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This is so fucked. Whenever a situation comes up like this we got posturing from Obama about not going anywhere near the Middle East if his (or others, dammit) lives depended on it, which it most likely does. Shits gonna hit hard, and EVERYONE, regardless of who they are is gonna have a bad time in the next weeks. I honestly expect some military movement the way these attacks are growing in boldness.

An absolutely detestable situation and an abhorrent waste of human life, i truly hope that the perpetrators and all those associated with them face the consequences of their actions.

My heart goes out to the Parisians. They might not be the nicest people, but we'll stand with them all the same.

Vive la France.

Updated count.
153 people dead. 8 were extremists. 7 died from suicide bombings.

I literally just woke up and the first thing I see is this.

What the fuck is happening to humanity, this is fucking sick.

I literally just came across this stuff after being out and away from the internet for most of the day.

God dammit.

Why do people have to be so terrible to each other?

And on top of all the deaths, there's going to be a spike in the usual racist nonsense – just more racists looking for more reasons to hate Muslims, as if this is a justification.

And then all of the usual security bullshit is going to increase, and people are going to invoke the Paris attacks when they want to spy on people, or censor people, or control the way people think and talk.

It'll be like the fallout to 9/11 all over again.

But nothing is going to get better. It'll just be a panacea for paranoiacs, and nothing more. We won't actually be that much safer, just more thoroughly watched.

And none of the damage done today will be repaired.

This is horrifying. I hope this all ends soon.

Jesus Christ, France is having way too much bad luck this year. I hope that situation won't go downhill even more.

It's really disturbing how attacks in Paris, attack in Beirut and then an upcoming tsunami in Japan happened on the same date (Friday 13th, 2015).

Man, the world can be screwed up sometimes.

All I could say about this is that I only have sympathy for France and those in Paris, and that I hope for the best to the people that have been affected by this tragedy.

I also hope for those who have read of this to not fall into despair. No matter the course of history that humanity will go through, there will always be more then hundreds of millions of moral people willing to do their best to help others in need, and it is regardless of anything that an extreme minority of the human population could do. It's a simple truth that won't change anytime soon and it won't change now because we're already seeing sympathy being given from those around the world and there will undoubtedly be people in paris doing everything they can to help the survivors and help each other. For as long as there is no rest for the wicked, humanity will always be worth having faith in.

May those who have fallen today rest in peace.

I hope there will be no follow-ups. Incidents that are this close to my living place are bad for my nerves.

Saint Nicholas will enter Antwerp in a few weeks, imagine terorists causing chaos then…
I know that they said they will be more on their guard then ever but still…

By the way, any casualties among kym users from the attacks?

Yeah, it was pretty scary to learn this was happening in Paris, thankfully I stayed at a friend's house on the other side of the city. We probably spent at least an hour talking about it and trying contact our friends and families.
It's pretty fucked up, I'm honestly worried about how things will go on from here.

I fear those protests will start to burn buildings that aren't empty given the severity of this attack. Immigration has already made many incredibly angry at anyone deemed foreign, and the press has for a while been framing them as an invader trying mto destroy europe. It wouldn't take much for the angry or scared to connect "Immigrant Invader" and "Terrorist Attacker" and treat the two as synonymous, even if either isn't related to one another.

My best wishes to those in paris ajd the EU, and the closest thing I can muster to a prayer that this not turn into a bloodbath of retaliation. That those responsible, and only those responsible, pay for what has happened. And thst this isn't the moment people look to as the catalyst for something terrible, but a hardship that was overcome with time and with a collected humanity still in tact.

>Me
>French
>Born from an algerian immigrant father.
>Living in Reunion Island, a land that is world wide known for its strong relation to immigration and its successful multicultural society, and where at least 20% of the population is either muslim or of muslim culture.
> Reunion island has never been the target of any terrorist attack and has no serious criminality whatsoever (except from classic local newspaper headlines like "local drunk guy stabs his wife", "local drunk driver runs over another man").
>Paris terrorist attacks happen.
>Several KYM commenters living in the USA start commenting about it.
>The USA have a way more strict immigration policy than France or Reunion Island.
>Yet the USA have one of the highest criminality rates in industrialized countries.
>Said KYM commenters claim that immigration and multiculturalism is the cause of terrorism and criminality…

>mfw

London Gatwick airport evacuated the North Terminal this morning after a 'suspicious package' was found.

