Althouse: "The operation in Dammartin is finished... The two suspects have been killed, and the hostage has been freed."

January 9, 2015

"The operation in Dammartin is finished... The two suspects have been killed, and the hostage has been freed."

"The special counterterrorism forces located where the terrorists are and broke down the door. They took them by surprise. It lasted a matter of minutes."

110 comments:

Anonymous said...: BBC has best coverage.; 1/9/15, 2:36 PM
LYNNDH said...: For all those that belittled the French police/military during this time, please rethink. They did an excellent job on both hostage situations.; 1/9/15, 2:50 PM
JAORE said...: I love happy endings.; 1/9/15, 2:54 PM
AustinRoth said...: There appeazs to be one last one at large, so there is still more to do.; 1/9/15, 3:00 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Franks have met the Berbers again and the result is the same.

France is no longer a soft target.; 1/9/15, 3:05 PM
Achilles said...: It has never been the French people that were weak appeasers. It has always been the political class there which is more nepotistic and cloistered than ever. The difference between Paris and everywhere else in France is very striking.; 1/9/15, 3:08 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: The Franks have met the Berbers again and the result is the same.

Ketchup and mustard stains on the carpet?

I am not a robot. ( If I were, the jokes would be funnier. ); 1/9/15, 3:09 PM
Anonymous said...: France never was a soft target when French interests are at stake. The French Military and Militarized Police elements are efficient and have few scruples about either bargaining with thugs or shooting them like rabid dogs.

The Best are the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment 1 RPIMa, which traces its roots back to the British SAS / Commandos of WW2.

"Gentle Folk sleep peacefully in their beds, because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf"

Very rough men as we say.; 1/9/15, 3:11 PM
Beorn said...: Two down, a hundred years to go.; 1/9/15, 3:12 PM
Bobber Fleck said...: "During the attack on the newspaper, the assailants identified themselves as being part of Al Qaeda and shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.” Their blatant embrace of Islam during an act of violence has been seized on by those who have been warning about a gulf between Islam and the values of the West."

"Seized on"? I guess the liberal narrative regarding the Religion of Peace is taking a hit the last few days.; 1/9/15, 3:12 PM
Achilles said...: The Drill SGT said...
"France never was a soft target when French interests are at stake. The French Military and Militarized Police elements are efficient and have few scruples about either bargaining with thugs or shooting them like rabid dogs.

The Best are the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment 1 RPIMa, which traces its roots back to the British SAS / Commandos of WW2.

"Gentle Folk sleep peacefully in their beds, because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf"

Very rough men as we say."

The true backbone of a country are the ones that support and enforce that thin veneer of civilization.; 1/9/15, 3:19 PM
virgil xenophon said...: I wonder if any of those who accused America of the "over militarization" of our local police forces at Ferguson, Mo are having second thoughts. Can't wait until Islamic terrorists take over a shopping mall in a small town in the middle-west like, say, Mattoon Illinois and read/listen to the critics complain that local police are out-gunned..; 1/9/15, 3:25 PM
chickelit said...: Hayat Boumeddiene should be caught alive and interrogated -- harshly if necessary. Then, shave her head.; 1/9/15, 3:29 PM
Achilles said...: "The operation in Dammartin is finished... The two suspects have been killed, and the hostage has been freed."

As if this offers any resolution at all. I guarantee there are at least 100 people that knew about, supported, and financed this act. They all need to die violently.; 1/9/15, 3:29 PM
Achilles said...: virgil xenophon said...
"I wonder if any of those who accused America of the "over militarization" of our local police forces at Ferguson, Mo are having second thoughts. Can't wait until Islamic terrorists take over a shopping mall in a small town in the middle-west like, say, Mattoon Illinois and read/listen to the critics complain that local police are out-gunned.."

Maybe in some coastal metrosexual infested city. But if even 1% of the patrons of that mall are armed the attackers would be outnumbered. We should be pushing gun safety and ownership, not police militarization.; 1/9/15, 3:32 PM
Titus said...: This is very difficult for to write, because in the past I would refer to my fries as "freedom fries" and the French are surrender moneys, and I am pube who knows we live in the most amazing country that is better than every other country in the world by like over 100 times....

BUT, We are all French today!!!!

Vive La France.

tits.; 1/9/15, 3:38 PM
David said...: It lasted a matter of minutes and the amount of gunfire and explosion was astonishing. Rejoice if you wish at their death, but dead men tell no tales. It would have been very useful to interrogate one or both of them. Despite what they may say in public, the French are very unsqueamish about interrogation techniques.

I consider the massive force and nearly inevitable death of the terrorists to be another questionable aspect of the French response. Not on moral grounds but on practical ones.

