Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Charlie Hebdo

A huge manhunt is under way in Paris for three masked and hooded men armed with a Kalashnikov and a shotgun who stormed the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people – including two policemen – before escaping in a car.

  Guardian
Are we all French now?
Four of the Charlie Hebdo journalists killed in the attack have been named. They are the magazine’s editor and cartoonist, Stéphane Charbonnier, known as Charb; and three other cartoonists: Cabu, Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac, known as Tignous. Writer and economist Bernard Maris, who contributed to Charlie Hebdo, was also reportedly killed.

• Charlie Hebdo’s editor-in-chief, Gérard Biard, escaped the attack because he was in London. He expressed his shock and said the magazine had had no specific threats of violence. “A newspaper is not a weapon of war,” he said.

  The Guardian
To be fair, he’s wrong about that last thing.  Perhaps it shouldn't be, but I think we've seen plenty evidence here in the US alone for decades.
Charlie Hebdo has been the subject of violent attacks in the past, following its publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. Its offices were firebombed in 2011, and recent threats have also been made against it and other media groups.
So, did they not have heightened security?

And, are we all French now?  Of course we are. Because that's how we roll.
Barack Obama said he strongly condemned the attack, adding: “France is America’s oldest ally, and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against terrorists who threaten our shared security and the world.”

  The Guardian
He said the country has "been with us at every moment" in "dealing with terrorist organizations" since the September 11th attacks in 2001.

  Yahoo
Except for that period where we had to rename French fries to Freedom fries, and pass around all manner of anti-French barbs and jokes.
Obama also said the shooting, which left 12 people dead including several staffers of the magazine "underscores the degree to which these terrorists fear freedom of speech and freedom of the press."
Apparently they don’t fear it so much as hate it.
"Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended. France, and the great city of Paris where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers."   Huffington Post
That’s right. France has always been our hero.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the terrorist attack on the Paris offices of satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, calling it "horrific" and reassuring the people of France that "each and every American stands with you today."
Sure we do. We’re not even going to call you cheese eating monkeys, because the enemy of my enemy must indeed be my friend. And we never hold grudges.  As well as being heroes of democracy, we are very forgiving.
"No country knows better than France that freedom has a price, because France gave birth to democracy itself," Kerry added.
Hmmmm.  I thought that was Greece. I know France gave us the Statue of Liberty, but I thought Greece gave the world democracy. Maybe he meant to say “because France gave us the Statue of Liberty.”
"[The terrorists] may wield weapons, but we in France and in the United States share a commitment to those who wield something that is far more powerful," Kerry added. "Not just a pen, but a pen that represents [an] instrument of freedom, not fear."
Yeah, that’s the ticket. The pen is mightier than the sword, innit?

Where are the cartoonists who will avenge France (and by extension, the US)?  Don't you worry. I think we'll be seeing them very soon, and all of the world's terrorists will be falling at their feet.

UPDATE:


Comic liberty.  I'm thinking we should add an amendment to our constitution to guarantee comic liberty.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/07/shooting-paris-satirical-magazine-charlie-hebdo
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/07/intercept-liveblog-charlie-hebdo-offices-attack/

UPDATE:


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