Intensification of happenings? Or just police being particularly jumpy after the attacks?

EDIT: now there is an unconfirmed report of more gunfire and an explosion in the suburb of Bagnolet. Shit.

ISIS officially claims responsibility

{ Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for attacks that killed 127 people in Paris, saying it sent militants strapped with suicide bombing belts and carrying machine guns to various locations in the heart of the capital. The attacks were designed to show the country would remain in danger as long as it continued its current policies, Islamic State said in a statement.

"To teach France, and all nations following its path, that they will remain at the top of Islamic State’s list of targets, and that the smell of death won’t leave their noses as long as they partake in their crusader campaign," said the group.

The group's foreign media arm, Al-Hayat Media Centre, made threats through several militants who called on French Muslims to carry out attacks.

"As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace. You will even fear traveling to the market," said one of the militants, identified as Abu Maryam the Frenchman. }

{ >Said KYM commenters claim that immigration and multiculturalism is the cause of terrorism and criminality }

Wrong. Islam is the cause, immigration and multiculturalism is how you imported it into your homes, refusing to adjust open-border policies in the face of the largest terrorist caliphate in modern history a few countries over. What worked in the 80s doesn't work in 2015 in this political climate. Europe has failed to adapt.

{ AP is reporting that two French police officials say a Syrian passport was found on the body of one of the suicide bombers who targeted France's national soccer stadium.

Meanwhile, Bavaria's state premier Horst Seehofer that there was "reason to believe" that a man arrested last week with several weapons in southern Germany was linked to attackers who killed more than 128 people in Paris.

Police had arrested a man during a routine check on a motorway, saying "many machine guns, revolvers and explosives" were found in the suspect's vehicle. }

Sure glad nobody wants to consider immigration's role and reexamine those policies! Then what would the terrorists driving cars full of weapons and bombs across Europe do?!? No xenophobia in Europe, we're real multicultural here!

{ BFMTV, a French TV channel, reports that police have identified one of the suicide bomber via his fingerprints, but he has not yet been named. He was a French man, known to security services. }

Man would I hate to be whoever head's France's national security team right now. So not only are these not Syrian-born extremists radicalized by their situation, but the country was concerned enough about him to make his existence known to security forces. I wonder if they were all known in Europe? That'd really take the cake. It is irrefutably policy inaction that can be blamed for this attack being allowed to happen in the capital city of a country constantly on alert for terrorism.

{ Davis Lewin, the deputy director of the Henry Jackson Society, a conservative think-tank says the attacks threaten the "very essence" of the European way of life and warns that unless mainstream politicians confront the menace posed by radical Islam, they will open the door to far-Right parties.

“The political classes cannot keep saying – as Merkel is saying – that ‘there is nothing to see here’, that the problem is not related to Islam, when everyone can perfectly well see that it is," he says. }

Do exactly as the far-right parties are saying and secure the borders and confront Islam directly….. in order to stop people from supporting doing exactly what the far-right parties are saying. Anything to keep up the appearance that the liberals know what they're doing.

New from ISIS:

{ The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for the catastrophic attacks in the French capital, calling them “the first of the storm” and mocking France as a “capital of prostitution and obscenity,” according to statements released in multiple languages on one of the terror group’s encrypted messaging accounts.

The statement was released on the same Telegram channel that was used to claim responsibility for the crash of a Russian jet over the Sinai Peninsula two weeks ago, killing 224 people. As in that case, it made the announcement in multiple languages and audio recordings.

“Eight brothers, wrapped in explosive belts and armed with machine rifles, targeted sites that were accurately chosen in the heart of the capital of France,” the group said in the statement, “including the Stade de France during the match between the Crusader German and French teams, where the fool of France, François Hollande, was present.”