The French will say that these men wanted to die. The best victory would have been to deny them their wish.; 1/9/15, 3:38 PM
chickelit said...: Henry opined: The best victory would have been to deny them their wish.

For all you know, the Brothers Karma's off would have killed their hostage under different circumstance. Who are you to play judge here?

Plus, there are most likely other witnesses and persons of interest. May they be interrogated harshly too.; 1/9/15, 3:43 PM
David said...: The video of the attack lead me to believe that there was a third person driving the getaway car? Is that correct?

Overall the getaway seems to have been unplanned and perhaps largely unassisted. Was that by design? Were there really no others directly involved who would have assisted them to get away? Where did they get the weapons, automobile and knowledge of the daily patterns of their victims? Was catching them in an editorial meeting a lucky accident or a product of some kind of knowledge of the magazine's operations?

How did they get that far out of Paris? Did they really need gas after a 50 mile trip? (If so they were really stupid.)

I hope they capture rather than kill the woman involved in shooting the policewoman. But a lot of potential information died with these three men.; 1/9/15, 3:45 PM
Known Unknown said...: Achilles is right re: police militarization.

I would only add it is generally unwise to use an anomaly (terrorist attack or mass shooting) as reason to codify overreaction as policy.

reCAPTCHA: killn. Seriously.; 1/9/15, 3:45 PM
Anonymous said...: I for one, can see Titus at Rick's in Casablanca singing La Marseillaise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTsg9i6lvqU; 1/9/15, 3:46 PM
Humperdink said...: “Following this ordeal, I can assure you: We will emerge even stronger,” he said (President François Hollande)

Um, no. The genie is out of the bottle. Five million muslims in a country smaller than Texas.

Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism:
"When I was in Brussels a year ago when I asked the police to take me to the Islamic zone or the Islamic community area they refused. They said we don’t go there. This goes on in Belgium, this goes on in Sweden, in the Netherlands, in France, it goes on in Italy. It goes on throughout Europe. So there are no-go zones…. I’ve said this before, I think Europe is finished."; 1/9/15, 3:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Achilles said...
The true backbone of a country are the ones that support and enforce that thin veneer of civilization.

Like those Frankish Spear grunts facing Muslim Heavy Cavalry on a hill at Tours in 732, the first time Islamics invaded France.

- Martel (the Hammer); 1/9/15, 3:49 PM
Achilles said...: David said...
"It lasted a matter of minutes and the amount of gunfire and explosion was astonishing. Rejoice if you wish at their death, but dead men tell no tales. It would have been very useful to interrogate one or both of them. Despite what they may say in public, the French are very unsqueamish about interrogation techniques."

They already know who they were working with. They don't need to ask them. I guarantee they have already translated every electronic communication these men have made for the last 20 years. There is a wall with pictures, descriptions, and contact lines already up.

The question is whether or not they want to pull this festering weed out or continue to use a massive influx of young muslims for cheap labor. As far as the pols go it was just a few reporters that got killed. No reason to upset the apple cart. Again it is a massive difference between what the people want and what the political class in France wants.; 1/9/15, 3:54 PM
Achilles said...: EMD said...
"Achilles is right re: police militarization.

I would only add it is generally unwise to use an anomaly (terrorist attack or mass shooting) as reason to codify overreaction as policy."

I have many many other reasons to push an increase in an armed and effective citizenry. This is just one of those. We shouldn't need police to save us. If a mall is going to be attacked please let me be there.; 1/9/15, 3:58 PM
SteveR said...: I don't worry the police may be overmilitarized, although they clearly can be. I just don't like that the BLM, IRS, etc. are militarized to any extent.; 1/9/15, 4:28 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: So the cheese-eating surrender monkeys killed the muzzies and we can all go back to watching TV. Whew, that was a close one.; 1/9/15, 4:39 PM
Gahrie said...: So the cheese-eating surrender monkeys killed the muzzies and we can all go back to watching TV. Whew, that was a close one.

Is there any other point to this comment beyond expressing contemp for the American people?; 1/9/15, 4:41 PM
Paul said...: Kind of glossed over the hostages killed, didn't they?; 1/9/15, 4:42 PM
William said...: I would wish them to die in such a way as to discourage future terrorists. I don't know if that's what happened today. Worse, I don't know if it's even possible to kill them in such a way. Well, anyway I'm glad they're dead.......I don't think they represent any kind of existential threat, but their presence is corrosive and rusts the joints that hold us together.; 1/9/15, 4:43 PM
Paul said...: Militarization of the police will not help.

Terrorist always pick 'Gun Free Zones' to do their dirty work.

They ain't gonna attack an IRS building or police station. They will go where there are no guns.

Mass casualties are what they want, not gun play.; 1/9/15, 4:44 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Gahrie said...
Is there any other point to this comment beyond expressing contemp for the American people?

