In France I don't think common citizens can carry firearms, I may be wrong but If the place I worked had threats like that there would be cameras, lock down devices and a couple good guards hired as protection. They may not have been able to stop it but they sure could have till they had had help coming.
Go ahead take away citizens guns, but this is what you get when the enemy knows you don't. They hit weak targets like schools, churches and places they know they will get no resistance from, and all that security comes at a cost. They have been threatened for years, how much do you think guards cameras and all the other bullshit goes for for 1-2 years? Who pays for it and where does the loss trickle down to.

(01-07-2015, 05:33 PM)Maggot Wrote: If the place I worked had threats like that there would be cameras, lock down devices and a couple good guards hired as protection.

I'm finding that hard to understand. These were very bright people who absolutely knew who they were dealing with and the risks they were taking. They should have had so much more security in place than one simple rent a cop.

This woman says she is the one who was forced to punch in the correct code to open the door -

Corinne Rey, an artist who spoke by phone with the French newspaper L'Humanite just after the attack, identified herself as the person who was forced to open the door of the building where Charlie Hebdo has its offices. She said she punched in the correct security code after she and her young daughter were "brutally threatened" by the masked gunmen.
"They fired at Wolinski, Cabu .," Rey said of the assault on the newspaper, naming two well-known French cartoonists. "It lasted five minutes. I hid under a desk."

She said they spoke French fluently and claimed they were from al-Qaida.

Police union spokesman Christophe Crepin said the gunmen knew exactly whom they wanted to target at the newspaper.
They "went straight for Charb and his police bodyguard, killing both immediately with automatic weapons, then firing on others," he said.
One witness to the point-blank slaying of the police officer said the attackers' machine-like precision reflected what could only be prior experience with killing.

"I think they were extremely well trained and they knew exactly down to the centimeter and even to the second what they had to do," said the man, who lived across the street from where the police officer was killed. He asked The Associated Press not to publish his name for fear the killers could come back hunting for him.

Story

(01-07-2015, 05:44 PM)Duchess Wrote:

(01-07-2015, 05:33 PM)Maggot Wrote: If the place I worked had threats like that there would be cameras, lock down devices and a couple good guards hired as protection.

I'm finding that hard to understand. These were very bright people who absolutely knew who they were dealing with and the risks they were taking. They should have had so much more security in place than one simple rent a cop.

Hebdo's Paris office was bombed 4 years ago after it featured a cover declaring Muhammad its editor-in-chief.

They've also been taunting those who threaten them for years. Ironically, this is one of the last cartoons by Charb.

Translation: "Still no attack in France. Wait! We can send best wishes till end of January." (Probably referring to their satire of Baghdadi wishing good health to his followers, IMO.)

So, I'm not shocked at all that terrorists targeted Hebdo and its artists. But, I really am shocked that the gunmen could just storm into their building with masks over their faces and brandishing semi-automatic rifles without facing any strong resistance, shoot up the offices, and then exit the premises without being stopped or shot. The terrorists reportedly told surviving witnesses that they were al-Qaeda.

I wouldn't have expected the Charlie Hebdo employees to be working/living in fear or in a fortress or anything, but kinda assumed the Paris office required secured entry and was monitored by armed guards. Maybe it was secured and guarded, but the gunmen had an inside contact or a honed strategy to bypass security? We'll probably learn more about the logistics in the coming hours/days.

In the meantime, police are searching for two brothers and a friend/associate -- all of whom reportedly live in France (no identities released). They fled in the car seen in the video posted upthread, abandoned it, and took off in a stolen vehicle.

ETA: posting at same time as Duchess -- I see from her post above that there was secured entry and the artists had guards.

People across France have come out in support of those murdered.

The Suspects in the Charlie Hebdo Murders

Late in the day, authorities released the names of three suspects.


^ Brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi (Frenchmen), both in their 30s. Also suspected is 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad (not pictured; nationality not released).

Cherif Kouachi was convicted in 2008 of terrorism charges for helping funnel fighters to Iraq's insurgency and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

During Cherif Kouachi's 2008 trial, he told the court, "I really believed in the idea" of fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. He said he was motivated by his outrage at television images of torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/3-suspects-i...newspaper/

^ More demonstrations in Paris, sending messages of strength and unity to terrorists.

Here's a look at some front pages from around the world this morning -

London -



France -



Berlin -



Toronto -

I'm pretty sure these murders are having the opposite effect than what was intended.

(01-08-2015, 06:40 AM)Duchess Wrote: I'm pretty sure these murders are having the opposite effect than what was intended.

It's amazing what powerful messages can be delivered through drawings and cartoons. I especially like this one by illustrator Lucille Clerc.


I'm sure you're right about the attacks failing to instill terror or halt free expression. On the other hand, Islamic extremists and radical jihadists are making their voices heard too, with celebrations and postings hailing the killers as avengers of the prophet.

I've also seen/heard a lot of Muslim individuals and organizations speaking out and condemning the attacks; with a consistent message that such violence is not supported by Islamic doctrine and is a worse crime against Islam than blasphemy.

The 18-year-old suspect was arrested last night. I hope the two brothers are found today. I won't be surprised if they have no formal affiliation with al-Qaeda or IS and are instead radical lone wolf sympathizers, like the brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon and the man who took captive the Sydney coffee shop.

Sadly, I do think the Islamic extremists have succeeded in reaching feeble-minded disgruntled individuals from many different countries; disgruntled individuals who will continue to launch terrorist attacks in their home countries.

American media are a bunch of weak kneed lilly white pansies. Not a one of them will print anything like the French or Canada or any other country. They airbrush all the pictures but will publish Jews, Christians and any other in a bad light. What happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Is not free speech something that many have died for?

I hear what you're saying, Maggot. There is less anti-Islam satire and more domestic political satire featured in the American media than in some other countries (based on just my personal observations).

But, there are some pretty powerful illustrations and cartoons by American cartoonists in today's press. I like this one a lot.



The Washington Post has a gallery of today's American cartoons in support of free expression, France, and the Charlie Hebdo artists. Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic...as-heroes/

The U.S. should drop cigarettes all over the place in ISIS held territories.

dont smoke dont drink

I don't know how they can present themselves as godly. They are as far from godly as I have ever seen in my life.

CNN just reported that they're not posting some of the cartoons and many of their viewers are pissed off about it.

You could count me among the pissed. WTF are they thinking?

Kowtowing. Fuckers. The bad people will love that.

This one made me snicker. So simple and so brilliant.

This one is great too.



http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/08/europe...index.html

I love what can be said with just a picture and possibly a few words. It's genius.

One of the shooters left his ID in the abandoned car. Not so smart after all.