“Let France and those who walk in its path know that they will remain on the top of the list of targets of the Islamic State,” the statement added. }

{ “The extent of the celebration far exceeded past online rallying by I.S. supporters,” SITE said in an analysis. “The way I.S. supporters have embraced this attack appears much more coordinated at a much earlier stage than massive reactions to past attacks.” }

That's ~400 people in two weeks by the JV squad of terrorists.

This 30 minute edit lockout has never been more obnoxious.

{ Attackers had Syrian, Egyptian and French passports

A journalist from Liberation reports that the attackers had Syrian and Egyptian passports on them, and that at least one of the attackers was a Frenchman known to authorities an on what is called a 'Fiche S', a watchlist of the security services. Ayoub El-Khazzani, the foiled attacker on the TGV, was also on one.

Police sources have also confirmed that one of the attackers at the Bataclan was a Frenchman. }

Gatwick Airport's North Terminal is still locked down as police conduct a sweep, which is currently taking place, after a man was arrested for intentionally leaving an unattended item in the terminal.

This just in (again).
French people on Facebook are adding a superimposition of the French flag to their current profile pictures. I guess it follows the various photographs of buildings around the world being lighted with the same colors.

AP Report: Greek official confirms one suspect entered EU through Greece in October with Syrian passport.

"A Greek official says one of the assailants in Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris whose Syrian passport was found at the scene crossed into the European Union through the Greek island of Leros in October.

Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas, in charge of police forces, has released the following statement: "On the case of the Syrian passport found at the scene of the terrorist attack.

"We announce that the passport holder had passed from Leros on Oct. 3. where he was identified based on EU rules… We do not know if the passport was checked by other countries through which the holder likely passed."

Link

Breaking: Paris ISIS Terrorist Registered as ‘REFUGEE’ on Leros Island in Greece IN OCTOBER

Notably, and in keeping with ISIS' precedent, it was one of the suicide bombers. ISIS has notoriously been using foreign (non-Arab) North African Muslims and south Asian Islamic converts from Malaysia/etc as suicide bombers instead of themselves and the more highly valued European Muslims.

ed: wow sniped by KFC.

jfc, they're still holding the climate change conference in Paris. Are they retarded?

{ The Belgian justice minister says "number of" arrests made in Brussels relating to the Paris attack.

The police reporter for French newspaper Liberation reports that three people were arrested in Brussels. He adds there is the possibility they were a "second team" that might hit Paris. }

France/Germany match
American restaurant? McDonald's?
Cambodian restaurant
Italian pizzaria
Really popular bistro
American concert

Anybody wanna speculate, do some digging, see who owns Le Belle Equipe (the bistro) and the Mickey Ds?? Were they just the most crowded looking places? Were they picked for a reason?

And on top of all the deaths, there’s going to be a spike in the usual racist nonsense – just more racists looking for more reasons to hate Muslims, as if this is a justification.

I really have to roll my eyes when the first reaction people have to this is, "what about the poor innocent muslims, man?"

I'm sure there's plenty of genuine racists out there barking at this news, but there are plenty of not racist people who are looking at this as a reason to more heavily scrutinize the immigrants who have been basically walking in without any checks on their backgrounds,

Is that racist? Hell no it isn't. It turns out that letting all the immigrants that come in is a bad idea when some of them come from a region infested with a hostile terrorist organization that miiiight have the desire to send some of its own agents with the immigrants as well (gasp!)

I guess not all of the immigrants are peaceful, hard workers after all, and they're not above scrutiny. But I wonder how many people would have been called racist (or even fascist!) before this event for saying that?

You're right about the security issues, though. I would be more inclined to care if several governments were already doing what you're worried they're going to do- as if they actually needed an excuse.

To reassure anyone who thinks these attacks mark an era of oppression for muslims in France, this is a reaction that happened where I live, in Lille.