A goodly fraction of the American people like the French and appreciate their culture. Only a small, troubled subset dismissed them as cheese-eating surrender monkeys. I think their leader was Jonah Goldberg.; 1/9/15, 4:51 PM
chickelit said...: A goodly fraction of the American people like the French and appreciate their culture.

It's been 240 years of love-hate, ARM. There can still be French traits we don't applaud, just as they have preconceptions of us.

Get over your superiority complex.; 1/9/15, 5:05 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Hooray! The hostage lived. Impressive.; 1/9/15, 5:11 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: chickelit said...
There can still be French traits we don't applaud,

Calling them surrender monkeys for their understandable unwillingness to be part of the Iraq invasion was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Nowadays a majority of the American people agree with them.; 1/9/15, 5:12 PM
Titus said...: four hostages died Miss Arkansas.; 1/9/15, 5:14 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I am not of the school that desires to deny the death wishes of murdering martyr wannabes. I'm of the school that is happy we are all in agreement.; 1/9/15, 5:15 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "four hostages died Miss Arkansas."

Ah, well, then I guess the one who lived wasn't *the* hostage.

That's a shame.; 1/9/15, 5:18 PM
Drago said...: AReasonableMeltdown: "Calling them surrender monkeys for their understandable unwillingness to be part of the Iraq invasion was scraping the bottom of the barrel."

We called them surrender monkeys due to their failure to defeat the invading numerically inferior British (though to be fair, they were the Norman offspring) for hundreds of years and then yielding to a numerically inferior German invasion force in record time in WWII.

As any intelligent individual versed in European history would know.

Which clearly excludes ARMeltdown.; 1/9/15, 5:22 PM
Revenant said...: I wonder if any of those who accused America of the "over militarization" of our local police forces at Ferguson, Mo are having second thoughts

I imagine there are some people retarded enough to view this incident as a reason to shower American police with military equipment, sure.

Intelligent people, of course, recognize that while there is good reason to maintain a military or paramilitary force for these sorts of (extremely rare) occurrences -- e.g., a SWAT team -- the modern American habit of using military forces for everything from "serving routine search warrants" to "conducting health inspections of restaurants" remains dangerous, expensive, and stupid.; 1/9/15, 5:24 PM
David said...: chickelit said...
Henry opined: The best victory would have been to deny them their wish.

For all you know, the Brothers Karma's off would have killed their hostage under different circumstance. Who are you to play judge here?

Actually it was me, David, who opined that.

It's quite possible that trying to take them alive could have put the hostage more at risk. It would have put the rescuers more at risk. And certainly I can not judge what they did, since it's impossible to know all the conditions they operated in.

But a live capture would have been very valuable. My sense is that live capture was not much of a priority. I find that unfortunate, if indeed I am correct, which certainly I might not be.

It's hard to criticize what people do under such high pressure circumstances, but universal praise of the procedures and outcome is not a very good response either.; 1/9/15, 5:25 PM
Drago said...: chickelit: "Get over your superiority complex."

ARMeltdown, the Verencemos Brigade stud who zipped over to Cuba to help the Castro brothers intimidate little farmers and peasants.

You can just picture ARMeltdown as a young man strutting about as a big hero of the revolution!

What a joke.; 1/9/15, 5:25 PM
chickelit said...: @ARM: The term "surrender monkeys" dates from the Iraq war as you point out. But the reason it resonated was because of Vichy France. Plus, where have you been all these years regarding French arrogance -- matched only by American arrogance?; 1/9/15, 5:27 PM
Drago said...: And don't even get me started on how quickly the French shifted over to Vichy status and helped ship French Jews off to their deaths.

Surrender monkeys indeed.; 1/9/15, 5:28 PM
chickelit said...: David wrote: Actually it was me, David, who opined that.

Thanks for the correction!

Sorry about that, Henry.; 1/9/15, 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: "...Those who committed these terrorist acts, those terrorists, those fanatics, have nothing to do with the Muslim religion...."

President Hollande
-------------------------

Still cheese-eating surrender monkey. Can't even recognize the enemy; 1/9/15, 5:31 PM
Allen Edwards said...: Like those Frankish Spear grunts facing Muslim Heavy Cavalry on a hill at Tours in 732, the first time Islamics invaded France.

- Martel (the Hammer)

Je suis 'Charlie' Martel!; 1/9/15, 5:31 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/9/15, 5:31 PM
Drago said...: And speaking of French Surrender Monkeys, there are now 751 (at least) "Sensitive Urban Zones" which are no-go zones for French police, fire and emergency personnel.

These are areas that have already been ceded by the French to the muslims who run these areas under Sharia law.

It's particularly ironic to see Titus come temporarily out of his 'Lena Dunham is so sciency!eleventy' mode long enough to make fun of Americans while lauding the French who have handed over sovereignty to people who have outlawed homosexuality and women walking about unattended.

