBC

 

[Dennisch]

Parisian Police has shot and killed an Allah Akbar screaming, knife wielding nutjob with a fake bomb vest.

Edit.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Police are on high alert, and think this could be a diversion to a larger attack somewhere else.

Turns out this guy lived in a German refugee shelter in Recklinghausen.

 

[Nico_Ble99]

Recklinghausen

And that's the town I live in.

 

[Dennisch]

He seems to be the one who got away. Born in Brussels, and now on the run.
An international arrest warrant has been issued.

It seems that they are on to him, in Brussels. They found fingerprints and his DNA during a search, and today reports are coming out that he has been injured during a shootout with the police today, which now has turned into a standoff.

Edit

Police confirms he has been arrested.

 

[mister dog]

And they caught him, after 18 weeks under their noses in Molenbeek. One would wonder how much protection he got from the community to be able to remain in safe houses that long, whilst there were regular searches going on.

 

[Encyclopedia]

Glad to hear the bastard got caught.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

One would wonder how much protection he got from the community to be able to remain in safe houses that long, whilst there were regular searches going on.

While he may have been sheltered by ISIL sympathisers, you can't characterise the entire Muslim community as offering protection simply because he remained at large for eighteen weeks. Certainly not without evidence, and especially since all it would take is an attic or a cellar with a false wall for him to hide and nobody would be any the wiser.

I know that you want to demonise the Muslim community, but you're just playing into the terrorists' hands. Every time you accuse them of being complicit without proof and based on nothing more than their culture and faith, you give the terrorists another way to recruit more sympathisers because you become living proof that everything they say is true - that the West doesn't trust Muslims, that the West regards Muslims with fear and suspicion, that the West won't feel comfortable until all the Muslims are gone.

Now, you can argue that they would be misrepresenting you, but you have no cause to complain given that you're misrepresenting Muslims.

 

[Dennisch]

While he may have been sheltered by ISIL sympathisers, you can't characterise the entire Muslim community as offering protection simply because he remained at large for eighteen weeks. Certainly not without evidence, and especially since all it would take is an attic or a cellar with a false wall for him to hide and nobody would be any the wiser.

I know that you want to demonise the Muslim community, but you're just playing into the terrorists' hands. Every time you accuse them of being complicit without proof and based on nothing more than their culture and faith, you give the terrorists another way to recruit more sympathisers because you become living proof that everything they say is true - that the West doesn't trust Muslims, that the West regards Muslims with fear and suspicion, that the West won't feel comfortable until all the Muslims are gone.

Now, you can argue that they would be misrepresenting you, but you have no cause to complain given that you're misrepresenting Muslims.

Not so much the Muslim community, but the Moroccan community.

 

[Dotini]

While he may have been sheltered by ISIL sympathisers, you can't characterise the entire Muslim community as offering protection simply because he remained at large for eighteen weeks.

According to Fox news, he couldn't have been sheltered by the ISIS community, since they were looking for him as hard as the French and Belgian authorities. After all, he chucked his suicide vest and ran like a cheap nylon stocking instead of fighting and dying on the scene like the others. Nor could he have been hidden by proper Muslims, hinted Fox, since he had reportedly been hanging out in gay bars. Degenerate apostate Moroccans, then, it would seem.

 

[Johnnypenso]

While he may have been sheltered by ISIL sympathisers, you can't characterise the entire Muslim community as offering protection simply because he remained at large for eighteen weeks. Certainly not without evidence, and especially since all it would take is an attic or a cellar with a false wall for him to hide and nobody would be any the wiser.

I know that you want to demonise the Muslim community, but you're just playing into the terrorists' hands. Every time you accuse them of being complicit without proof and based on nothing more than their culture and faith, you give the terrorists another way to recruit more sympathisers because you become living proof that everything they say is true - that the West doesn't trust Muslims, that the West regards Muslims with fear and suspicion, that the West won't feel comfortable until all the Muslims are gone.

Now, you can argue that they would be misrepresenting you, but you have no cause to complain given that you're misrepresenting Muslims.

"One wonders how much protection he got from the community" =/= demonize the Muslim community. He didn't even name the community for God's sake nor did he make any conclusions or statements, he just said he was wondering. If you were leaping to any bigger conclusions based on nothing but assumption you should try out for the Aussie Parkour Olympic team.

 

[mister dog]

Moment they catch the most wanted man of Europe:



He even managed to run away from them...

 

[Soundtrack]

Brussels National Airport just closed due to explosions...

 

[TenEightyOne]

Brussels National Airport just closed due to explosions...

According to a reporter who was in the building the incident took place at the American Airlines desk (it's an International airport, not National). Very few security staff on-scene at this time and the airport's own staff are giving contradictory orders to evacuate/lockdown.

This may or not be the right thread...but given the events in Molenbeek over the last few days it's easy to presume it's related.

 

[Soundtrack]

Semantics are probably inappropriate given the circumstances but that's how Zaventem Airport is called. At lest 2 explosions occurred, and the main hall appears severely damaged.

 

[Ken]

Reports coming in report as many as 11 dead.