Lille : irruption d'un groupe d'identitaires au… par lavoixdunord
An far-right group interrupted a peaceful demonstration with shouting and "Expulsons les Islamistes" signs (read: "Out with the Islamists ") and the people "counter-attacked" by shouting Dehors les fascistes !" ("Out with the fascists !").
Now that you have seen the reaction of the majority of the population, can you please stop saying that these events will be particulary hard for the muslims ? Because they're French, like me, and you're effectively doing them a disfavour thinking they aren't part of France.

trigger warning: college students

(deleted but not forgotten lol)

@lisalombs

Wow seriously? do they honestly think their troubles are comparable to literally getting shot and blown up to death?

Anything is terrorism these days

Well since part of their troubles are people threatening to literally shoot and blow them up to death then I'd say it's at least a little comparable. And no, not everything is terrorism these days but threats to shoot up a school certainly are.

Good to see the people of france coming together in solidarity. Now if only the college students of the USA could come together to tell those mizzou students to STFU.

Anyway, thoughts are with you guys in france and Europe. I wish your security forces good luck stopping these extremists from ever rearing their heads again.

sorry to be insesitive and possible offensive, but i saw something like this happening a mile away.

this is what you get when you let hundereds of thousends of muslim immigrants in and never keep them in check, run background checks on them and dont even bother to interview them to see what kind of people they are.

this is what you get when the police is afraid of stepping into muslim-controlled neighborhoods and don't do jack about it.
this is what you get for letting said neighborhoods to maintain the Sharia law.

i shit you not, this actually exists → http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/01/22/inside-frances-sharia-no-go-zones/

so yeah, sorry to say, it was bound to happen with how politically correct and forigiving they were trying to be.

i also will not be surpised when a movement to free the land from opressive chritsian/athiest occupation will start rising up

Those mizzou students inspire feelings of anger in me that i've never felt before.

Encyclopedia Dramatica has made an article on the attacks

Inb4 France bans ED and arrests all french EDiots.

In the last 48 hours I've been really tempted to point out how the last 10 days of the US news cycle was dominated by stories about a bunch of crybabies upset about poop swastikas, Confederate flagged pickup trucks, a phantom KKK legion, and Halloween costumes. During the same time we were all dealing with these hurt feelings, a group of people put the finishing touch on a plan that actually hurt people, blowing up and shooting over 500 people and killing about a quarter of them so far.

I didn't say anything of this, because it wasn't appropriate and offered nothing to the conversation. But those tweets… they demonstrate a continued self-absorption so narrow-minded it can only be described as self-destructive, or at least lacking in self-preservation. They're so out of touch with a reality that they're a danger to themselves, and for that I almost sorry for them.

Is this an attempt to distract us from gamergate????

The Mizzou crowd are just shooting themselves in the foot with these tweets, but I feel it's best to discuss this in the Campus Protest thread.

On Topic: Does any else think this event is going to trigger a lot of violence against the Migrants all around Europe, or at least trigger a major hate campaign? Because I'm seeing a lot of racist comments and seeing stuff like what Minsc-lover popping up.

I'm sure most people won't care, but I feel the need to state what I see as the "solution" to the ISIS problem. For the most part, it's just two fairly simple concepts, with complex executions.

Disclosure: I'm no expert, this is just what I've come up with and I'm sure there's problems with it. Just wanted to get this off my mind.

The First thing, is that the Muslim community should be extremely vocal about denouncing the actions of ISIS and other radical Islamists. The reason for this is two-fold.
1: to let the world know that they don't support their actions, and try to lessen the amount of misplaced/unneeded hate towards themselves.
2: to hopefully make possible ISIS recruits rethink the choice to join ISIS or other extremist groups.

The Second thing, is that if military action occurs (which it most definitely will), Do Not leave the "job" half-finished. Every bit of extremist support needs to be eliminated or otherwise neutralized. Do not take out half of the problem then leave it be to regrow. And the part nobody wants to hear, it's going to be a long process, and it will not be quick. It sucks, but I believe it has to be done if we want to be rid of this problem for any extended period of time.