Yeah, those French. They've really showed the muslims whose boss.....except in the areas the French are afraid to go...cuz the muslims won't let them.; 1/9/15, 5:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Revenant said...
I wonder if any of those who accused America of the "over militarization" of our local police forces at Ferguson, Mo are having second thoughts

I imagine there are some people retarded enough to view this incident as a reason to shower American police with military equipment, sure.
--------------------------

I imagine there are some people retarded enough to view the execution of the French officer on the sidewalk and call for disarming the police just like the French.; 1/9/15, 5:37 PM
Revenant said...: For all those that belittled the French police/military during this time, please rethink. They did an excellent job on both hostage situations.

Well, I re-thought, and my take is this: had the police and military done their jobs properly in the first place, the attackers wouldn't have managed to kill twelve people.

This wasn't an unforeseeable attack. There has been an escalating campaign of violence against CH for years. The French police were decidedly ho-hum in their response to it, because CH were gadflies and the authorities wanted them to stop aggravating Muslims.

It reminds me of people who praised Bush for "keeping us safe from terrorism", forgetting that virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by terrorism died on his watch.; 1/9/15, 5:39 PM
Drago said...: Here's the list of current "Sensitive Urban Zones" (or, as I like to call them: French Surrender Monkey Zones):

http://sig.ville.gouv.fr/Atlas/ZUS/

So, the true test of whether or not the French are really prepared to stand up to the muslims is whether or not they (the French) will reestablish "France" in those portions of France that have already been surrendered to the Sharia crowd.

I'm hoping for the best, but I don't see them (the French) doing that.

Can you imagine being a girl who has to live in one of these areas? It's like being raised in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

All the while ignorant and moronic westerners like ARMeltdown are singing the praises of the French gov't who makes the oppression of these gals possible...in France.

How demoralizing that must be. It's like being a Freedom fighter in the former Soviet Union and having western liberals/leftists supporting the communists and trashing those seeking greater freedoms.; 1/9/15, 5:40 PM
Revenant said...: I imagine there are some people retarded enough to view the execution of the French officer on the sidewalk and call for disarming the police just like the French.

I must have hallucinated those two cops getting shot in New York last month. Naturally our habit of giving tanks and assault rifles to police would have prevented any such thing from happening.; 1/9/15, 5:40 PM
Anonymous said...: It reminds me of people who praised Bush for "keeping us safe from terrorism", forgetting that virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by terrorism died on his watch.

1/9/15, 5:39 PM
----------------------------

It reminds me of the people who praised Roosevelt for saving us from the scourge of Fascism when virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by fascists died on his watch.; 1/9/15, 5:43 PM
Drago said...: Revenant: "Naturally our habit of giving tanks and assault rifles to police would have prevented any such thing from happening"

Well, those officers weren't sitting in a tank or wielding assault rifles.; 1/9/15, 5:43 PM
Drago said...: Lars: "It reminds me of the people who praised Roosevelt for saving us from the scourge of Fascism when virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by fascists died on his watch"

It also reminds me of the people who praised Lincoln for saving us from the scourge of secession when virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by secessionists died on his watch.

It also reminds me of the people who praised Washington for being the father of our country and saving us from the King George when virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by British soldiers died on his watch.; 1/9/15, 5:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Drago:

LOL; 1/9/15, 5:49 PM
Revenant said...: Well, those officers weren't sitting in a tank or wielding assault rifles.

Exactly.; 1/9/15, 5:49 PM
Revenant said...: It reminds me of the people who praised Roosevelt for saving us from the scourge of Fascism when virtually all the Americans *ever* killed by fascists died on his watch.

The people who think Roosevelt "saved us from fascism" are assholes, too.; 1/9/15, 5:50 PM
JPS said...: AReasonableMan [sic]:

"A goodly fraction of the American people like the French and appreciate their culture."

Count me in. Remember when they blew up the Rainbow Warrior, so they could keep testing nukes in the South Pacific? Or when they invaded the Ivory Coast, around the time they were complaining about the invasion of Iraq, without so much as a By Your Leave to the UN? Good times….

And how about that whole issue of banning Muslim headscarves in schools? In the spirit of, You want to live here, you follow our culture; you don't, we didn't ask you to be here.

As an awful right-winger I know why I'm supposed to be a fan. What I can't figure out is why American liberals are. But I think it's that the French criticize America from a position of distance and superiority - much the same tone liberal academics tend to use.; 1/9/15, 5:54 PM
Anonymous said...: "...Count me in. Remember when they blew up the Rainbow Warrior, so they could keep testing nukes in the South Pacific? Or when they invaded the Ivory Coast, around the time they were complaining about the invasion of Iraq, without so much as a By Your Leave to the UN? Good times…...
--------------

Let's not forget the ongoing operations in Mali.; 1/9/15, 5:58 PM
Drago said...: Lars: "Let's not forget the ongoing operations in Mali."

