Explosions and shootings in Paris

[gwynne]

Yes, I know he was an lone evil terrorist white male on US soil, but it happened 20 years ago and the Islamic terrorists are striking weekly/monthly all over the world. IMO, the two are no comparison and 1 incident in 20 years does seem to be random to me (meaning it is not a daily threat, like the Islamic terrorists who are numerous and looking for targets at all times)

These things go in cycles. As I mentioned upthread, we lived in Europe during the Red Army Faction days. Very few folks in the US paid much attention, but those who lived in Europe deal with it over a period of some years.

We were living in Italy when bombing occurred in OKC. We had Italian neighbors that were shocked and concerned and expressed that to us.

 

[ChrisFL]

President Roosevelt during WW2 said "what you have to fear is fear itself." It is part of history.

perfect example is the revolutionary war. Washington wasn't fighting with a strong army, but by golly he had a strong will to win.

Now that was a strong leader!! We need a smart strong leader!

No, that wasn't said during WWII, it was said during the great depression.

What we need is to understand that having belief systems not based on logic and reason and based on stories written thousands of years ago, and then fighting to the death over those stories is severely hindering the progress of the human race.

 

[gwynne]

I know many who are not. Should see my FB feed. -_-

Well, they've made it easy for you to decide whether they are friends worth keeping....

 

[kandb]

I dunno, I threw out my 9/11 Other Countries' Reactions scorecard.

I guess being that my husband was involved in 9/11, I remember the countries that were there with the US and I still have my "scorecard" in my head and yes France was there right there with us. Try googling it if you can't remember.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

No, that wasn't said during WWII, it was said during the great depression.

What we need is to understand that having belief systems not based on logic and reason and based on stories written thousands of years ago, and then fighting to the death over those stories is severely hindering the progress of the human race.

Well said.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Well, they've made it easy for you to decide whether they are friends worth keeping....

It's more or less a resentment thing and I understand where they are coming from, when it comes down to France and the relationship with Haiti and Africa and yeah, so, I have to let them be angry when the world seems to be all for Paris but not for Kenya, Lebanon, etc. But some of them are just ... yeah, they were deleted immediately. Don't worry.

 

[cabanafrau]

Yeah and I get that part, too, but from what I've seen and how the media decides to portray certain things, it rings true from an opinion-based view. I don't think anyone can be unbiased when it comes down to it, but I figured I could point it out.

Personally I always consider bias when listening to the media -- while also remembering their need to fill 24-hour news programming.

Rings true from an opinion-based view? That's not how I evaluate information and formulate my opinions. I wouldn't keep my job if I did.

I'll raise this point for your consideration. If in the end the safety check feature proves of use to people, any people anywhere in times of tragedy, isn't it a good resource and a handy tool? Should this resource have been held off further, waiting for a more deserving event -- from an opinion-based viewpoint of course, to be rolled out?

 

[declansdad]

I guess being that my husband was involved in 9/11, I remember the countries that were there with the US and I still have my "scorecard" in my head and yes France was there right there with us. Try googling it if you can't remember.

and your point is that if someone didn't "stand with you" during 9/11, to heck with them now???

 

[ols386]

So now ISIS released a video saying they plan to attack DC like Paris. I'm interested to see what response we (the USA) will have to this. I'll admit I never paid this much attention to these things until my husband joined the military, now I find myself checking the news everyday and always wondering.

Yes, I heard about Isis planned attack on DC.

Very scary.

 

[eliza61]

If it's not easy to "ship them back" when there is evidence that they are or could be a terrorist, well then we need to change some of our laws. Can't let political correctness kill innocent people. I think a lot of people might feel different if it was their family member that got killed by a terrorist.

of course we'd feel different Kandb, but that's the point of having laws. yes it stinks when they apply to people you hate but if we are going to have due process for one, we must have it for all. I hate the KKK, I think they are a terrorist organization right here in the states but I will defend their rights as Americans. Its got nothing to do with political correctness.
anyone "could" be anything. We can't start witch hunting people based on what "could" be.

Secondly what if a country doesn't take them. aka Edward snowden, he commit a few acts and tried to fly the coop and couldn't find anyplace to fly too. ended up in Russia pretty much as a last resort.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Personally I always consider bias when listening to the media -- while also remembering their need to fill 24-hour news programming.

Rings true from an opinion-based view? That's not how I evaluate information and formulate my opinions. I wouldn't keep my job if I did.

I'll raise this point for your consideration. If in the end the safety check feature proves of use to people, any people anywhere in times of tragedy, isn't it a good resource and a handy tool? Should this resource have been held off further, waiting for a more deserving event -- from an opinion-based viewpoint of course, to be rolled out?

When I said "opinion-based view" I had meant the selective grief, not the actual action of the temporary profile picture, however, I see where you're going as I guess it stems from the exact same issue. I think that if you are going to use Paris as the basis for the change from natural disasters to also include terrorist attacks, why did it start with Paris? Why couldn't it have started earlier in the week when Kenya and Lebanon lost all of those people? And I think from an opinion-based view, it looks sketchy as all heck. But we'll never know, I guess. Of course to POC it gives us a sour taste in our mouth that France, a predominately white country, gets the profile picture and the brown countries didn't. From my view (going back to opinion-based) it rings true that it feels like selective grief, not to say that people were/are not aware of what happens/happened in other countries, but it didn't get the attention that France got. Of course, one friend said, "France is known as a peaceful country," so maybe I don't know my history too well as it's not like my history classes all through my childhood really included anything outside of the US ('cause 'Merica), so the reaction was stark. The reaction was complete shock.