I think it will add a bit of a distrustful or at least more cautionary outlook towards some of the migrants, but honestly? No. I was worried, but if in the very wake of this people aren't going out and attacking and are instead opting for peace, I don't think it's going to actually have a catalyst effect for turning popular opinion towards violence.

Not to say violence won't occur, it most certainly will. But that has been brewing for months now, and those who would turn to violence would have done so regardless of what happened in paris, same as these terrorist who would have enacted their plans regardless of the immigration situation.

I think it's going to trigger a major hate campaign against Andrea Merkel's political future.

The reason why this is a horrible answer in just three words

World War Three

It's fun to dream though, if only it were so simple.

Really? I would have gone with "Radioactive Trade Winds", or "Massive Nuclear Fallout" or "Airborne Rad Dust".

I really disagree with the notion that this was all just to get the west riled up at the middle east or to drive a wedge between the west and Islam. It sounds a BIT too conspiracy-laden to me.

The Second thing, is that if military action occurs (which it most definitely will), Do Not leave the “job” half-finished. Every bit of extremist support needs to be eliminated or otherwise neutralized. Do not take out half of the problem then leave it be to regrow. And the part nobody wants to hear, it’s going to be a long process, and it will not be quick. It sucks, but I believe it has to be done if we want to be rid of this problem for any extended period of time.

The main problem is not just purging the threat, but ensuring something worse doesn't rise up in its place. ISIS formed up from the power vacuum created after Bin Laden's death and the US pulling out of Iraq. Getting rid of them just creates a new gap that can be filled by something worse. Not to mention who is to say what happens if we eliminate them "with extreme prejudice" only to have a neutral party turn extremist by our actions?

Really? I would have gone with “Radioactive Trade Winds”, or “Massive Nuclear Fallout” or “Airborne Rad Dust”.

Don't forget potential nuclear winter.

{ The First thing, is that the Muslim community should be extremely vocal about denouncing the actions of ISIS and other radical Islamists. The reason for this is two-fold. }

We hear all sorts of condemnations from the people who aren't committing the atrocities. First world Muslim groups, our allies in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the UAE. Just as these people are using social media to condemn, there are Iranians and others on social media celebrating en masse. { “The extent of the celebration far exceeded past online rallying by I.S. supporters,” SITE said in an analysis. } Vice is compiling tweets but they're quickly being deleted. They don't get quite as much coverage in the mainstream, not very PC to bring up. Even still, they don't even compare to the number celebrating out on the streets, these kind of people tend not to be the kind who update facebook about their lunches after all.

Russian state media "accidentally" leaked pics of a nuclear submarine that Russia has, I would not be so sure Putin wouldn't be willing to just bomb the place and be done with it if this terror shit keeps up. I know you guys think he's a funny meme but he's fucking crazy.

Well I did say it wasn't perfect, but yeah, military forces would have to say in the area until it is certain, without a doubt, that the local forces can handle the situation. (I agree that the Government's [US] choice to pull most of the forces out was a bad move.)

- Capitulation to the Extremists' demands (Unacceptable)
- Total annihilation of Extremist occupied territory (Also unacceptable to anyone except genocidal maniacs)
- Total isolation of Extremist occupied territory, no trade, no tourism, no communication, no nothing. (Hardly a good choice either, but somewhat better than the previous two choices. It would also mean turning a blind eye to any humanitarian crises in the area as well.)

Anyways, if you have an idea I would honestly, non-sarcastically, like to hear it.

EDIT: And on a side note the nearby base is running their live fire exercises late, which is understandably freaking out a few of the more paranoid residents. Figured they would've rescheduled…

Honestly, occupation might just end up being the way to go. Historically speaking, when countries engaged in warfare, and eventually lost, they were occupied by the victors who went through period of being ruled by foreign powers. This occurred even into WWII, with Italy, Germany, and Japan being occupied by Allied forces and their governments temporarily, followed by an economic package to rebuild the devastated areas and make these countries economic allies. The US offered the Marshall Plan, the Soviet's had the Molotov Plan, and while both had problems and did cause some bumps along the way, it did succeed in neutralizing some pretty radicalized and militant people shortly after the conflict ended. Or perhaps I'm simply seeing things too optimistically. The rules of old war do not quite apply to a war where national boarders and trade mean nothing to the fighters, and their activities and organization are more akin to a street gang then a national force.