And lets not forget why obama got all "hot to trot" to go into Libya with some force: The French were going to lose their oil contracts.

If there's one thing obama and the left cannot abide is a western socialist government losing it's oil contracts!

Of course, now, Libya is going the way of islamist radicals.

Hey, come to think of it, that's probably a win-win for obama.; 1/9/15, 6:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Drago:

Now that the French's poulets have come home to roost they will not hesitate to dunk some jihadi heads in the Bay of Biscay until they give up all that they've shared with Allah.; 1/9/15, 6:09 PM
Drago said...: Did I forget to mention that the French allow the dark-age mentality islamists to setup Sharia courts in the "Sensitive Urban Areas" where islamist judges execute sharia justice on inhabitants of those areas?

Now, for the record, I believe the French could, if they wished, take these areas back and establish true western civilization based order in those areas.

Until then, they are simply surrendering their nation piece by piece to the radical islamists.; 1/9/15, 6:09 PM
Michael K said...: " the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment 1 RPIMa,"

Known colloquially as "ripem."; 1/9/15, 6:09 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Looks like our solidarity with the surrender monkeys is fraying already. It was a beautiful, albeit brief, interlude.

Soon we will notice that Charlie Hebdo were really a bunch of all-purpose anti-theists and the moment will be lost forever.; 1/9/15, 6:12 PM
Michael K said...: "So the cheese-eating surrender monkeys killed the muzzies and we can all go back to watching TV. Whew, that was a close one."

And the cheese eating surrender money NY Times refuses to publish the cartoons; any of them. When pressed by a communications professor at USC, the "Executive Editor, Dean Baquet, called the professor an "asshole" on Facebook.

"He said he had spent “about half of my day” on the question, seeking out the views of senior editors and reaching out to reporters and editors in some of The Times’s international bureaus. They told him they would not feel endangered if The Times reproduced the images, he told me, but he remained concerned about staff safety.

“I sought out a lot of views, and I changed my mind twice,” he said. “It had to be my decision alone.”

Cowardice. They found no impediment to showing the "Piss Christ" or the elephant dung Virgin Mary.

They are afraid of Muslims while they are blathering about "insulting religion."; 1/9/15, 6:17 PM
Michael said...: Michael K

We must remember fondly the Yale University Press which published an entire volume on "The Mohammed Cartoons" . The volume had no illustrations.

You cannot make this up. Our brave academics, our heroic newsmen (truth to power) and our extra brave citizenry armed with hashtags. Scared shitless of our friends from the ROP.; 1/9/15, 6:21 PM
Drago said...: AReasonableMeltdown: "Looks like our solidarity with the surrender monkeys is fraying already."

Poor ARMeltdown. He simply cannot deal the with fact of the Sensitive Urban Zones and what is happening in them.

On the one hand, it's beyond dispute that the French have handed the keys to their kingdom in many areas to the Sharia lovers.

On the other hand ARMeltdown wants to pretend they haven't.

What to do, what to do?

Well, you can always throw the kitchen sink at Americans! That's the ticket.

Now ARMeltdown can go back to believing that the French have this totally under control.

I wonder how many women will be "honor killed" in France tonight in those parts of France already ceded to the muslims?

Who cares, right ARMeltdown?; 1/9/15, 6:22 PM
Michael K said...: "But I think it's that the French criticize America from a position of distance and superiority - much the same tone liberal academics tend to use."

I have been to France many times and I have found a marked change in attitude the past 30 years. When I was first there in 1981, they were rude and obviously disliked Americans, although mostly in Paris. The last few times I have been there, I found much more friendly attitudes and even English translations of instructions on how to catch the train to Versailles, for example. The small cafes and businessmen's hotels have always been friendlier than the luxury hotels and famous restaurants,; 1/9/15, 6:23 PM
Drago said...: I wonder if ARMeltdown thinks that we should show "solidarity" with the French by allowing muslims to have Sharia-happy zones in the US?

Maybe we should allow them to have Boston?

Alas, we would not be hearing much more from Titus if so.

(I never said there wouldn't be SOME positive aspects of such an arrangement); 1/9/15, 6:32 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: JPS said...
But I think it's that the French criticize America from a position of distance and superiority - much the same tone liberal academics tend to use.

This was a good post, marred by whininess at the end. I am giving it a B+ for the initial effort. Try editing your work more thoroughly in the future.; 1/9/15, 6:34 PM
Anonymous said...: When I was first there in 1981, they were rude and obviously disliked Americans, although mostly in Paris.

I like the French countryside. Was first there in the late 70's while an officer in Germany. The folks in Normandy at that point were still in love with Americans...