In any case, I'm babbling a wee bit. I'd love to get more in depth with this (and learn from other views as well), but it's time for me to go on break. I'll be back soon-ish.

 

[TLSnell1981]

France supported the United States during 9/11. Did Beirut and Kenya?

My response was directed towards FB, regarding some of their actions and behavior in general.

 

[eliza61]

There is no right answer to combating the people that want to harm us. It will take a tremendous resolve of most of the western world to put down this uprising of religious fanatics. Let the Militaries of the world do their job. The bombings up to now have been selective Politically Correct isolated attempts. I strongly believe that the US should take every B52 we have left and start carpet bombing every ISIS strong hold or controlled area in IRAQ and SYRIA. No more pin point bombing, desolate their stong holds. Once IRAQ and SYRIA are cleaned up than go after then in Libya, Egypt, and any where else they are. I think that the US can work very well with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, and any other nation. If the Mideast countries won't join in, than they can pay for it with their Oil. Make sure any terrorist sponsoring nation like IRAN is forced to stay on the sidelines.

and when they move to turkey, France or Germany. do we bomb them??
How about if they land and build a foot hold in Canada, do we bomb them??
Planets only so big, now that we've bomb every country in the East Asia (and possible now cause a rapid increase in growing other terrorist) because you've missed your target and killed a million innocent kids in turkey and Iran. what then? that's not a flippant question that is a very real serious question.

And it 10 years do you go back and re bomb all over again? or are you suggesting kill all Iraqias, Syrians and Egyptians?
forget Russia, no way in heckdom are they remotely going to participate and I doubt Germany would go for it also. let's not forget that China, which is the worlds second largest consumer, own quite a bit of the US and can cause a financial meltdown and in my opinion just a willing to send a few missiles our way.

As much as I understand the anger. they days of John Wayne are over and not looking at the repercussions of randomly dropping bombs and nukes all over the planet is irresponsible.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I guess being that my husband was involved in 9/11, I remember the countries that were there with the US and I still have my "scorecard" in my head and yes France was there right there with us. Try googling it if you can't remember.

Does 14 cows from a remote village that never heard of the attack until 4 months later count?

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/international/africa/03KENY.html

But, why is this even an argument? You think the 147 deaths in Kenya in April don't count as something to mourn because "they didn't help us" 14 years earlier?

 

[Madame]

I guess being that my husband was involved in 9/11, I remember the countries that were there with the US and I still have my "scorecard" in my head and yes France was there right there with us. Try googling it if you can't remember.

Am I the only one who remembers freedom fries a year and a half later ?

 

[eliza61]

Am I the only one who remembers freedom fries a year and a half later ?

LOL, I remember thinking it was the dumbest thing known to man and wasn't surprised that it was an idea coming out of the Capitol. i was thinking this while munching on my Mcdonald french fries.

 

[nanienamou]

and when they move to turkey, France or Germany. do we bomb them??
How about if they land and build a foot hold in Canada, do we bomb them??
Planets only so big, now that we've bomb every country in the East Asia (and possible now cause a rapid increase in growing other terrorist) because you've missed your target and killed a million innocent kids in turkey and Iran. what then? that's not a flippant question that is a very real serious question.

And it 10 years do you go back and re bomb all over again? or are you suggesting kill all Iraqias, Syrians and Egyptians?
forget Russia, no way in heckdom are they remotely going to participate and I doubt Germany would go for it also. let's not forget that China, which is the worlds second largest consumer, own quite a bit of the US and can cause a financial meltdown and in my opinion just a willing to send a few missiles our way.

As much as I understand the anger. they days of John Wayne are over and not looking at the repercussions

Exactly. I would add that the more you blanket bomb the Middle East, the more terrorists will get organized OUTSIDE of the Middle East. It's not a localized problem, it's planet-wide. Exploring other solutions would be the responsible thing to do. Terrorists expect an automatic retaliation after an attack and they use it to recruit more members.

 

[bcla]

Am I the only one who remembers freedom fries a year and a half later ?

That was their opposition to the invasion of Iraq. I thought it was insulting and uncalled for.

 

[kandb]

and your point is that if someone didn't "stand with you" during 9/11, to heck with them now???

I NEVER said don't stand with Kenya and Beirut. What I said was that France showed solidarity with the US after 9/11 and many people remember that, plus America is much more like France then it is like Kenya/Beirut, so I think people identify with the people there more. DON'T put words in peoples mouths to fit your own agenda.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Exactly. I would add that the more you blanket bomb the Middle East, the more terrorists will get organized OUTSIDE of the Middle East. It's not a localized problem, it's planet-wide. Exploring other solutions would be the responsible thing to do. Terrorists expect an automatic retaliation after an attack and they use it to recruit more members.

Ignoring them and pretending they don't exist, hasn't proven to be effective. They've been underestimated, more than a few times, and haven't been subdued.