Occupation only sounds like a good idea until you ask yourself, "What happens next?"

If you look at the many historical precedents for this kind of situation (Big western power stepping on a itty bitty third worlder), then you would know the answer usually isn't the one you want.

I just answered what was next. The establishment of a legitimized government along with economic relief efforts to rebuild destroyed areas, while economically tying said countries to the victors to create an incentive for further cooperation and alliance. Something that happened to what are now major countries in the world stage, Italy, Japan, and Germany.

What doesn't work is sending military forces in to act as peacekeeping forces, and with the primary mission parameters being to support the current defunct government and do nothing to alter the country, while throwing massive amounts of money at the regimes with 0 actual means of saying how the funds are spent. That's what has occurred in most if not all conflicts going forward from 1950 onwards.

The US hasn't occupied a territory in most of its "imperialist" period. It's played the role of state supporter to the local, often highly corrupt and dictatorial, government in power. When it did get involved, it's role was mostly to kill the current head of state, give a bunch of locals guns, and let them work things out from there. Very different from how Germany, Japan, and Italy, were handled after their defeat in WWII, with Germany and Japan both holding very extreme views and ideologies prior to their defeat and committing various atrocities during the conflict.

A year or two to stabilize the country again, alongside measures to improve the local economy and help them draft a follow-able constitution. It's not really been done post WWII, at least not fully. Usually people try the "improve the local economy" part without the military intervention or constitutional reforms, or they try "military intervention" without doing anything to try and improve the local situation or improve the local government.

In all honesty, it's actually a lot more crueler of an intent then trying an actual temporary occupation and build up. Because all your doing is going in, helping to kill a bunch of people, and expecting anything productive to arise from not getting the hard work needed to make people not want to kill you.

Do you think getting anyone to support a Marshall Plan level of money to build (not rebuild, but build from scratch) an entire economic infrastructure for all the afflicted countries is realistic?

Wow all the sudden you guys sound like me~ he's just going to completely ignore any suggestions you have that would separate it from our historical half-assed efforts, because then it would be likely to work and he can't accept that.

Obama had already agreed to send special ground troop forces back to Syria a couple weeks before this happened, so obviously we're finally moving back towards progress. If only he hadn't made the decision to completely abandon the region to the wolves four years ago, but you know.

Can't wait to hear what the Democrats have to say about it during the debate tonight.
It'll either be politics's greatest collective flip-flop or the most pathetic parade of delusion yet.

Maybe? It's certainly daunting, yes. But it's not as if it's completely out of the realm of possibility. Would it be hard? Yes. Would it lead to a lot of hard times ahead for everyone? Yes, for a time.

But I'm a bit of an optimist, and like to think of things in a "Why not?" rather then "Why?" type of mind frame. I like to think of ways everyone can move into the future to be better off then they were in the past, rather then just thinking of hypotheticals of how best to kill people to solve a problem, to reference the one proposed earlier in the thread.

@Lisa, the difference is I don't care about whether islam remains dominate in the region or not, and wouldn't be bothered from it surviving into the future, and you evidently would. The way I see it, the more people's lives improve, the less hard line and extreme, or "fundamental" the views of said individuals will become. Look at Christianity or Judaism, both abrahamic religions who've endured both great swaths of prevalence and drastic declines in power. They mellowed with the improvement of people's livelihoods, as they didn't need to rely on it as a means of giving themselves something stable they can hold onto in their uncertain lives.

Their religion will change as their society is altered, becoming closer to what most Muslim or Islamic religions outside of impoverished countries are like. Moderate, existing more as a soft-moral guideline then any sort of hard set of rules. There's no need to crush it, or keep it from existing. All that would od is make people fight harder to keep them around. Instead, you allow it to exist within society, and it will change as society does. Simple, and with 0 need for cold blooded ideological based murder.