Parisians? Different story. New Yorkers with bad accents.

I still don't like Paris or High French cooking.

Country food and country people there are fine...; 1/9/15, 6:38 PM
Drago said...: ARMeltdown: "This was a good post, marred by whininess at the end. I am giving it a B+ for the initial effort. Try editing your work more thoroughly in the future."

That was not a good post review, marred by a tone of superiority but at a distance. I am giving your review D- for the total effort (since that's what counts). Try a more disciplined and thoughtful approach for analyzing posts before commenting on others work in the future.; 1/9/15, 6:44 PM
wildswan said...: What I can't understand is how they are handling fires in these no-go zones since apparently firefighters are unwelcome.; 1/9/15, 6:45 PM
kcom said...: Speaking of FDR, I'll always remember his great speech on the occasion of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and especially that line where he said, "Hideki Tojo is no more Japanese than I am."

Hat tip to Howard Dean ([Referring to the late, unlamented killers] "They're about as Muslim as I am."); 1/9/15, 6:45 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Michael K,

That's correct. Christians do not get the respect Muslims do, because Christians, as such, mostly don't go massacring. Nor do Jews.

And yes, there have been high-profile massacres by Christians and by Jews. Anders Breivik and Timothy McVeigh and Baruch Goldstein aren't forgotten.

But, honestly, when you hear that "youths" have once again been running around some Scandinavian nation setting cars on fire and looting businesses, does your mind leap to a "profile," or doesn't it? When an American in Buffalo is convicted of beheading his wife, religion and nationality unspecified, what say you? If a Danish headmaster refuses to take in Jewish students because he can no longer guarantee their safety, is it extremist Christians he is worried about? What about French Jews warned not to wear yarmulkes in public?

Every last religion on Earth can become violent. (I understand the Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka are the latest to join the club.) Still, the combo of instant violence and just-as-instant counter-reaction involving Islam and the West has to be unique.; 1/9/15, 6:47 PM
Fritz said...: We need to treat Islamic terrorism like Ebola. Trace all their contacts in the Muslim community and monitor them for signs of disease.; 1/9/15, 6:56 PM
Titus said...: Razorback Tattler in He Haw must of missed the hostage's deaths.; 1/9/15, 6:59 PM
ken in tx said...: I have read enough about these Muslim no-go zones all over Europe, to believe they exist, but I don't believe the French police are afraid to go in them. Otherwise why did these jihadis not hole up in one of them and rely on their brothers to cover for them.

I think ordinary European citizens are afraid to go in them, and that's a shame.; 1/9/15, 7:00 PM
Phil 314 said...: Gosh ARM, you are tiresome.

PS And for the record so is President Mom Jeans, but in a more vicious way.; 1/9/15, 7:01 PM
Drago said...: kenintx: "ken in tx said...
I have read enough about these Muslim no-go zones all over Europe, to believe they exist, but I don't believe the French police are afraid to go in them. Otherwise why did these jihadis not hole up in one of them and rely on their brothers to cover for them."

Oh, you can bet the French cops went into some of them yesterday and today.

Next up we'll be hearing from our resident lefties about the French police brutality to all those innocent muslims who should be above suspicion!; 1/9/15, 7:09 PM
Drago said...: We do have to ponder the following with regards to AReasonableMeltdown:

1) ARMeltdown was not aware of the size and volume of the Sharia-compliant French no-go zones, in which case his ignorance is as hopeless as is his self-awarded superiority.

2) ARMeltdown WAS aware of the size and volume of the Sharia-compliant French no-go zones, in which case he is as intellectually dishonest as they come (I'm putting my money on this one since that is what I expect from any and all marxist-leninists); 1/9/15, 7:12 PM
Drago said...: Titus: "Razorback Tattler in He Haw must of missed the hostage's deaths"

"must of"?

Is that what passes for proper syntax amongst our superior blue-blood patrician class in the Northeast?

Tsk tsk.

Why Titus, you sound like some low-brow interloper from no-where's-ville WI.

Pity that.; 1/9/15, 7:14 PM
Revenant said...: Our brave academics, our heroic newsmen (truth to power) and our extra brave citizenry armed with hashtags. Scared shitless of our friends from the ROP.

They aren't afraid of Muslims, they're afraid of tenured academics.

Being perceived as less than 100% Politically Correct is a career-killer in academia.; 1/9/15, 7:14 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Phil 3:14 said...
Gosh ARM, you are tiresome.

PS And for the record so is President Mom Jeans, but in a more vicious way.

So not the true dregs of humanity then?

This has to be one of the nicest things anyone has said about me on this forum.; 1/9/15, 7:22 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Revenant said...
Being perceived as less than 100% Politically Correct is a career-killer in academia.

This is BS. Engineering departments are full of guys looking to go into business and make a buck and who vote solidly Republican. Why is it that every cliche about liberals Arts departments is applied to universities as a whole? Five minutes thought would intuit that they are very diverse places in terms of the types of personalities found in different departments. True mathematicians couldn't give you the names of the two main parties, much less remember to vote.; 1/9/15, 7:31 PM
Drago said...: ARMeltdown: "Engineering departments are full of guys looking to go into business and make a buck and who vote solidly Republican."

No caricaturing there. Nope. Not in the least.

I mean, we could assume that some folks are just very interested in Engineering. But lo and behold, not true according to ARMeltdown.

They are simply looking to make a buck.

Oh, I get it, that's why they vote republican!

It's a good thing ARMeltdown, as a leftist, isn't prone to "otherizing" anyone like those darn "missing tooth republicans from Appalachia who still seem able to make a buck and look like the monopoly guy and who don't want anyone else to have anything so they can feel superior but still need those people who have nothing to buy all the junk that these republicans produce!!"

Whew.

I hope I got it all.

Oops: I forgot to include Faux News, Rush Limbaugh and the John Birch society.; 1/9/15, 7:47 PM
Drago said...: Of course, an alternative explanation is that those who are in the engineering departments are forced and required to deal with reality and objective truth lest everything they do will fail.

Which inevitably leads to a more objective and truth-based outlook, which means they are much more likely to see right through the BS put forth by the ARM's of the world.

Not all of course. But at least there is a more naturally occurring distribution of outlooks/viewpoints.; 1/9/15, 7:50 PM
Be said...: God Bless All Those Who Approve of France / Local Police / etc, for the moment.

The question that is left out is, how the Locals are doing.; 1/9/15, 8:53 PM
Trashhauler said...: "So the cheese-eating surrender monkeys killed the muzzies and we can all go back to watching TV. Whew, that was a close one."

Hmmm. Well, this does illustrate the limitations of law enforcement, doesn't it? Four indifferently trained terrorists monopolize the time and effort of hundreds of police for three days.

Now imagine a platoon of well-trained fanatics, operating in five or six different locations, perhaps different cities. Each placing two or three widely-scattered explosive devices with snipers in overwatch.

I once organized the facility for the 63rd MAW Crisis Action Team in preparation for an ORI. In our practice, we presented the Commander with a single armed squad of bad guys killing people on the flight line. Imagine his surprise when he learned that his security police were incapable of suppressing the hostile fire and his hospital commander refused to send medical people anywhere close to the action. The entire Wing of 5,000 military personnel were neutralized by eight determined "terrorists." We've improved a lot since those days. But not tremendously.; 1/9/15, 9:35 PM
William said...: While this was happening, several thousand Christians were being slaughtered in Nigeria. It barely made the news. Michelle didn't even give them a hashtag. There's something disproportionate about this. A dozen French leftists get killed, and it's lights out for civilization. A few thousand black Christians get massacred, and who cares.....It's not really a crime against humanity unless it's perpetrated for or against whites---or, anyway, the special ones.; 1/9/15, 9:56 PM
kcom said...: Honest question: how do you know they were Christians? The majority of all people in that area are Muslims and none of the stories I've seen have specified who was killed.; 1/9/15, 10:08 PM
furious_a said...: Calling them surrender monkeys...

That was Groundskeeper Willie in 1995, you addled twit.; 1/9/15, 10:24 PM
Achilles said...: AReasonableMan said...
Phil 3:14 said...
Gosh ARM, you are tiresome.

PS And for the record so is President Mom Jeans, but in a more vicious way.

"So not the true dregs of humanity then?"

I hope you decide to go live in France with your friends in the sharia only zones. You like France so much and Muslims wont be unhappy with you because you obviously understand their plight. I mean who else has noticed the colonialist oppression of muslims? I am sure you would be totally safe there. Please go.; 1/9/15, 10:38 PM
chickelit said...: furious_a said...Calling them surrender monkeys...was Groundskeeper Willie in 1995, you addled twit.

I stand corrected; AReasonableMan would rather kneel corrected...; 1/9/15, 10:44 PM
chickelit said...: Excellent point, William (as per usual); 1/9/15, 10:44 PM
Achilles said...: Trashhauler said...

"Hmmm. Well, this does illustrate the limitations of law enforcement, doesn't it? Four indifferently trained terrorists monopolize the time and effort of hundreds of police for three days.

Now imagine a platoon of well-trained fanatics, operating in five or six different locations, perhaps different cities. Each placing two or three widely-scattered explosive devices with snipers in overwatch."

People do not understand how thin the line is that protects them. It would take maybe 100 people to shut down our country for a month. Not 9/11 shut down, actual shutdown. Life went on after 9/11 for almost everyone. A few effective IED's and sniper attacks would bring everything to a screaching halt. A couple spree shootings in gun free zones. If we faced even a fraction of what Israel has to deal with it would be a hot mess.

It is impossible to stop that in a reactive way. What people don't get is that it is the fear of annihilation that stops this from happening, not law enforcement.; 1/9/15, 10:53 PM
furious_a said...: chickelit -- "addled twit" = "ARM". Steps on a rake every time he goes smug.; 1/9/15, 11:00 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: AReasonableMan,

This is BS. Engineering departments are full of guys looking to go into business and make a buck and who vote solidly Republican. ... True mathematicians couldn't give you the names of the two main parties, much less remember to vote.

Do you mean engineering students, or engineering faculty? I suppose I needn't point out that the latter have had every opportunity to cut loose for the private engineering sector.

As for the M of STEM, I think it's there solely to make for a nice acronym. How many pure math majors are there working in tech now? Y'all think music history is abstruse, but, trust me, it has nothing on number theory.; 1/9/15, 11:43 PM
Michael The Magnificent said...: I still don't like Paris or High French cooking.

Coq au riesling

Try it. It's panty-dropping delicious! U R welcome.; 1/9/15, 11:51 PM
chickelit said...: @furious_a: ARM has become comfortably smug.; 1/10/15, 12:04 AM
Anonymous said...: i>Michael The Magnificent said...
I still don't like Paris or High French cooking.

Coq au riesling

Try it. It's panty-dropping delicious! U R welcome.

The Wife made a version from L’Auberge Chez François at Thanksgiving

I think it was from: The Chez Francois Cookbook; 1/10/15, 6:36 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: furious_a said...

That was Groundskeeper Willie in 1995, you addled twit.

So Jonah Goldberg is a plagiarist as well as an idiot? Just because wingers like Goldberg lacked the imagination to come up with the line doesn't mean they didn't use it liberally to disparage the French during the lead up to the Iraq war. Lose.

And lets not forget Freedom Fries and the axis of weasels.

There's a reason why all the goodwill towards the US dissipated so quickly after the 9/11 attacks - arrogant assholes like Bush and Cheney who thought they knew more than anyone else. How wrong they were.; 1/10/15, 7:55 AM
Francisco D said...: ARM,

Jonah Goldberg's contribution to political discussion is pointing out, in convincing fashion that leftists are truly fascists at heart. There is no clearer example than the modern university.

I was an adjunct faculty member back in the 1980's, about the time I turned away from modern liberalism. (Thanks Ronnie Reagan). I really had to keep my mouth shut, just as I did in my doctoral programs. If you don't play their game, you lose.

You may be right that Engineering profs are more likely to be Republicans (In my experience, they are more likely libertarian). However, they will not get a job in academia, due to "lack of collegiality" if they do not watch what they say. Once they are tenured, they have more freedom, as long as they don't mind constant BS form their supposed colleagues.

Stop cloistering yourself with other little fascists and try opening your eyes. You may not be smart enough to grasp the complexity of various issues, but you can try.; 1/10/15, 9:57 AM
Rusty said...: ARM
garage with a better vocabulary.
Couple a bigots.; 1/10/15, 10:08 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Francisco D said...
Jonah Goldberg's contribution to political discussion is pointing out, in convincing fashion that leftists are truly fascists at heart.

Convincing to whom? There are intolerant idiots on all sides of politics, only bigoted fools believe that they all belong to one party.; 1/10/15, 11:05 AM
Francisco D said...: Convincing to open minded, intelligent people.

There are fools in many places, but you strike me as the bigoted fool on this site - no matter what your politics.; 1/10/15, 2:34 PM
walter said...: "For all those that belittled the French police/military during this time, please rethink."

Nope.
In a time period Hollande has admitted has been elevated in terms of foiled plots..only 1 bodyguard assigned to the interior of that previously firebombed bullseye painted building...where a staffer with child becomes hostage at the unguarded entrance. Unarmed workers point the way..bodyguard somehow never has time to draw weapon? Unarmed bike cops as 1st responders outside? Reports suggest the heralded Muslim cop had a gun initially but is executed with hands up? At secondary location, newly recruited unarmed female cop essentially slaughtered. Maybe the ultimate excercise of disproportionate force was relatively successful..but how many needlessly died waiting for them to get their shit together? And media is quick to say it's all over as one of the terrorists escapes. This..after they had been watched, filmed etc. Bring on the candles. But will the French rethink?; 1/10/15, 3:31 PM
Anonymous said...: AReasonableMan
Why is it that every cliche about liberals Arts departments is applied to universities as a whole?

Try Googling university faculty contributions to democrats.
For example:
In California, 95 Percent of Professors' Donations Go To Democrats.

This goes on and on.; 1/10/15, 6:33 PM